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Today’s episode is part one of a two-part series that I am doing on the impact of sexual assault and sexual abuse on fertility and infertility. In today’s episode, I am pleased to welcome Erin Martin to the show. Erin has been working in the field of Sexual Assault Awareness, Education and Counselling for the past 13 years. She has an extensive background in Sexual Assault Awareness and Education through her work as a Public Educator and as the Director of Volunteer Services at the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. She has her Master’s in Counselling Psychology and is currently working on her Ph.D. at the University of Alberta.
In today’s show, Erin and I define what Sexual Assault is, we discuss the issue of consent and how consent is defined in the Criminal Code of Canada, and we also discuss some of the most common and prevalent myths about sexual assault that permeate our culture. The purpose of today’s episode is to provide a detailed background and thorough understanding of what behaviors and activities actually fall under the definition of sexual assault. We have an in-depth discussion about the most common myths about sexual assault and how these myths negatively impact survivors of sexual assault. We also discuss the issue of prevention “tips” and how the tips commonly directed towards women to prevent themselves from being assaulted provide a false sense of security and don’t actually address the broader reality of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse in our culture. This episode lays the foundation for the conversation about the impact that sexual abuse can have on fertility and infertility that I focus on in part 2 of this series with Dr. Erica Berman.
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Topics discussed in today’s episode
- How prevalent is sexual assault and abuse? What are the stats?
- We address the myth that if someone experiences sexual assault they are “damaged'” forever
- What is Sexual Assault and how is it different to Rape?
- What is Child Sexual Abuse, and how does this definition differ from how Rape and Sexual Assault are defined?
- Why do we have such a hard time accepting that the vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by trusted people that we know?
- What is Consent, and how is it defined in the Criminal Code of Canada?
- The many ways a person can say “no” without actually saying the word
- Although sexual assaults are often portrayed in the media as violent interactions by strangers, we discuss the most common tool that perpetrators use during a sexual assault, and it probably isn’t what you think
- Why we have a hard time believing that sexual assault happens to men too and that it’s not just a women’s issue
- Why we hold on tightly to the belief that if someone was an offender or perpetrator of sexual abuse or sexual assault that we would know, and be able to pick them out of the crowd
- How the commonly held myths about sexual assault prevent us from fully empathizing with survivors and let the offenders off the hook
- Why survivor’s of sexual assault isn’t actually to blame regardless of whether they were drinking, what they were wearing, or what they were doing (or not doing)
Resources mentioned
- Erin Martin | University of Alberta
- This Woman Just Explained Consent With a Perfect Metaphor
- Study Finds 95% of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Go Unreported | Erin Martin
- FFP 027 | The Impact of Sexual Abuse on Fertility and Infertility | Part 2 | Dr. Erica Berman
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)
Great discussion! Especially liked that you explained why it is that people tend to believe myths and didn’t try to shame people for believing these unfortunately common myths.
Very glad to see that you ladies are continuing to educate the general public about sexual assault and be a voice for positive change.