The leader of an abused women’s centre in Ontario says she was “crushed” and “very, very deeply upset” at the “horrendous” commentary by Liberal MPs at the ethics committee..Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) helps women and teenaged girls who have been abused by their intimate partner, or sex purchasers..Last February she told the parliamentary committee on access to information, privacy, and ethics that 143 women helped by LAWC last year said “that technology was used in their assault and another 64 reported that pornography was prevalent in their relationship and oftentimes they were forced to play out the scenes in pornography. And she will have been in touch with Pornhub many times to have it removed and has not been successful.”.Walker told the Western Standard her reaction after watching the committee continue its hearings on Monday..“It actually devastated me to see the Liberals especially politicizing this issue and speaking about the great work the Liberals have done, instead of searching for solutions to the horrendous atrocities that women and girls are facing. I was actually really crushed to see that,” Walker said..“It was probably the most the most horrendous thing I’ve seen the Liberals do. And you know how sometimes you see somebody do something silly, or stupid or outrageous, and you feel embarrassed for them? That’s how I felt. I just felt they had missed this incredible opportunity to work collectively and cooperatively in the best interests of women and girls. And instead, it was embarrassing to watch them go on and on and on about the Liberal Party and the Liberal government.”.NDP MP Charlie Angus had a similar take on the proceedings, as the Western Standardreported previously. After Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan laid out Liberal funding commitments, then took political shots at the NDP and Conservatives, Angus interrupted..“We’re talking about child rape here. If she wants to do Liberal handstands, she can do it someplace else. We’ve got a few minutes to get answers whether or not the laws of this nation are being applied. If she’s got ridiculous points to make, she can do it elsewhere,” Angus said..As for Shanahan’s claims, Walker said the federal government reduced funding for her organization..“And frankly, the Liberal government has failed women and girls by cutting trafficking funding. They say they’ve given it out. Our agency lost $800,000 plus over five years in trafficking funding, which was replaced by $200,000 over two years.”.Walker said her clients’ porn woes vary. Sometimes “revenge porn” happens after a breakup, where then-consensual videos are posted without consent, sometimes including the victim’s name and address. Walker also had six parents contact her as a man posing as a boy got young teenaged girls to do sex acts on web cam, then posted the videos online. She also says that since the pandemic began, human traffickers who sent women to sell sex now put them on web cams..In 2019, the Liberal government passed Bill C-75 to allow penalties for human trafficking to be considered as minor summary convictions. Those charged could be released on bail the next day, and even after conviction might only face a $5,000 fine. C-22, now working its way through Parliament, would make mere house arrest a sentencing option for those guilty of human trafficking..“The Liberal government is minimizing the impact trafficking has on the lives of women and girls. And it’s failing to understand what trafficking is, so even if we get those girls out, away from their trafficker, that trafficker just goes and gets another girl to replace her,” Walker said..During Monday’s committee hearing, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said his government will introduce legislation so that a regulator can ensure online platforms remove harmful content. Walker, who said she has no political affiliation, said she does support Bill C-277, which was tabled on March 24 by Quebec Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus..“He’s advocating that there’ll be no longer concurrent sentencing and that the preliminary hearings be reduced so that the woman would only have to go to a preliminary hearing once, and that police services across the country are supported with the financial and other resources that they need,” Walker said..“If we value the lives of women and girls, we need to take immediate action. If we choose to prioritize the so called rights of a perpetrator, then we are showing women and girls that their lives don’t matter. And so my view is that the rights of those harmed should always come before the rights of the perpetrator. And that doesn’t seem to be happening in our government right now.”.Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan
The leader of an abused women’s centre in Ontario says she was “crushed” and “very, very deeply upset” at the “horrendous” commentary by Liberal MPs at the ethics committee..Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) helps women and teenaged girls who have been abused by their intimate partner, or sex purchasers..Last February she told the parliamentary committee on access to information, privacy, and ethics that 143 women helped by LAWC last year said “that technology was used in their assault and another 64 reported that pornography was prevalent in their relationship and oftentimes they were forced to play out the scenes in pornography. And she will have been in touch with Pornhub many times to have it removed and has not been successful.”.Walker told the Western Standard her reaction after watching the committee continue its hearings on Monday..“It actually devastated me to see the Liberals especially politicizing this issue and speaking about the great work the Liberals have done, instead of searching for solutions to the horrendous atrocities that women and girls are facing. I was actually really crushed to see that,” Walker said..“It was probably the most the most horrendous thing I’ve seen the Liberals do. And you know how sometimes you see somebody do something silly, or stupid or outrageous, and you feel embarrassed for them? That’s how I felt. I just felt they had missed this incredible opportunity to work collectively and cooperatively in the best interests of women and girls. And instead, it was embarrassing to watch them go on and on and on about the Liberal Party and the Liberal government.”.NDP MP Charlie Angus had a similar take on the proceedings, as the Western Standardreported previously. After Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan laid out Liberal funding commitments, then took political shots at the NDP and Conservatives, Angus interrupted..“We’re talking about child rape here. If she wants to do Liberal handstands, she can do it someplace else. We’ve got a few minutes to get answers whether or not the laws of this nation are being applied. If she’s got ridiculous points to make, she can do it elsewhere,” Angus said..As for Shanahan’s claims, Walker said the federal government reduced funding for her organization..“And frankly, the Liberal government has failed women and girls by cutting trafficking funding. They say they’ve given it out. Our agency lost $800,000 plus over five years in trafficking funding, which was replaced by $200,000 over two years.”.Walker said her clients’ porn woes vary. Sometimes “revenge porn” happens after a breakup, where then-consensual videos are posted without consent, sometimes including the victim’s name and address. Walker also had six parents contact her as a man posing as a boy got young teenaged girls to do sex acts on web cam, then posted the videos online. She also says that since the pandemic began, human traffickers who sent women to sell sex now put them on web cams..In 2019, the Liberal government passed Bill C-75 to allow penalties for human trafficking to be considered as minor summary convictions. Those charged could be released on bail the next day, and even after conviction might only face a $5,000 fine. C-22, now working its way through Parliament, would make mere house arrest a sentencing option for those guilty of human trafficking..“The Liberal government is minimizing the impact trafficking has on the lives of women and girls. And it’s failing to understand what trafficking is, so even if we get those girls out, away from their trafficker, that trafficker just goes and gets another girl to replace her,” Walker said..During Monday’s committee hearing, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said his government will introduce legislation so that a regulator can ensure online platforms remove harmful content. Walker, who said she has no political affiliation, said she does support Bill C-277, which was tabled on March 24 by Quebec Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus..“He’s advocating that there’ll be no longer concurrent sentencing and that the preliminary hearings be reduced so that the woman would only have to go to a preliminary hearing once, and that police services across the country are supported with the financial and other resources that they need,” Walker said..“If we value the lives of women and girls, we need to take immediate action. If we choose to prioritize the so called rights of a perpetrator, then we are showing women and girls that their lives don’t matter. And so my view is that the rights of those harmed should always come before the rights of the perpetrator. And that doesn’t seem to be happening in our government right now.”.Harding is a Western Standard correspondent based in Saskatchewan
