Following an incident of a man in the women’s change room, allegedly attacking two 10-year-old girls at the Cowichan Aquatic Centre in Duncan BC, local residents rallied on Tuesday to raise awareness and shut down false allegations of bigotry. BC RCMP said police are seeking witnesses for the ongoing investigation into the allegations of the man assaulting the girls and their mother in the change rooms at the aquatic centre. Video posted online by Saige Point, whose nieces were in the change room, shows a man who bragged in front of the camera that he could “say he’s a woman with a beard and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it.” The camera then goes dark and little girls can be heard screaming. Local activist and mother of an 11-year-old girl Serena "Freedombear" Winterburn spoke on behalf of the mother and young girls, acknowledging there were two false allegations levelled at the victims for complaining about the man in the women's room and alleged attack. “There were accusations of this being a racial issue by this family, who is First Nations, in Cowichan. And that is not the truth as to what happened,” she said.“The second accusation was that this was a trans issue. And that is not the truth. That does not represent the family’s values.”“This was not a trans issue. This had nothing to do with (the sexual minority) community, as a matter of fact,” she said, indicating there were many people from that community present at the rally. “We believe in gender fluidity that’s not what this is about.” “This was a safety concern. Because she had a 10-year-old daughter in the change room. And she was also with her 10-year-old cousin in the change room. And in this women's change room that they were in, not the universal change room, but the women’s change room.".Winterburn noted many people had put in complaints at the front desk of the aquatic centre that day. She told protestors the little girls were too uncomfortable to change in the change room in front of the man, so they expressed their discomfort and left. Staff clarified the front desk had already received complaints, she added.The man, known as Natus, who does not identity as trans, was there with his female partner, who downplayed the situation. His partner, Jupitor Butler, said they didn’t know where the universal change room was so they just used the women's one and they were having a hard day and just wanted to be left alone, according to CHEK News.“And I also needed his help, because he’s the dad of our family, and so that’s what ended up happening is that he came into the woman’s this one time, he’s never come into the woman’s change room with us ever before,” said Butler. She also denied Natus was naked, contrary to allegations."We want to know that there is accountability in these facilities,” said Winterburn at Tuesday's rally.
Following an incident of a man in the women’s change room, allegedly attacking two 10-year-old girls at the Cowichan Aquatic Centre in Duncan BC, local residents rallied on Tuesday to raise awareness and shut down false allegations of bigotry. BC RCMP said police are seeking witnesses for the ongoing investigation into the allegations of the man assaulting the girls and their mother in the change rooms at the aquatic centre. Video posted online by Saige Point, whose nieces were in the change room, shows a man who bragged in front of the camera that he could “say he’s a woman with a beard and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it.” The camera then goes dark and little girls can be heard screaming. Local activist and mother of an 11-year-old girl Serena "Freedombear" Winterburn spoke on behalf of the mother and young girls, acknowledging there were two false allegations levelled at the victims for complaining about the man in the women's room and alleged attack. “There were accusations of this being a racial issue by this family, who is First Nations, in Cowichan. And that is not the truth as to what happened,” she said.“The second accusation was that this was a trans issue. And that is not the truth. That does not represent the family’s values.”“This was not a trans issue. This had nothing to do with (the sexual minority) community, as a matter of fact,” she said, indicating there were many people from that community present at the rally. “We believe in gender fluidity that’s not what this is about.” “This was a safety concern. Because she had a 10-year-old daughter in the change room. And she was also with her 10-year-old cousin in the change room. And in this women's change room that they were in, not the universal change room, but the women’s change room.".Winterburn noted many people had put in complaints at the front desk of the aquatic centre that day. She told protestors the little girls were too uncomfortable to change in the change room in front of the man, so they expressed their discomfort and left. Staff clarified the front desk had already received complaints, she added.The man, known as Natus, who does not identity as trans, was there with his female partner, who downplayed the situation. His partner, Jupitor Butler, said they didn’t know where the universal change room was so they just used the women's one and they were having a hard day and just wanted to be left alone, according to CHEK News.“And I also needed his help, because he’s the dad of our family, and so that’s what ended up happening is that he came into the woman’s this one time, he’s never come into the woman’s change room with us ever before,” said Butler. She also denied Natus was naked, contrary to allegations."We want to know that there is accountability in these facilities,” said Winterburn at Tuesday's rally.
