March 2022 Newsletter
COVID-19 Updates
SSAIC is open! We are currently serving clients of sexualized violence over Zoom and telephone only and proving public education virtually. In order to keep our staff and clients safe, we will continue to operate under the current restrictions:
- Masking
- Physically distancing
- Sanitization
- Primarily utilizing telephone and Zoom counselling
- Keeping our main office closed to the public
If you’re really looking forward to COVID-19 being over, you’re not alone. Us too! However, as the wellness of our staff and clients remains our top priority, we will be maintaining our restrictions until the high levels of the Omicron variants currently circulating in Saskatoon reduce significantly. Masking requirements will remain in our offices, and our counselling services will continue to be provided over Zoom or telephone unless we assess that clients can not access service using that technology or require some initial face-to-face support. SSAIC will remain closed to walk-in support at this time.
We appreciate the cooperation our kind clients have consistently displayed in working with us to keep everyone healthy.
We are taking new clients and would encourage those who need our assistance to call our office during office hours and speak to one of our counsellors. Our 24-hour crisis line is fully functional and available to assist anyone who needs our help.
We have expanded our services to include more online resources for survivors. Please check out our Survivors Toolkit for additional resources and videos.
What’s New at SSAIC
Last Chance for our 50/50 Online Raffle!
SSAIC’s third annual “Bet on Survivors” 50/50 Online Raffle officially opened on March 5th! After receiving such a positive response from our first two 50/50 raffles, we decided to increase our goal this year and aim for a total pot of raising $6,000 (last year’s winner took home $2,800!).
As a non-profit, SSAIC relies partially on government funding and partially on community support, and our 50/50 Online Raffle is one of the ways we rally our community together in support of survivors of sexualized violence.
What is $20 worth to you? 4 stops at Starbucks? A new t-shirt? Lunch at the café down your street? If we all contributed $20 to survivors, that would be difference-making money. Our pot is currently sitting at $2,800 – can you help us get all the way to $6,000?
Get your tickets online at SSAIC.ca/5050 (and see all of our rules of play), and join us on Facebook Live at 4:45pm CST for the live draw of the winner.
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day was on March 8th and The Government of Canada chose the theme “Women Inspiring Women.” IWD celebrates all the women and girls who inspire us by demonstrating leadership in the choices they make in their day-to-day lives to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres.
SSAIC is an organization made up of many women on our staff, board of directors, volunteers, and, of course, our clients. Sexualized violence is also a crime that disproportionately impacts female-identifying folks in our community.
SSAIC closed our offices on March 8th to observe International Women’s Day and will continue to honour and celebrate women throughout March and the months and years ahead!
Click here to learn more about the history of International Women’s Day and join us in celebration as we support the push for an equal world free of bias.
Across the Province
Battlefords & Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) started their podcast, The BASAC View, in December of 2020. The educational podcast about consent, self-healing, and keeping yourself safe has posted 23 episodes covering important topics such as internet safety, the importance of using proper terminology when discussing body parts, duty to report, terminology, responding to disclosures, dating after assault, myths, statistics, healthy versus unhealthy relationships, sexual harassment in the workplace, the impact of sexual violence on survivors, family, and community members, and so much more. Click here to see their episode list and subscribe!
Regina and Area Sexual Assault Centre (RSAC) is expanding to serve the Moose Jaw area, working out of the space at Moose Jaw Family Services on Main Street. We spoke recently with Lisa Miller, Executive Director, about this exciting news:
“We knew a lot of folks from the Moose Jaw area were seeking services from us; however, we also knew there would be many more who couldn’t because of barriers such as transportation. After some assessment, we took the plunge and opened our satellite office in May of 2021, located in the Moose Jaw Family Services building (it’s so nice to be with like-minded people doing similar work!).
We love this community and their leaders, and they have offered so much support for our presence! For the first few months, we were seeing clients about four days a month and we have now expanded to two counsellors seeing clients seven to eight days a month. We are so happy to be working in this supportive community and look forward to expanding our presence beyond just our clinical work!” – Lisa
Farewell Steph!
With a mix of sadness and happiness and a whole lot of gratitude, we bid farewell to Stephanie Locke.
Steph has been an exceptional member of our SSAIC team since 2017 and an incredible advocate, friend, and counsellor to survivors. We deeply appreciate her devotion to this work, her humour, her sparkle, and her free and creative spirit. While we will all miss her dearly, we know she’s off to do great things and wish her the very best in her new adventures.
Thank you, Steph, from the bottom of our hearts. We will miss you!
Learning & Entertainment
Online Learning Workshop Series
SSAIC’s Online Learning Workshop Series is updated each season with new and exciting webinars related to sexualized violence. Our webinars are aimed at any and everyone from professionals to the general public with a thirst to learn. Join us live through Zoom or register and watch later.
Impacts of COVID-19 on Survivors (watch now!)
COVID-19 has had unprecedented impacts on the whole world, but how has it impacted survivors of sexualized violence specifically? This webinar is presented by Morgan Price, Education & Outreach Coordinator and Megan Sawyer, SSAIC’s Client Services Coordinator and counsellor to survivors. Watch the recording of our presentation below. Click here to make a donation.
Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence Training
Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence Training (SST) is an interactive training program created by SSAIC, designed to train anyone and everyone to receive disclosures and support survivors in a compassionate and trauma-informed way.
