Sexual assault and harassment remain pervasive in Canadian society. Harassment happens when women are the object of lewd comments and jokes that attack her person or are intended to shame her. Assault involves unwanted touching or physical attacks against women.
In a 2014 poll, it has been shown that over 43% of women have been harassed in the workplace. While there are policies at work to limit incidences of sexual assault and harassment, these crimes are a product of cultural and domestic upbringing.
There are cases where people do not speak up about assault or harassment. Flight or fight responses are the usual response in these cases but another response to fear is freezing. As such, there are women who cannot speak up or report about what happened to them. They also fear losing their security at home because they will be ostracized for going against male authority.
Closet Feminist is here to provide a safe haven for women and girls who have gone through this ordeal.
