#MeToo needs to be more inclusive of women with disabilities, Montreal group says

As part of the five-year anniversary of the global whistleblowing movement .#MeToo, various community organizations gathered Saturday to denounce the lack of inclusivity and resources available to victims of sexual assault at a news conference at Montreal's Maison des femmes sourdes.

Maude Massicotte is the assistant coordinator of the National Institute for Equity, Equality and Inclusion of People with Disabilities (INEI--PSH) and spoke about the inaccessibility of the #MeToo movement for women with disabilities.

"Although these women are two to three times more likely to be sexually assaulted, they remain absent from Quebec's statistics on sexual violence and do not have access to adapted sexual education," said Massicotte.

The media event was also intended to recognize the hard work of the group 'La voix des jeunes compte', a group of young racialized women between the ages of 11 and 24 who have been mobilizing against sexual violence in Quebec schools for more than five years.

Various organisations, such as the Regroupement québécois des centres d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (RQCALACS), the Réseau pour la paix et l'harmonie sociale and the Mouvement pour des écoles sans violences sexuelles (MESVS), were on hand to testify to the social and governmental inaction in relation to this issue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 15, 2022.