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Hey Canada! Get Out of My Reproductive System!
Update: April 26 3:11 pm: PM Harper has told CBC new that he will not be supporting this motion brought forth to reopen the debate on when life begins. He says that he can’t stop the motion from being tabled, but that he will not be voting in favour of it. According to CBC this will go up for vote either in June, or September. Let your MP know that it is unacceptable for them to be making decisions about your reproductive system! Thursday April 26 9:00 am: The Liberal party of Canada has started a petition to tell the Harper government to keep their hands off our reproductive rights. __________ According to CBC a motion has been put forth by a conservative MP, Stephen Woodworth, wanting to reopen 
the debate on when life begins. Despite Harper saying numerous times that his government would not reopen the debate. The government is allowing this one hour of debate in the house of commons tomorrow then it will head to the bottom of the pile. Once they come back around it will be allowed another hour of debate. This is a slippery slope to say the least. Right now the US is in a contraceptive debate of its own. The personhood movement has been strong in the US prompting huge political figures to back motions that would not only make abortions illegal, but also make some birth control illegal. Now personhood has a Canadian counterpart found here . This is some scary stuff. Every time I turn around, some old white guy is trying to legislate my body. Some MPs are saying they want to consult their constituents before doing anything. Others are calling for all parties to allow for free “conscience” votes. So I urge everyone to contact your MPs and stand up for a woman’s reproductive rights. MP Jason Kenney was among those that told CBC he would be consulting his constituents today. Well Mr. Kenney I am one of those, and I urge you to do what your government said it would and not reopen this. My reproductive system is my own. A woman’s body is her own. And frankly I believe that people need to make their own moral choices, and the government needs to stay out of it. If this government is true to its word it will shut this down. “we will not be reopening this debate”- PM Harper This is one debate I’m going to be watching closely. I just can’t help but wonder why it is that old white men keep trying to get all up in my reproductive system.
AB Law Enforcement, and Other Emergency Workers, Should be Partially Subject to Distracted Driving Laws
So, since this distracted driving law came into effect in Alberta I have been watching emergency workers. What I have 
noticed is that police still use their cell phones frequently while on the road. Yes, I am aware that under the new Alberta law emergency personal have an exemption. Last Aug Calgary’s chief of police told media in Calgary that police officers are exempt because they use the equipment for work and have advanced driver training. While, as of yesterday I would tend to agree with the chief today I have decided that this is a weak argument.
I was sitting in a study room exchanging stories with other students about the dumbass things we see people do behind the wheel, you know it seemed more fun then studying. One of the girls made a comment about how she doesn’t understand why emergency personal are not exempt from the law. After a bit of conversation one of the women, who’s husband happens to be a police officer, stated (to my surprise) that it is a bunch of crap that they are not exempt and there is no reason why police officers, and other emergency personal can’t use blue tooth in their vehicles.
I think she may be onto something here. I understand that police need to be able to dial their phones, even when they are behind the wheel (if they are not on duty with a partner). But I am curious why law enforcement officials, who claim that texting, or talking while driving is extremely dangerous, are not utilizing the technology available to them to keep their workers from being distracted, and by extension keep us all, and our roads, safer.
What does everyone else think? Should cities, the government, and policing organizations do everything possible to ensure our emergency workers are going hands free?
Don’t Be That Guy Campaign Comes to Calgary
Finally! A campaign that focuses on the perpetrator instead of the victim. In November of 2010 Edmonton 
launched the first Don’t be that Guy Campaign. Now Calgary is following in their footsteps and is launching it here. This week you’ll start to notice some in your face posters, such as the one to the left, on CTrains, buses, in nightclub, and in the universities. The posters are mostly targeting men, and will appear in nightclub and university washrooms, as well as other high traffic sites around town.
