Activists speak out against Toronto Police alleged sexual harassment

Toronto - At a press conference at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, several activists spoke out about their experiences at the detention centre during the weekend of the G20 Summit. Their accounts include sexual harassment, assault and disparaging remarks.

On Thursday, more detainees spoke out at a press conference at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre where they talked about how police officers sexually assaulted them, sexually harassed them and made sexual remarks towards them, according to a press release by the Toronto Community Mobilization Network (TCMN). Thursday’s speakers included Alison Miller, Professor of Women’s Studies and Sociology, Beverly Bain, Counsellor at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, Grissel Orellana and Farrah Miranda of No One Is Illegal. “They (the Police) asked me and other women I was with if we wanted to have sex with them,” said Miller. “We were told to take our clothes off if we wanted to be taken seriously. They made a joke about having a sexual threesome with me and a female officer.” Skylar Radojkovic explained that when a police officer put her against the wall, the officer leaned beside her face and told her she was going to jail where she would “be raped repeatedly.” “[Later in] a separate room, I was strip-searched and called various unprintable names by these officers. When they brought me back, saying that they had found nothing, the detective yelled at me that I was wasting his time. He shoved me face first into a corner of the room and pushed me repeatedly into the wall.” Miranda noted that the Toronto Police force is more interested in “going on an expensive witch-hunt for protesters rather than hold their own accountability for violence.” Miranda added that People’s Investigation will collaborate with Ontario Women’s Justice Network and other groups to look into accounts of police sexual assaults. Digital Journal has reported in the past about the many accusations that were made against the Toronto Police by those who were arrested and detained at the temporary detention centre in the eastern part of the city. Tommy Taylor told Digital Journal about how he “had to beg for water.” Edward Canavan said he had to sit on the concrete floor. Farrah Miranda told a large crowd at the jail solidarity rally of being harassed by undercover snatch-squads. Ben Powless explained that nearly 40 people were put into 8X10 prison cells and “going over 30 hours without any food at all.”