Advocacy group for sexual misconduct survivors receives 'no answers' from federal leaders

The founder of an advocacy group for survivors of sexual misconduct is speaking out after prominent party leaders dodged questions on their commitments to addressing issues of assault and harassment in the workplace.

In an interview with CTV News, ZeroNow founder Kathleen Finlay expressed her disappointment: "I'm still waiting to hear their response, which is perhaps not surprising, but it is disappointing because I have been hearing the voices of women and survivors all across the country for some time now saying that we need meaningful change."

The ZeroNow Campaign, a survivor-based advocacy group that aims to raise awareness on the issue, sent ten questions to federal leaders on policy proposals like the creation of a new national commissioner pot to investigate misconduct allegations and to prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements for cases of harassment and assaults in the workplace. She has yet to receive a response.

"Women know the difference between platitudes that ... perpetuate the status quo and initiatives that are designed to drive meaningful change ... and sadly, we don't seem to get much more than empty statements from our leaders on these issues," continued Finlay.

The Canadian Armed Forces also struggled to address a 'sexual misconduct crisis,' upon hearing up to 30 drugging-related sexual assaults occurred during orientation week at Western University in London, Ontario.

"It's the same thing over and over again," said Finlay. "The issue with Western is horrific, and to some people, it's probably very shocking, but it's one of the latest in a long string of incidents at colleges and universities in Canada and the United States.

She continues: "Sadly, it's just a terrible example of institutional betrayal where the institution has failed to protest the young students — men and women — who it should be protecting from those kinds of incidents."

Finlay also pointed to allegations of misconduct levied against political candidates as another example of federal leaders falling short when addressing sexual harassment and assault.

The Conservatives dropped their candidate for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, and the Liberal Party withdrew two of their candidates in Ontario over sexual misconduct allegations.

At the English language debate, Green Leader Annamie Paul accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being a "fake feminist."

"These things come up, they grab the headlines for a while, and then everybody goes back on their merry way, and nothing meaningful happens to address them," Finlay said. "And that's why they happen over and over again."

The ZeroNow Campaign website will share the results of the 10-question survey sent to federal leaders if it receives any responses before the national election on September 20.