The DBTGC is being launched by the ‘Sexual Assault Voices of Calgary’. An organization that seeks to change societal thinking: “We are looking at societal change here, it’s important to remember this is not just a police initiative, this involves so many different organizations” says detective Paul Wyatt of the Calgary Police Service’s Sex Crimes Unit. The partners he is refering to includes: Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services, Alberta Health Service, Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, Calgary Police Service, Calgary Sexual Health Centre, Canadian Red Cross, Connect Family and Sexual Abuse Network and HomeFront.
The in your face campaign is aimed at Men, 18-24, in order to not only take the onus off the victim but bring men into the conversation about sexual assault. The message that this campaign is trying to get across is clear: “if someone is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs they cannot give consent, and sex without consent is sexual assault.” Police Chief Rick Hanson hopes to push the message home as well “You can no longer hide behind the mistaken belief that it’s okay to use drugs or alcohol,as an excuse, or think because a woman did not give you a ‘no’ answer, that it means ‘yes’.”
On every poster the message ” Sex Without Consent = Sexual assault” appears at the bottom. The SAV website also pushes the message that if you have sex without consent, it’s sexual assault:
” sexual assault is any form of sexual activity forced on someone else without that person’s consent. Force can be physical, or through the use of threats, bullying, manipulation, alcohol/drugs or harassment. Any unwanted sexual activity–including kissing, touching, groping, flashing, oral sex, intercourse, photographing, etc.–under ANY circumstances is sexual assault.”
The website includes a section that talks about what consent is and what consent is not. For example, it reads: “Consent is simple. Just ask.” and in contrast to that reads: “Consent is not obtained if the person changes her/his mind. And a person can change his or her mind at ANY time.”
The campaign is meant to change the minds of men, reminding them that the fight against sexual assault involves them as well, and if they see it they too need to step up and say something. “This is a multi-scale approach, not only do we want to get the message out there 
that it’s never the victims fault, you weren’t in the wrong place, you weren’t drinking too much, you weren’t dressed the wrong way. But we want to target those men to tell them that this behaviour is not acceptable. We also want to target the men who are with them. Those who can stand up to their friends and remind them if you do this you are going to go to jail” says Wyatt. Reminding us that this is a community effort. If we see something we need to stand up against it, and once and for all shake this idea that somehow a women brought on her assault because she was wearing a short skirt and high heels.
We put the onus on the victim too much in our community today, sending the message to perpetrators that it is OK, as a result causing more damage to the victim. As a victim of assault I know that we begin to internalize these feelings. You start to feel that maybe it really is your fault, maybe if you hadn’t had that one extra drink, or worn that short skirt, or walked down that dark street alone, or in my case rollerbladed down that dark pathway, it wouldn’t have happened to us. But it does happen to us. “As a community, it is important for us to stand together and say this type of behaviour is not acceptable and the consequences are too great.” says Laurie Blahitka, of Alberta Health Services.
Not only is this a message about consent, consequences, and victim blaming, it’s also a way to bring men into the conversation. It’s about making men part of the solution too. This is so important because if we remain divided, we’ll never win. As a victim, and an advocate I am so glad to see that people are finally starting to realize it’s going to take the cooperation of all kinds of organizations and people to start changing the minds of society.
I will leave you with a great quote from the SAVCalgary website :
If we keep thinking about the sexual abuses and sexual assaults committed by men as a ‘women’s issue’, we’re not going to do much about truly preventing that violence. The women you care about–and your kids–should live and grow up in a society where male violence against women is not acceptable. Not legally, not morally, not socially.
What Does Calgary Want From CPS Using Social Media?
Today was the Twitter chat hosted by the Calgary Police Service. While some people took the chance to tell the Calgary Police how much 
they disliked everything they do all the time, most took the opportunity to engage with Calgary police in a constructive manner making some excellent suggestions on how to utilize social media. The first question asked by CPS was what social media should be used. Overwhelmingly people wanted them to use both Facebook and Twitter. The conversation seemed to just take off from there.
People all seem to agree they want updates on Twitter from the CPS on such things as: Amber Alerts, dangerous offender alerts, Updated information, fun facts, safety tips, question answering, and crime prevention tips etc.
