The Squamish Chief’s “editorial staff” have repeatedly implied that concerns raised about gender-based violence and industrial work forces unfairly target a particular class of men.
This, and the suggestion that those of us concerned about this issue view the “workers as predators,” is misleading and inaccurate.
First, if we want to discuss class, let’s talk about the fact that most people living in poverty are single mothers, with non-white and Indigenous mothers disproportionately represented. There is a direct link between gender-based violence and women’s poverty. We could also talk about the employees [mostly women of colour] who earn close to minimum wage as cleaners and cafeteria staff for camp operators.
Characterizing concerns about gender-based violence linked to industrial projects as classist completely misses the mark.
The intersection of class and gender-based violence has less to do with the perpetrators and more to do with the women and girls targeted as victims of violence. And it is men who are overwhelmingly responsible for perpetrating that violence.
From billionaires like Jeffrey Epstein to police officers like Vancouver’s Jim Fisher or Judge David Ramsay. It has nothing to do with wealth or social status. It has everything to do with gender inequality.
Violence against girls and women is rooted in a system that tolerates, normalizes and trivializes rape and exploitation. A system that requires us to fight the police to preserve evidence and properly investigate murders of sex workers. A system where we rarely see charges proceed for sexual exploitation or rapes of teenage girls, despite the pervasiveness of online and sexual violence that teen girls experience daily.
The Squamish Chief’s last editorial [published July 11, “Editorial: Pssst, Woodfibre LNG and FortisBC workers,"] trivializes this violence too, using what you call “satire” to suggest the women and survivors speaking up about violence are responsible for the so-called “prison camps.” We didn’t invent work camps or floatels, nor did we ask for them. The solutions we are stuck with were driven by the corporations, so look there for someone to blame. Work camps exist because they are cheap, convenient housing options for large work forces.
We asked for impact assessments and solutions that protect everyone’s rights, including the workers—not for workcamps. Ending gender-based violence means changing the system that allows it to fester. This requires stopping business as usual and protecting human rights above corporate profits.
Sue Brown
Justice for Girls
Squamish
