The bravery of the every day

The last 24 hours have featured -- as usual -- media coverage on violence against women, it being the anniversary of the "Montreal Massacre." And activists have, for many years, argued that part of the problem is silence. Which is why I'm starting to lose my patience with the court- and media-mandated requirement that women (and the fewer men) who file sexual assault charges cannot -- must not -- be named.

No one even thinks about it anymore: No names is the norm. (The Federation Professionelle des Journalistes du Quebec requires it, for example -- just because. No discussion.) There was a time when this protection of women was justified. But now, the only thing that publication bans do is reinforce the idea that there is something shameful here -- and I'm not talking about the perpetrators, but that there is still something shameful about being a victim. Silence has become institutionalized, and it's reinforcing the very victimization it was intended to combat in the first place.

I hope that Natalie Simard will show the way. She is the Quebec child star who, now an adult, filed criminal charges and a civil lawsuit against her manager, Guy Cloutier, for repeatedly raping her as a teenager. After the case was over, Simard went public.

Her revelations were met with enormous support and interest. Simard's book is selling well, and money is flowing into her foundation. She's mobbed during public appearances by other victims of childhood sexual assault and well-wishers, all of them thanking her for coming forward.

Simard, by the way, was not the only person to go to the police; a second victim was also involved in this case, one whose identity remains hidden. Sort of. That's another problem with identification bans: they're actually bans on regular people knowing what's up, a way of separating out members of society into the "knows" and the "know nots." The elite -- media types, politicians, high falutin' business folks with gossipy connections, they all have the scoop. In short, I know who the second person is, but you can't. Loser! But that's another discussion.

This is about Nathalie Simard. Her experience shows us that the time for secrecy is at an end. That there is a thirst for plain-spoken truth. Rape is a reality. Fighting back is something all women can do: it's an every day heroism that needs to be seen as such.