Join us for an upcoming session of SST to learn tangible skills for supporting someone who discloses sexualized violence, as well as the impacts of rape culture and our own unconscious biases.
Click on any of the following links to register yourself for SST:
Full-Day Training ($150 per person):
September 7th, 2022 (9am – 4pm)
December 8th, 2022 (9am – 4pm)
Half-Day Training ($60 per person):
May 11th, 2022 (9am – 12 noon)
October 25th, 2022 (1:30pm – 4:30pm)
SSAIC Staff Recommends
Alok Vaid-Menon (Author, Poet-Comedian, Speaker)
Alok seems like someone that you’d just want to be besties with. They have written poetry, books, and Instagram posts that will heal your soul and melt your heart.
Alok’s book “Beyond the Gender Binary” is the handiest, most accessible queer guide that everyone should have on their bookshelves. And their fashion feed is a daily dose of dopamine. All around content that you need in your life. –Morgan
Phoenix Rising (Documentary)
Phoenix Rising is a powerful documentary about Evan Rachel Wood and the abuse she suffered at the hands of Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson).
It did an excellent job of showing the struggle – of leaving, speaking about what you’ve been through, reporting, and working towards healing. The content in some parts is pretty explicit, but it’s a really good documentary! –Sarah
@devonmcole (Instagram)
Devon, a self-identified “part-time singer and full-time diva” from Toronto, rewrote and recorded the lyrics to the infamously controversial “Blurred Lines” to reflect a consensual interaction (which we love). Because according to Devon, “consent is sexy”.
Part Two is in support of Emily Ratajkowski’s experience on the set of “Blurred Lines.” Heck. Yes. –Steph
Sexualized Violence in the News
Feeling unsafe at the local bar? Ask for the ‘Island shot’, CBC News P.E.I.
“Ordering the ‘Island shot’ in PEI [please note: this is not a Saskatchewan practice] indicates to staff that a patron needs help.
The P.E.I. Rape and Sexual Assault Centre has launched a new campaign to help Islanders feel safer when going out for a drink with friends.
Posters will be going up in bars around the province advertising the ‘Island shot,’ which is a new way to ask bar and restaurant staff for help if you feel a situation could lead to trouble.
You can order the ‘Island shot’ three ways: ‘Neat’ means you will get an escort to your car, ‘on the rocks’ means a cab will be called for you, and ‘with lime’ indicates police should be called to intervene.
Staff at each bar and restaurant will have to undergo training before they receive their posters. The campaign is partly in response to news of the prevalence of spiking drinks in Island bars.” Read more…
‘We think there are thousands of victims’: Is Peter Nygard the worst of the worst?, CBC News
“In late 2020, the country was shocked by the revelations of a vast, decades-long criminal conspiracy involving one of Canada’s most prominent entrepreneurs and businessmen. Peter Nygard had been arrested, accused of unimaginable sex crimes spanning nearly half a century.
Until recently, Nygard had been at the helm of one of Canada’s largest clothing empires, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But now American authorities were charging him with multiple counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Could Nygard be the worst of the worst?
It’s among the questions that prompted a new-three part television documentary series from CBC Docs, Evil by Design: Surviving Nygard. The series is based on investigative reporting from The Fifth Estate and the CBC Podcast, Evil by Design.” Read more…
Brandon woman wins revenge porn civil suit, awarded $60K in damages, CBC News
“A Brandon woman has been awarded $60,000 in damages by a Manitoba court after her intimate photos were distributed without her consent.
Brittany Roque launched her civil suit against another woman in 2017, in what became one of the first ‘revenge porn’ cases to test new legislation in Manitoba.
In 2015, Roque sent intimate photos to Ryan Friesen, a police officer in Brandon with whom she had been having a relationship, according to the Court of Queen’s Bench judgment delivered Wednesday. At the time, Friesen was in a relationship with another woman, Terri-Lyn Peters.
Peters found the photos on Friesen’s computer, made copies of them, and then distributed them to the Brandon Police Service, where Roque had applied to become a police officer in 2016, the judgment says. In her decision, Justice Sandra Zinchuk ruled that Peters acted with malice, and that Roque did not consent in any way to having the photos distributed.
Zinchuk found Peters liable for non-consensual distribution under the Intimate Images Privacy Act, which came into effect in 2016, and a breach of privacy under the Privacy Act.” Read more…
Note from SSAIC: This article uses the common term “revenge porn,” which we believe is outdated and misleading. More appropriate language for this harmful, illegal act is “distribution of non-consensual images” or “image-based sexual abuse.”
Ways to Give to SSAIC
Looking for ways to give to SSAIC? Click any of the options below to get started!
- Becoming a recurring donor. This is the most helpful kind of donation we can receive, as it helps us consistently plan for the future with reliable donations monthly or annually. All donations are greatly appreciated.
- Bring your recyclables to SARCAN. By using the code “I believe you” at the Drop-n-Go stations or at the register, you can donate your recycling funds straight to SSAIC and protect the environment all at once!
- Shop our survivor-themed merchandise. Our online store is stocked with survivor phrase t-shirts, sweatshirts, and mugs – order yours straight to your door, or come by our office downtown for contactless pickup.
- Fundraise on our behalf. COVID-19 has impacted us all, and SSAIC is relying on our community supporters now more than ever. If you’re interested in raising money on our behalf, get in contact with our office to discuss opportunities!