London, Ont.'s police chief clarifies comments at sexual assault news conference after backlash
During a news conference on Monday, the London Police Service addressed a long-standing sexual assault case against five former players of the 2018 world junior hockey team.
At the conference, Police Chief Thai Truong said, "How we portray young women and girls on TV, in music videos, how we write about them, all that contributes to sexual violence and the normalization of what we're seeing."
Members of the London community have taken to social media to express their dismay, and said the onus in a sexual assault case should not be on the perception of women, but on a perpetrator's act of violence.
Jennifer Dunn at the London Abused Women's Centre is worried the comment might send the wrong message to a victim or discourage them from coming forward.
"For him to address violence against women is really great," said Dunn. "But we need to remember that what a woman wears does not mean that she's asking for it. So we need to be clear — he needs to be clear — that's not the message he intended to release."
CTV News London sat down with Truong on Wednesday and asked him to elaborate.
The new chief has a background in commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls with a focus on human trafficking.
"Society right now is highly sexualized and because of that, it perpetuates what men and young boys think. So they think it's OK to be dominant…masculine behaviour. This is what perpetuates how they treat young girls and young women," Truong explained. "And it's not right."
It's just one contributing factor in a widespread problem, he added.
King's University College sociologist Jordan Fairbairn agreed.
"When we have men and boys growing up in environments where they are saturated with messages around women and girls not being fully human or being fully equal or having full autonomy over their bodies, you have this chipping away, sort of disillusion of a human person that can be seen as more of an object," said Fairbairn.
Truong said he is not victim blaming, and is worried there's a lack of sensitivity from the public toward victims in sexual assault cases.
"We look at the actions of the young girl or female and we start questioning how they were dressed, what their conduct was, when we should be looking at how was the conduct of that perpetrator — that individual," he said.
As for popular culture's influence on how people view women, Truong said including men in the conversation is paramount.
"We need to make efforts to educate and have real conversations with boys and men right at the early start — that's one way we need to address it," said Truong.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW From yearning for a change to cost of living, why some Canadians have left or may leave the country
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Defence attacks Stormy Daniels' credibility as she returns to the stand in Trump's hush money trial
Stormy Daniels will return to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump's hush money trial as the defence tries to undermine the credibility of the porn actor's salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was paid to keep quiet.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Florida deputies who fatally shot U.S. airman burst into wrong apartment, attorney says
Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man's family said Wednesday.
Air Canada ranks near bottom on customer satisfaction: survey
Air Canada ranks below most other major North American airlines on customer satisfaction, with airfares a particular sore point, according to a new survey.