Sheila Copps says current public discussions around sexual harassment, politics and the media have inspired her to disclose that she’s been sexually assaulted and raped — in one case, while she was a Member of Provincial Parliament.
The former deputy prime minister, who served as a Hamilton Centre MP and MPP, told CBC News on Monday afternoon that recent discussions about sexual harassment on Parliament Hill compelled her to step forward.
“If people don’t sort of talk about things that happen to them and expose them, then they’re never going to change,” Copps said.
“And I think the boys’ world of politics is there and it’s going to continue to be there, but there are things you can do to change it.”
Copps wrote about her sexual assaults in The Hill Times on Monday.
One incident occurred when she was a 28-year-old MPP, and one of six women in the Ontario legislature.
She and other MPPs were on a parliamentary tour in northern Ontario studying violence against women. After lunch, she and a male MPP stepped off an elevator, she said, and he backed her against the wall.
“He pushed me up against the wall and fondled me, and tried to kiss me,” she said.
She kneed him in the groin, she said, and “he kind of recoiled and backed off, and never tried it again.
“I never reported it. I just felt I’d dealt with it and that was the way it was.”
She also wrote about the incident in her 1986 memoir Nobody’s Baby. She didn’t discuss it with anyone when it happened, she said. And she served on a committee with the MPP for another year.
“I was the only woman in my caucus,” she said. “There wasn’t a safe place to go talk about it.”
The rape occurred more than 30 years ago before she was a politician, she said. Police told her a conviction was unlikely because she knew the person, she said. They just visited him and warned him to keep his distance, she added.
Copps said she stepped forward after tweeting support for former Q host Jian Ghomeshi. She also wrote the article in light of two NDP MPs lodging misconduct complaints against two Liberal MPs, who have been suspended from caucus while an investigation takes place.
Current process 'dangerous for both parties
Parliament lacks the proper process to deal with sexual harassment allegations, Copps said.
She said like to see the Ontario Labour Code overlaid onto the process on Parliament Hill "in the very least."
There’s no current structure for complainants, which “is very dangerous for both parties,” she said.
“It’s not only dangerous for the potential victim; It’s also dangerous for the person who’s been accused because they can basically be suspended from their jobs with absolutely no capacity to do anything about it.”
End Article.
What I find interesting is that Sheila Copps does not name the individual who raped her. After all, what kind of example is she setting for other potential rape victims if she fails to show the courage in accusing the man she claimed who raped her publicly ? And would it not lend credibility to her allegation? After all, if she does not name the individual it really starts to look like she is just looking for some relevancy. I'd like to think that a woman who claims to champion the rights and cause of other woman would do more than offer anecdotal claims that are not substantiated to this point. I hope she finds the courage to name her attacker.
The former deputy prime minister, who served as a Hamilton Centre MP and MPP, told CBC News on Monday afternoon that recent discussions about sexual harassment on Parliament Hill compelled her to step forward.
“If people don’t sort of talk about things that happen to them and expose them, then they’re never going to change,” Copps said.
“And I think the boys’ world of politics is there and it’s going to continue to be there, but there are things you can do to change it.”
Copps wrote about her sexual assaults in The Hill Times on Monday.
One incident occurred when she was a 28-year-old MPP, and one of six women in the Ontario legislature.
She and other MPPs were on a parliamentary tour in northern Ontario studying violence against women. After lunch, she and a male MPP stepped off an elevator, she said, and he backed her against the wall.
“He pushed me up against the wall and fondled me, and tried to kiss me,” she said.
She kneed him in the groin, she said, and “he kind of recoiled and backed off, and never tried it again.
“I never reported it. I just felt I’d dealt with it and that was the way it was.”
She also wrote about the incident in her 1986 memoir Nobody’s Baby. She didn’t discuss it with anyone when it happened, she said. And she served on a committee with the MPP for another year.
“I was the only woman in my caucus,” she said. “There wasn’t a safe place to go talk about it.”
The rape occurred more than 30 years ago before she was a politician, she said. Police told her a conviction was unlikely because she knew the person, she said. They just visited him and warned him to keep his distance, she added.
Copps said she stepped forward after tweeting support for former Q host Jian Ghomeshi. She also wrote the article in light of two NDP MPs lodging misconduct complaints against two Liberal MPs, who have been suspended from caucus while an investigation takes place.
Current process 'dangerous for both parties
Parliament lacks the proper process to deal with sexual harassment allegations, Copps said.
She said like to see the Ontario Labour Code overlaid onto the process on Parliament Hill "in the very least."
There’s no current structure for complainants, which “is very dangerous for both parties,” she said.
“It’s not only dangerous for the potential victim; It’s also dangerous for the person who’s been accused because they can basically be suspended from their jobs with absolutely no capacity to do anything about it.”
End Article.
What I find interesting is that Sheila Copps does not name the individual who raped her. After all, what kind of example is she setting for other potential rape victims if she fails to show the courage in accusing the man she claimed who raped her publicly ? And would it not lend credibility to her allegation? After all, if she does not name the individual it really starts to look like she is just looking for some relevancy. I'd like to think that a woman who claims to champion the rights and cause of other woman would do more than offer anecdotal claims that are not substantiated to this point. I hope she finds the courage to name her attacker.
