In 2021, a hashtag started on social-media platform, TikTok, warning women of an apparent “National Rape Day” on April 24, urging women to stay home and, in some cases, to arm themselves in self-defence.
“If you’re ever attacked, take a piece of them with you,” one user advised, according to a report by Vice Media.
Users were convinced women were in danger after a threatening video had apparently been shared on the popular social-media platform. Hundreds of reaction videos, amassing millions of views, quickly piled up.
The only issue? No such video seems to exist.
Two years later, and the viral hoax is still making waves among youth, according to local police.
“The hoax has resurfaced on TikTok among youth and the Sea to Sky RCMP are bringing awareness to it for parents/guardians to have conversations with their youth on the topic,” read an RCMP release Tuesday, April 11.
Sea to Sky RCMP went on to encourage the reporting of “all incidents of sexual assault to police,” with several options for reporting, including calling 911 for emergencies, attending a police station in person, or calling the non-emergency line at 604-932-3044.
Locally, the Howe Sound Women’s Centre (HSWC) is also set up for third-party reporting in the Sea to Sky through the Traverse Project, which allows those 14 and over to report anonymously to police via a trained support worker. The Traverse Project’s response team can be reached by call or text at 604-389-9168.
Forensic sexual assault exams are also available in Whistler and Squamish 24/7, an initiative that was established in 2020. Previous to that, the exams were only available during business hours Monday through Friday at the Squamish General Hospital.
In 2021, the HSWC also helped realize two long-held visions for Whistler: establishing a temporary, emergency safe house, using unoccupied short-term rentals and hotel rooms; as well as affordable, second-stage housing in the form of a Whistler townhouse for women and gender non-confirming individuals fleeing gender-based violence. That’s in addition to the existing transition house in Squamish, which accepts individuals from across the corridor and can house up to seven people at a time, along with a safe house in Pemberton, which can house a small family.
For more information, visit hswc.ca.
In its release, the RCMP highlighted The White Hatter, an internet safety and digital literacy program that has “turned this hoax into a teachable moment,” police said. Learn more at thewhitehatter.ca.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise public awareness and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. Between April 16 and 22, the Whistler RCMP detachment will be collecting women’s toiletries, gas and grocery cards, and bus tickets to assist women who have suffered domestic and gender-based violence, police said. Donation bins will be placed at the detachment, located at 4315 Blackcomb Way in the village, and the donations will be passed on to the HSWC.
That same week, the HSWC will also be hanging a clothesline at the Whistler Public Library in recognition of The Clothesline Project, “a public display bearing witness to violence against women,” according to the HSWC’s website. Each shirt hung on the line is marked with words or art aimed at increasing awareness of the impact of violence against women and providing an outlet for survivors to “break the silence that often surrounds the experience.”
Business owners interested in displaying any of the clothes are asked to contact the HSWC, which can be reached at 604-962-8711.
