A local sexual assault survivor and activist held up a sign in the council chambers last night that read 'Your silence speaks volumes' and wore a shirt that said 'Rape culture lives here.'
Heather Friesen began to speaking during the regular council meeting but was stopped by Mayor Colin Basran.
“Ma’am if you could please be quiet, that would be appreciated,” said Basran.
“Just like you?” Friesen responded.
One of her signs said 645 rapes occurred in Kelowna in 2018 and only 88 were reported, according to statistics.
“It's because no one trusts the Kelowna RCMP to report. That's rape culture and the fact that the city council of Kelowna doesn't say anything about this is rape culture and I’m tired of the silence,” said Friesen.
The city came under fire last year after Am1150 News revealed 40 per cent of sexual assaults reported to police in 2017 and 2018 were deemed “unfounded.”
This ultimately led to an internal review, which has been in the hands of the local RCMP detachment for over a month now.
In a January 23rd press release, Constable Solana Pare said they had completed the review and were going through the findings. Pare said an update would be provided in a few weeks when they have a full understanding of the results.
Friesen says she wants council to acknowledge the unfounded cases and she will continue to show up until they do.
“It’s the fact that city council absolutely refuses to say anything. Why aren't they asking for the Kelowna RCMP to give us the review?” Friesen said.
When asked, Mayor Colin Basran said he doesn’t know when the report will be released but that he would like to know the reports’ findings and that he will request the results.
“Like anything there's a due process and so we're just waiting for that process to be followed. We know that it's going to be forth coming and we will await the findings and then we will take a course of action after that.”
He added that if the report recommends a Sexual Assault Unit in Kelowna, he would try to make that happen.
Friesen says multiple councillors have met with her and expressed their support but have yet to speak out publicly.
She did not name those councillors.
“It's the ones that hashtag BellLet'sTalk. Well, Bell Let's Talk is: the root of mental health is trauma for a lot of us. What good is it to talk about mental health if you don't talk about trauma and trauma for a lot of people is rape?”
Friesen wants the RCMP’s 'unfounded' sexual assault review released and to have a public meeting with the RCMP superintendent, the Mayor and the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry society, a local organization that works with and for females in the justice system.
Friesen says Mayor Basran hasn't answered any of her emails asking to meet.
Following the council meeting, Basran denied Friesen had made any formal request.