Warning: This story has details about alleged sexual assaults.
One of the women who has accused a former Victoria bar worker of rape says she’s ready to make her voice heard.
She has started organizing protests outside the Yates Street bars and restaurants associated with the man at the centre of at least a dozen allegations from local women.
On Tuesday, about 30 to 40 people gathered to show support for survivors of sexual assault and to call for the former bartender’s arrest.
A woman with a megaphone led the group in chants of “Rape will not be tolerated,” “No means no,” and “End rape culture.”
People carried signs showing support for survivors as the group travelled from a closed Chuck’s Burger Bar to JR Slims and El Furniture Warehouse.
The woman, who asked that her name not be used so as not to jeopardize the case, organized the demonstration and said she plans to protest regularly until the man is arrested. “I am ready to be heard, and if nobody is going to listen, I’m going to make them listen.”
She is reporting her experience to Victoria police, who have encouraged anyone with information to report to police, the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, a doctor, or a counsellor — in any way that makes them comfortable.
She said she knew the former employee only a little, but he sometimes gave her and her friends free drinks. On a night out to Chuck’s Burger Bar with a friend a couple of weeks ago, she said the man, who was working at the time, was feeding her and her friend tequila shots. After the bar closed at 10 p.m., the two young women were alone with the man, she said.
“And then, as far as I know, I woke up in the apartment,” she said.
The next thing she remembers is being in a shower in the apartment, where she slipped and hit her head. She said a different man held her down and raped her. She said she blacked out and then woke up with both men on top of her.
“I had continuously said stop, and they weren’t stopping.”
She went to the hospital the next morning and had a concussion diagnosed.
The woman said she reported the experience to the sexual assault response team at the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre. She said she was afraid to report to police because she didn’t know there were so many others with similar experiences and she feared the man would retaliate against her, she said.
She is one of a dozen people who initially told their stories anonymously through an Instagram account, Survivors Stories Project. After seeing others post about experiences with the same man, she wanted to speak up.
Sequoia Fraser said her story was the first on the Instagram page and it sparked others to come forward. She said she met the man briefly in April at a friend’s house, but she got sick and went to bed early.
“I woke up with him beside me and him touching me. I instantly started pushing him off me. He started trying to force himself on me,” she said.
Fraser said she didn’t think about telling her story, but when she started to hear women warning others to avoid the man, she wanted to speak up.
“I’m not scared anymore,” she said.
Another woman, who did not want to be identified, said she ended up in the man’s apartment after a night at Chuck’s Burger Bar about three weeks ago, but she doesn’t remember how she got there or what happened in the apartment.
She said she pressed the man the next day on what happened, and he said they had had sex and she was coherent.
“I don’t see how I could be coherent if I don’t remember a single thing for three hours,” she said.
When a friend sent her the posts on Survivors Stories Project, she was shocked to read similar stories from others.
That encouraged her to post her own.
“It’s scary coming forward. It’s scary to tell your story,” she said. “If it’s something that you’re considering, do what’s comfortable with you.”
None of the allegations has been tested in court.
Elijah Zimmerman, executive director of the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, said it’s not surprising that the allegations first surfaced on social media, because going through the criminal justice system can be retraumatizing and rarely results in the outcome survivors are hoping for.
Zimmerman said data indicates only about 10 per cent of sexual assault survivors report to police.
Survivors of sexual assault have also found that posting their stories on social media is an effective way to put public pressure on businesses associated with someone accused, he said.
“People can see a more immediate action being taken than the criminal justice system taking quite a long time,” Zimmerman said.
Posting on social media also allows survivors to connect and form a community with others who can understand their experience, he said.
Officers with the special victims unit are investigating, and Victoria police said many people have come forward with information that requires time and significant resources.
Chuck’s Burger Bar said in a statement last week the man had been fired and it is conducting an investigation into the allegations.
JR Slims and the Monkey Tree Pub have also said the man worked at those establishments and that they’re not aware of any allegations related to his employment with them.
Anyone in need of support can contact the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre at 250-383-3232 or access@vsac.ca.
regan-elliott@timescolonist.com
