I checked out your Best of Halifax issue this week and felt a potent mixture of fury and sadness upon reading the category “Best Pick-up Bar”. I’d like to propose a new category and nominate this establishment (and others) as “Most likely Spot to be Drugged and Sexually Assaulted”. While acknowledging that sexual assault can happen anywhere, the downtown Halifax bar scene is a sexual predator hot-spot with the highest national average of reported sexual assaults in the country – on average one every day. If Halifax is ever to achieve the desired reputation of a ‘great city’, downtown businesses must take some responsibility in addressing this social cancer and collectively we must address the social attitudes behind such appalling statistics. Too much of our advice has historically been directed at women to avoid vicimization. What we need to say loudly and clearly to every man is “Don’t rape!”
This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2008.
it distresses me a bit when i’m downtown and i see girls falling-down drunk – in the sense that i hope the guys who are with them are gentlemen. all i can really do is beam “take care of her!” in his general direction.except not really, cause i don’t think telepathy works, at least, not for me.
” What we need to say loudly and clearly to every man is “Don’t rape!” “Can we say loudly and clearly to every woman “Don’t drink you fucking face off all night just because the drinks are cheap at these establishments” too? ; )
J-Is that your idea of a solution to rape?
When women are intoxicated they aren’t considered responsible for their actions. Men can’t use being drunk as an excuse. Just last month there was a story about a guy in Frederiction who doesn’t remember crawling into a woman’s bed because he was so drunk. The judge didn’t buy it. I bet he would have if it had been reversed. I think there’s a difference between getting drunk and putting yourself into dangerous situations and being randomly picked up off the sidewalk when you’re just walking to the store. Women have to take responsibility for their own safety, too.
Lily, thank you for that post. What I was getting at was that there are alot of factors that contribute to the problem of potential rape when heavy consumpion of alcohol is involved. Ghost, I know you probably meant your comment as an insult, but i’ll respond anyways. Do I think it is a solution to the entire problem? No. Do I think that if a female is sober, as opposed to stumbling drunk out of their mind, that she is less likly to get into a potentially dangerous situation, not to mention protect herself if she did? HELL YES.Hope this helps,
i agree that no one. man or woman should be falling down drunk on the street whether it be fear of rape or fear of being swarmed by hooligans.however it is sad that a woman has to make choices based on preventing herself from being raped. itd be nice to have a safer city dont you think? do you think that this city has a higher rate of drunken females on the sidewalks than any other city? if not then why such high rates of sexual abuse?so for now i guess the only answer for women is…dont get drunk and if you do…make sure you travel in packs.i
…um, women tend not to rape people when they’re intoxicated…Also, women tend to be sexually assaulted while doing so-called safe things, like being walked home by an acquaintance or, um, going on a first date with someone.I think a lot of men aren’t taught when something is or isn’t sexually appropriate. I love men and I love women, which is why I agree with the original poster.
it’s great how almost everyone missed the point of the bitch.
No I got the point of the bitch. And besides, Halifax needs to change A LOT of things before it can be a great city.
J-No, I didn’t mean it as an insult, I wanted clarification before I made assumptions about what you meant. Your statement was rather ambiguous, and I didn’t want to go off my stick about thinking you meant that girls who were falling down drunk were asking for it, or deserved what they got, when in reality you meant something else.You clarified, thanks.
The bar dynamic works for the owners and probably won’t change, because they make a shitload of money off of women who want to drink and have fun, and men who want to drink and meet fun women. If a sexual assault happens at the bar, it needs to be reported to staff, real big and stinky. Once you leave, you’re on your own. If you go off to do something immoral or illegal, the bar can’t be held responsible for condoning that or any other drunken behaviour. There are more potential targets with glaringly obvious vulnerabilities (being drunk off the ass) in bars, and sexual predators are attracted to the opportunities, not the bars, not the alcohol. Alcohol may or may not make a sexual predator more likely to rape, but it definitely makes a target easier to victimize. Sexual predators don’t respond to advice and education because they don’t typically want to change or even admit they’re sexual predators. It’s up to potential targets to recognize the threat and take themselves away as the opportunity. In this situation, that means women need to hang in packs, watch their drinks, trust no strangers and not get too wasted. Bar owners can and should encourage this, but the rest is up to personal accountability.
“however it is sad that a woman has to make choices based on preventing herself from being raped.”Almost every decision you make, is to prevent an undesired outcome, or work towards a desired one. I don’t walk out in traffic to avoid being killed. I don’t tell my boss he’s a douche to avoid being fired. I don’t get shit faced drunk in a bar full of strangers to avoid being raped, robbed, or simply embarrassed the next day. It’s not sad, it’s survival.
No one deserves or asks to be raped. But everyone is responsible for their own safety and so should avoid situations that may put them in harm’s way. Getting drunk clouds judgement and makes you do things you wouldn’t do if you were sober. Bars serve booze; they shouldn’t be babysitters, too. Yes, personal accountability is a good thing, even for women.
“the downtown Halifax bar scene is a sexual predator hot-spot with the highest national average of reported sexual assaults in the country”This smells of axe body spray bullshit right here. Pulled out of your ass is not a sound statistical source.
The statistical info regarding Halifax, NS having the highest national average of reported sexual assaults was not pulled out of any ass – the source was the website of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre. Furthermore, only a fraction of sexual assaults ever get reported. Perhaps this is, in part, because of widespread social attitudes that place blame on victims of sexual assault and the fear of being stigmatized and further victimized. This is a vicious cycle. Individual freedoms certainly include personal responsibility towards safety, but the next time you are downtown and assume you are seeing a drunken female being dragged from a bar by a male ‘friend’, ask yourself: “Is she really drunk or did that guy slip something into her drink when she wasn’t looking?” Better still, ask her if she’s alright and if she knows the person helping her. When a person is sexually assaulted it is because another person made a conscious and deliberate decision to do it and that person is to blame for his actions.- very sad and very angry
If we’re talking national averages based on reported sexual assault, Halifax is number 3 and Saskatoon is number 1, according to MacLean’s Magazine’s report from earlier this year.
The relibility and credibility of statistical information is affected by multiple factors, not least of which is who conducted the survey and how the survey was structured. Would I believe an entertainment publication over a non-profit agency that is dedicated locally to assisting victims of sexual assault? I don’t think so, but… your choice.Still missing the point though.
On the veracity of statistical information, I would reckon it behooves a NGO to use favourable figures to support their continued funding and existence. I would trust third-party figures far more.Not supporting rape or anything. Just putting it out there.
The national average depends on reported crimes as tallied by police departments across Canada. Police can’t count crimes if they aren’t reported. Women are being sexually assaulted at bars in downtown Halifax, yes, and it’s up to all of us to stop it. Bar owners and patrons should report sexual assaults if they see them happen. Most sexual assault takes place without witnesses, and the abusers usually deny the crimes.And, the information and education to prevent these crimes should be directed at men (with which I patently disagree).If there’s a point I’m missing… I’ll be around in a few hours with time on my hands.
I still don’t know what two (or more) adults engaging in consensual sex as a result of meeting in a bar has to do with rape. I’m sure the coast wasn’t targeting rapists with that award. Just the horny.
who won that ‘award’ anyway?be on your guard and be safe.she might not actually be drunk and she might not actually know that guy ‘helping’ herjust a thought