Now that this year’s Take Back the Night marches are over, organizers are turning their attention to what they call “Next Shift”.
Julie Nobert Demarchi from Timmins and Area Women in Crisis says it’s aimed at young men.
“And really, it’s about acknowledging that as much as we do, a lot of the work is after the fact,” she mentions. “And what we really need to be doing is engaging boys and young men before the harm happens.”
Nobert Demarchi says it’s not about blame: it’s about progress.
She says that historically, boys have been raised to be tough, not show emotion and have control. It’s a question of how to prevent any woman from becoming a survivor in the first place.
“Recognizing the harm that’s been done, taking accountability and responsibility and really forming them to be better leaders going forward.”
Work is beginning to stage a conference featuring male speakers. Nobert Demarchi calls it a youth engagement summit with boys in Grades 7 through 10.
