SACHA Supports LGBQT2SAI+ Defenders

The Sex­u­al Assault Cen­tre (Hamil­ton and Area) is shocked and appalled by the recent events that tran­spired at Hamil­ton Pride.

SACHA is an orga­ni­za­tion that works to chal­lenge social and polit­i­cal struc­tures and sys­tems that con­tribute to the expe­ri­ence of vio­lence, oppres­sion, and exploita­tion of all peo­ple. We see every­day the vio­lence that White suprema­cy, misog­y­ny, LGBTQI2SA+-hatred main­tain and per­pet­u­ate. We know that these struc­tures oper­ate as a per­va­sive under­cur­rent in our society.

In recent weeks its pres­ence has come into razor sharp vis­i­bil­i­ty. Silence is com­plic­i­ty and action must be tak­en. We appre­ci­ate and stand in sol­i­dar­i­ty with all the com­mu­ni­ty groups and indi­vid­u­als who have been stand­ing up against this ris­ing hate in our city.

We are con­cerned that the actions of Hamil­ton Police failed to address the safe­ty of mem­bers of the LGBTQI2SA+ com­mu­ni­ties. In response to the vio­lent actions of White suprema­cists and Neo-Nazis events at Pride, we have seen the Police tar­get and arrest mem­bers of queer com­mu­ni­ties. This, fur­ther cre­ates dis­trust and fear for those who are already mar­gin­al­ized. We are also trou­bled to see com­ments by Police Chief Girt that Hamil­ton Police Ser­vices would have ​“been deployed dif­fer­ent­ly dur­ing the city’s Pride fes­ti­val if they had been wel­comed at the event” (CBC news).

As we strive to fight the forces of vio­lence in Hamil­ton it is impor­tant to hold elect­ed offi­cials account­able when the safe­ty of res­i­dents is threat­ened by Neo-Nazis and White suprema­cists. These are groups that the gov­ern­ment of Cana­da has recent­ly put on Canada’s list of ter­ror­ist enti­ties (Glob­al news). Hamil­ton is known to have one of the high­est hate crimes across the coun­try and it is time we address this issue head on.

We stand with res­i­dents of Hamil­ton from the LGBTQI2SA+ com­mu­ni­ties and call for:

• All com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions to take a stand in sup­port of res­i­dents from LGBTQI2SA+ com­mu­ni­ties fac­ing hate and vio­lence from Neo-Nazis and White supremacists.
• All res­i­dents of Hamil­ton to email their respec­tive City Coun­cil­lors to meet with the LGBTQ Advi­so­ry Com­mit­tee to lis­ten to their con­cerns and what the City can do to ensure their safety.
• Folks who are able to, to donate to amaz­ing com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions like Spe­qtrum who are doing much need­ed and incred­i­ble work with/​for LGBTQI2SA+ youth.

1. We call on the May­or and City Coun­cil to take defin­i­tive action to end the week­ly protests of Yel­low Vests, Proud Boys, Cana­di­an Nation­al­ist Par­ty, Sons of Odin, oth­er White suprema­cist and hate groups and their sup­port­ers out­side City Hall. The pres­ence of these groups cre­ates an unsafe envi­ron­ment for Black, Indige­nous, racial­ized, and oth­er mar­gin­al­ized mem­bers of our com­mu­ni­ties, espe­cial­ly because they have shown them­selves to be vio­lent through their sup­port of and par­tic­i­pa­tion in the attacks dur­ing Pride.
2. We call on the May­or to address the con­cerns that have been raised about the lack of account­able process for select­ing com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers of the Police Ser­vices Board.
3. We call on Hamil­ton Police to imme­di­ate­ly review the arrest of Cedar Hop­per­ton and oth­er Pride supporters.
4. We call on City Coun­cil to increase fund­ing to ser­vices that sup­port LGBTQI2SA+ youth and oth­ers, and facil­i­tate the cre­ation of safe spaces.

We hope you join us as we strive to cre­ate a world free from vio­lence and oppression.

In sol­i­dar­i­ty,

SACHA