I tend to agree with those who want updates from the CPS fast. Twitter would be perfect for this. At one point they sited FOIP as an issue but I think they may have misunderstood what people want. CPS already releases dangerous offender information, Amber alerts, and often asks the public to help them locate perps, such as Calvin Kroger last week,
via the media but often we never get any updates after this. For example, I had to tweet and ask CPS if they were still looking for Mr. Kroger or if he was captured. It would be great if they could update the public via Twitter on such situations.
The only thing people seemed to disagree on was whether or not the CPS should have one Twitter account or two. I tend to side with those who suggested two accounts. One for alerts and updates and one for fun facts, questions and safety tips. This is because what I want out of a CPS Twitter account is information. I want to know about amber alerts, about dangerous offenders, and news and requests they need to release to the public. I don’t really care about ‘fun facts’ and I don’t need safety tips from the CPS. I know that walking down a dark ally at 11pm at night with ear buds in is considered unsafe.
Facebook is better for more detailed information. As I said earlier in the week it really should be used to promote the department. And generally Cagarians seemed to agree on that. You would want to post less then Twitter but often. The last time 
something (before the last couple days) was posted on Facebook by the CPS was back in May. Everyone seemed to agree they need to commit to posting more frequently. Information on programs such as About Face, MASST, and Gateway would also be suitable for Facebook. Or perhaps budget information, random reminders about laws everyone seems to forget.
This is an outlet they can use to post information on upcoming events, things they have done in the community, and to post pictures. Most people who thought expanding to Facebook might be useful all agree the most use for Facebook is building that stronger relationship with the community. The topic of multiple Facebook accounts came up here to. All I can say to this is it’s a bad idea. Facebook has a different set up then Twitter so it wouldn’t be as confusing if you post all different kinds of things on your Facebook account. Keep it simple, keep it to one account.
Though, most people who participated in the Twitter chat seemed to be indifferent to Facebook and think it unnecessary. It’ll be interesting to see how the Facebook chat goes next week. Will Facebook users think Twitter is an unnecessary form of social media?
People were also expressing who they would like to see actually monitoring the social media accounts. Some people were indifferent, others were adamant about wanting a uniform officer monitoring 24/7. Personally, I don’t think a uniform officer would be necessary all you really need is a person who is knowledgeable enough and can post the alerts, fun facts, or whatever else is needed. I don’t know how constructive it would be to have a uniform police officer manning Twitter. I am also not sure how a police officer would feel about having to man a Twitter account. However, that idea brings me to the next topic of conversation. Blogs.
Blogs came in second to Facebook and Twitter. I think blogs could be utilized to get that extra personal touch people are looking for from police officers that may not be possible on Twitter or Facebook. 
Officers could blog about experiences, answer questions, or just blog about a community event that they were involved in. They could put up a blog from the Chief of Police, or officer bios (as one person suggested). I think this is a much better way to give people what they are looking for from actual police officers via social media without perhaps wasting their abilities sitting on Twitter for 6 or 8 hours a day.
However some suggestions were just plain unrealistic, though I do understand why some would want such things. Some people wanted crime statistics (that are readily avaliable via stats Canada or the CPS website I might add), while others wanted online reporting via Twitter. The CPS website already provides for online reporting that really is sufficient enough, plus there is more room for detailed information. If it is something that needs to be dealt with immediately you should be calling 911 (that said I would love to see a texting system set up with 911- but that’s an entirely different issue). Even more people wanted real time traffic reports. I really hope the CPS decides against utilizing twitter to give us traffic updates, I can get that from 660 or QR77 updates. However, The most unrealistic of all was the expectation that the Police should be posting real time locations and crime in progress. I think this would be a bad idea for obvious reasons. The biggest of course is that you don’t want a bunch of people to flock to a crime in progress. The police would already be trying to deal with that situation, they don’t need a crowd control situation on their hands as well.
