Hamilton shows it is more than a bystander

United stand validates work being done on awareness

Last Monday came a story out of left field that caught everyone by surprise — the short-lived near hiring by the Ticats of Art Briles, a former Baylor University head coach who was fired in the wake of a sexual assault scandal. There was barely a person in all of Hamilton who didn’t hear of the story let alone across Canada and a good portion of the U.S.

Within hours of learning about the hire, Hamiltonians used social media to its fullest potential leading an undeniable united stand that Hamilton is more than a bystander. Even the media said it vastly underestimated the amount of support that was shown and demonstrated for being more than a bystander. It wasn’t just a few — it seemed to be it was everyone!

There were no two sides to this; there was just one message — that violence, sexual assault, abuse, and disrespectful, inappropriate behaviour is 100 per cent unacceptable and that being a part of it in any way is not supported by the Hamilton community.

Thank you, Hamilton. This is the greatest validation we can get for the work that we do every day at Interval House of Hamilton working with women, with or without children, fleeing abuse/ violence, and the work that our MentorAction committee stand up and speak out about. MentorAction is a volunteer committee comprised of men who demonstrate leadership in the Hamilton community. Since 2011, MentorAction has been raising awareness about the role men play in gendered violence and they are breaking the silence.

Our MentorAction committee members have been busy; they engage male leaders in the prevention of gender-based violence against women and children; they have developed resources, tools and supports to help male leaders talk about gender based violence and become role models for redefining masculinity without violence; they consult to ensure our straggles are shared and inclusive.

Last May, Interval House of Hamilton’s MentorAction committee held a conference in Hamilton (the first of its kind in Hamilton) engaging both the private and public sector in strategies to end gender based violence. Speakers came from across Canada and included Dr. M. Bhandari, honorary chair of MentorAction, Tracy Porteous, Ending Violence Association of B.C., and Todd Augusta-Scott among others. It was at this conference that Steve Staios, president and general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs and former NHL player, was invited and immediately stepped up to support and partner the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Be More Than a Bystander campaign in our own Hamilton area.

Following the MentorAction conference IHOH through MentorAction launched the Be More Than a Bystander campaign in Hamilton in November 2016. In the spring of this year we welcomed McMaster Athletics as a partner in the Be More Than a Bystander campaign. The Be More Than a Bystander campaign was originally founded by Tracy Porteous, executive director of Ending Violence Association of B.C. who in partnership with the B.C. Lions launched the first campaign in 2011. The campaign is designed to increase awareness and understanding about the impact of violence against women and girls.

Led through MentorAction, the campaign is a combination of short public service video clips and announcements played on local media outlets, an education program aimed at junior high and high school students, and in-house training for the young male athletes who go to the schools to speak to the students. The athletes use their status and public profile to break the silence on violence against women. The PSAs and in-house discussion show ideas on how to interrupt abusive behaviours, words, actions, and pictures; breaking the silence. Because saying and doing nothing is condoning the inappropriate conduct.

In the words of Jackson Katz, an American educator, filmmaker, and author, abuse against women, girls and boys are not “women’s issues some good men help out with. We need more men who have the courage to stand up and speak out, stand with women.”

Interval House and MentorAction have had an amazing response from the Hamilton community: the Hamilton Bulldogs, Cable 14, CHCH, CHML, TSN, The Hamilton Spectator, McMaster University Department of Athletics — and the public at large. Thank you. Violence against women and girls is not a woman’s issue, it is everyone’s issue and we all must stand up and speak out. Bystanders are anybody who is not a perpetrator or victim.

Thank You Hamilton, for being more than a bystander!