[Boreal]

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/h...itivity-expert

“This is becoming a hot topic — needless to say — among women’s groups around North America, battered women’s organizations, sexual-assault centres, rape-crisis centres,” he added. “This example is being tied to what people in the field refer to as a rape culture in excuses for these sexually abusive men. We know that in many professional sports this is ubiquitous.”

“It is a big deal,” DeKeseredy said. “The damage that’s done is very, very significant. This woman’s decimated … she’s the one who’s going to pay the price. She will likely face major challenges getting jobs, she’s going to have long-term trauma. These images never disappear … they never disappear. They stay up there for life. There are people who are driven to suicide because of this. So this is very, very serious stuff.

“People like myself argue that it exists on a continuum of sexual violence, ranging from non-physical acts to physical ones like forced penetration. This is a form of digital violence. People like myself define this as violence. Psychological abuse can be far more damaging than acts of physical violence and we have a substantial body of research that supports that.

“The sexual abuse is not about this man’s pleasure,” DeKeseredy added. “It’s about status among his peers. This is what I found in my research … I call it male peer support. Most of the men like him who do these type of things belong to peer groups. That’s why I’m worried about these hockey teams. They belong to peer groups that place a very high price on sexual conquest. Members of these peer groups feel that they’re not getting as much sex as their friends say they are and they’re more prone to engaging in behaviours like Logan engaged in. If I was to testify in court, I would be saying that him displaying this to his friends was about his status among them at her expense. That his peers did not do anything about it, nor his coach, tells you something, doesn’t it?”

DeKeseredy said he would love to speak with Canadiens owner/president Geoff Molson to enlighten him on sexual violence.

“It reflects a deep insensitivity … I just can’t understand this,” DeKeseredy said about the decision to draft Mailloux. “The city of Montreal is still reeling from the Dec. 6, 1989 massacre (in which 14 women were murdered at the École Polytechnique). The Habs, I’ve noticed, have more female fans than most other hockey teams. Certainly they’re going to be deeply upset by this. This is indeed a slap in the face. I would also say to Geoff Molson to issue a public apology and to not sign this player. I realize young people do things in regret, but did they really have to pick this person?