Users agreed that regardless of what the CPS decide to use social media for they need to have a presence on it. Once they decide they are going to use it they do need to be posting often and posting relevant information. One thing is for sure, Calgarians overwhelming appreciate everything the Calgary police do and are trying to do in regards to social media and loved the opportunity to chat with them today. They also hope that the use of social media will provide some understanding on their part about exactly what the Calgary police face everyday and also perhaps add some police accountability to the mix while building even stronger ties to the greater Calgary community.
On Thursday Sept 8 the CPS will be having a Facebook chat that will be similar to the Twitter Chat. It will take place between 11:30-1pm.
CPS Looks To Calgarians for Social Media Suggestions
Last week the Calgary Police announced it would be hosting a Twitter chat on Tuesday Aug 30 where they would be taking suggestions from the public on what they would like to see the Calgary police utilize social media for. When I first heard about this a few days ago I was very excited. I had just told a friend of mine a few weeks ago that I wasn’t sure why the Calgary Police even had social media accounts as they hardly used them at all. The last real post on Facebook is from May 2011 (with the exception of one photo and the twitter chat announcement this week) and the twitter account is not utilized to its full potential. So I thought I would take this opportunity to express what I think the Calgary police should be doing to maximize the use of tools such as social media.
The first thing that they need to do is realize that Twitter and Facebook are very different and need to be used for different things otherwise they won’t get very far because people will unfollow them or block their comments on Facebook if they post too much content and if they don’t post enough on Twitter people will forget about them and not follow them. Twitter is instantaneous so what they need to be doing there is issuing alerts and updates to those alerts. Example, last week the CPS asked for the public’s help in locating Calvin Kroger (a sexual predator who violated probation) but we haven’t heard anything about it since. By utilizing twitter the CPS could alert the public once this person has been caught. But as of right now there really is no other follow up until we happen to see it on the news weeks later. By using Twitter in such a way they can update the public “CPS still looking for Offender X (link story and information)” or “Thanks for all the information offender X was apprehended this afternoon” .
A second way Twitter could be utilized would be to interact with the public in real time. This could be during public events or festivals- police could advice road closures they have had to make as a result or announce crowd related problems. Police could also use it to warn the public about an intersection to avoid because of an accident. It could also be used to answer quick questions that the public may have for CPS, such as a quick question about say the new Alberta Distraction law coming into effect.
In other words twitter is the fastest way the CPS can distribute press releases, amber alerts, road closings, and suspect descriptions that they have at their disposal and they should make use of it. 7 days a week. The idea is if there is information that the public needs now it should be sent out via twitter, that way the public doesn’t need to wait until a news source picks it up and posts it on twitter. It should be clear to the public exactly what the account is for and maintained as such.
Facebook on the other hand is a tool in which the Calgary police service could better use to build an even closer connection with the community and promote themselves. Facebook has a more of a blog feel then Twitter does and can be used for different types of things. They should be committing to posting once a day (not once every 4 months). They can use it to: post about events they will be taking part in, post pictures of officers participating in different activities, release a
message from the chief, post pictures of the chief at different community events, or answer questions from the public. They should also be allowing the public to post on their wall in order to allow interaction. As of right now their wall is disabled. If they have someone monitoring Facebook there is no reason why they shouldn’t have the wall enabled. They could also use Facebook to inform the public on different types of programs that the CPS have. For example, a lot of people I know have no idea what the MASST, About Face, or YARD programs are that the CPS run for troubled youth.
I think Facebook and Twitter is where the CPS should start with their social media plan however in the future I don’t see why they couldn’t or shouldn’t look into the world of blogging.
By making a social media plan for Twitter and Facebook the accounts would be more organized and the public would know what exactly it is being used for and not only expect that but they are more likely to interact with the tools themselves. In other words if the accounts are consistent and people know they are there, they will take note of them.
Is this a perfect plan? Probably not but I think it’s the start of being able to become better connected with the community at large. I can’t wait to see what others will suggest tomorrow, and I am ecstatic that the CPS have decided to explore using the tool of social media to make their department more efficient.
