ssues & ideas EDITOR CARLY RHIANNA SMITH THE VOICE, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012 7 Be aware of your sexual security It’s important to be informed about the ways your carnal well-being could be in jeopardy Many knock new disclosure ruling In certain cases, HIV- positive people won't be criminally charged for not disclosing their status By JULES KNOX hen is it OK to keep a secret to yourself? The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Oct. 5 that when an HIV-positive person uses a condom and has a low viral load, they don’t need to disclose their status to their partner. The unanimous decision has re- newed the discussion that seeks to bal- ance the rights of those at risk of infec- tion with the rights of an HIV-positive community that already feels margin- alized. Both sides of the issue have ex- pressed outrage. “IT know the experts are saying that there’s virtually no risk. But I haven’t heard anybody saying that there is zero risk,” said Susan Kensett, a com- munity health nurse at Langara. Prior to the latest decision, a land- mark 1998 ruling required an HIV car- rier to disclose their status if there was a “significant risk of bodily harm.” But it wasn’t clear if wearing a con- dom reduced the risk to a low-enough level. The law was recently reinterpreted to rule that an HIV carrier using a con- dom must also have a low viral load. HIV-positive people who don’t have a low viral load and do not inform their partner of their status may be charged with aggravated sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of life im- prisonment. “Tf you act responsibly and take pre- F] — cautions to protect your partner with a condom, why should you be facing a criminal conviction?” said Cecile Ka- zatchkine, a spokeswoman for the Ca- nadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. She calls the decision a huge step backwards. “Tt flies in the face of public-health messages,” she said Adam Giesbrecht, the queer liaison for Langara Students’ Union, says he is shocked to hear the latest Supreme Court ruling. “It’s a criminal act if you’re not tell- ing someone. What if the condom breaks?” Giesbrecht thinks it’s important to talk about sexual history with a part- ner. “If ’m going to have relations with a person and we can’t talk about serious things that could affect your life, then why are we in a relationship?” i . ADAM GIESBRECHT Queer liaison for Langara College It’s a crim- inal act if you’re not telling someone. What if the condom breaks? KATJA DE BOCK photo People banded together at the 2011 Vancouver SlutWalk to protest the notion that how a woman dresses determines if she will be raped. Feminists rejuvenate anti-rape movement After years of being told “no means no,” some femi- nists are now saying that isn’t enough to protect potential victims of rape. By KATJA DE BOCK omen are challenging tradi- Wes attitudes toward rape because sexual assault is still a serious concern. Past anti-rape slogans like “no means no” may not have been effective, so feminists have redefined a new ver- sion, “yes means yes.” “Yes means yes is more like a clear and constant yes. It’s a little more [sex- ually] empowering,” said Jessica Smith, co-organizer of SlutWalk Van- couver. “Women do like sex and want to have sex and that’s totally cool!” The Criminal Code of Canada says that mutual, conscious consent is need- ed before sex. «“ According to the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia, there are over 1,000 physical or sexual as- saults against women every week in B.C. Over 90 per cent of rapists are male. “We still live in a world where in general, the face of power is male. Sex- ism is alive and well,” said Nancy Pol- lak, women’s studies instructor at Lan- gara. “Where ever I go and however I dress, no means no and yes means yes” was a slogan of the Take Back the Night movement. In the 1970s, demon- strators marched the streets and held candlelight vigils to protest violence against women. Pollak said this was sort of an old version of SlutWalk. SlutWalk started in 2011, after Con- stable Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto police representative, said “women should avoid dressing like sluts” to pro- tect themselves from rape. Thousands of women and men marched the streets in provocative outfits to protest this at- titude of victim blaming. Some reluctantly agree with him. “It shouldn’t happen, but if you dress pro- vocatively, you gain that attention, whether you like it or not,” said Langa- ra transfer student Corbin Lowe. Smith appeals to men to be allies. “Tt’s the job of every man and woman to fight inequalities and the rape culture,” she said. “No woman ever wants to be raped,” said Pollak On campus harassment a hidden problem Certain groups at Langara are targets of assault, often don’t report incidents By STEVEN CHUA women” and transgender stu- dents is an invisible problem in Langara College. Langara Students’ Union liaisons say people under-report insults and in- timidation towards these groups. Gunkirat Rhandawa, the LSU wom- en’s liaison for the past year, says she hears about people insulting “plus-size women,” but doesn’t receive com- plaints. “They do see something going on, but nothing comes to me, unfortunate- ly,” she says. Langara students have seen it hap- pen. Heather Helevang, a second-year business student at Langara, saw that “guys would make comments” towards “fairly overweight” girls. A more dramatic problem faces LG- BTQ members. People discriminate against the col- lege’s transgender community, says Andy Sandberg, LSU queer liaison for the past year. Sandberg says some transgender students encounter people “shouting, demanding that they leave, challenging [their] gender” in washrooms. In the past year, five people ap- proached Sandberg about the problem. Nancy Pollak, a Langara women’s studies instructor, says issues are un- der-reported because what constitutes harassment is hazy. “Yowre not going to find statistics on it,” says Pollak. “There’s a tremendous confusion between playful behaviour and harassment.” Langara human rights co-ordinator Linda Sum says she’s received one ha- rassment complaint this year. She couldn’t give details due to pri- vacy issues. “We don’t get a lot of complaints that are processed here, which, you know is not to say there aren’t issues,” she says. Langara’s 2011 human rights office report stated two complaints were made that year. One was based on sexual orienta- tion, another on sexual harassment. On the other hand, Langara security says previous partners are the prob- lem. Security is usually called when wom- en feel threatened by former partners, Langara safety and security manager Dan Krefting says. Krefting says that between April and June this year, 36 security investiga- tions have been conducted. He could not specify how many were harassment cases. There are ways people are fighting back against these problems. Sandberg is trying to desegregate washrooms, making it harder to single out and intimidate transgender stu- dents. Langara is partnering with the non- profit social justice organization Mosa- ic to develop a theatre empowerment program. It will encourage women to share experiences of harassment and discrimination by re-enacting their sto- ries. Details will posted on the Mosaic website. Hee”: targeting “plus-size