Mr. Speaker, as a child in BC in the 80s, I was one of the first to take part in CARE, an innovative program to raise awareness in young children about inappropriate touching and sexual assault. At that time the messaging around "stranger danger" was the caricature of the flasher in a trench coat lurking in the local park, something that happened to my sister once near our home and to me along my paper route as an 11yearold. Fast forward decades and our young people now face a new "stranger lurking in the dark" in the form of online cyber predators.
Mr. Speaker, since the election, I have made 1200 new friends on Facebook from across the territory. And I love this. It gives me a glimpse into places I never get to, allowing me to better understand life for our residents. However, since that time I have had some disturbing messages come from strangers via the internet. And on Saturday night while relaxing at home, I received a series of messages from someone who wanted to meet me. When they received no response, the messages escalated, eventually leading to a pornographic photograph and vulgar language about what the sender wanted.
Mr. Speaker, this isn’t the first time.
Ever since I ran for MLA, I have received unwanted attention online, including photographs such as this one. Last year on my birthday, just as I was waking up, I received a very shocking inappropriate video from a stranger as a "gift".
Mr. Speaker I often use humour as a coping mechanism so yesterday I took to social media and posted about what had happened. The response was overwhelming and, frankly Mr. Speaker, quite disturbing.
Numerous women responded that they too experience online sexual harassment on a regular basis. A friend private messaged about a recent post in which numerous young women in the NWT shared their stories of a repeat predator in their community. This person is known to police however no action is ever taken, even though he is known to contact girls online as young as 14. Sexual assault is never ok. Sexual assault is any sexual contact or behaviour without consent, and it is a crime.
In 2019, the NWT had the highest rate of sexual assault in the country, at seven times the national rate, and is a major cause of suffering, pain, and trauma for our residents.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Thebacha.
