Dr. Ramona Alaggia: #MeToo, Stigma and Sexual Violence Disclosure

Dr. Ramona Alaggia is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto where she is deeply engaged in examining gender based violence issues from the standpoint of survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual violence and intimate partner violence. She is an international speaker and her research contributes to developing anti-discriminatory policies and practices for people living with and disclosing gender based violence. Ramona is currently running a large scale study on the impact of the #MeToo movement on gender based violence disclosures in Canada. The 3rd edition of her co-edited book "Cruel But Not Unusual: Violence in Relationships and Families in Canada" will be released in 2020.

In this episode we talk about stigma around sexual violence and how this impacts sexual violence disclosure experiences (and decisions of whether or not to disclose). Ramona provides examples of helpful, and less helpful, responses to sexual violence disclosures. We talk about the intersectional impacts of stigma on who is believed (and who is not) in disclosing sexual violence. Ramona discusses the history of the #MeToo movement, trauma-informed approaches to disclosure, and the need to change public perception (including media) portrayals of sexual violence survivors. 

Episode hosted by Dr. Carmen Logie. Original music and podcast produced by Cozmic Cat. Supported by funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada Research Chairs program. 

Informational resources on violence can be found below:

Assaulted Women’s Helpline (national); 1-866-863-7868; www.awhl.org

Toronto Rape Crisis Centre; 24-hour crisis line: 416-597-8808; crisis@trccmwar.ca

Kids Help Phone (national): Text 686868; 1-800-668-6868

Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre; Women’s College Hospital, 76 Grenville St., Toronto Room 1305; 416-323-6040

Distress Centres of Greater Toronto; www.dcogt.com; (416) 408-HELP (4357)