Graffiti scrawled on a northwest London bridge structure directs hate at women in the community

As organizers prepare to Take Back the Night, advocacy groups are dealing with disturbing messages towards women. CTV London’s Gerry Dewan explains.

As local advocacy groups prepared for the Take Back the Night events in London they were once again dealing with hate directed at women.

Messages were scrawled on the bridge and sidewalk along Fanshawe Park Road West, east of Wonderland Road.

At one location a message said, ‘kill women’. Another along the bridge, facing the roadway said, ‘females should be hung.’ A third, on the sidewalk, said, ‘F**k the W**res.’

The graffiti was first reported around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) executive director Jenn Dunn worries about those impacted by the hateful graffiti.

“It has a major impact, especially on those who have been subjected to violence,” said Dunn.

“What it brings up, whether it’s memories of what they’ve been subjected to. And you know what? It’s going to even be hurtful to women who have never been subjected to violence because it feels like a targeted attack.”

While the graffiti was cleaned up shortly after it was identified, Dunn said it’s an example of how misogynistic hate speech continues to exist in our community and needs to be addressed.

It’s been more than five years since a Take Back the Night gathering and march has taken place in London.

Organizers said COVID-19 restrictions and funding challenges had put the gathering on hold.

Now, a number of groups have come together to resume the event. They include LAWC, Anova, Western University, Fanshawe College Changing Ways, Queer Intersections, the Muslim Resource Center, and the City of London.

It is being held on Thursday evening with participants gathering in Victoria Park.

Take Back the Night marches are held annually around the world to stress the importance of the work being done to ensure women can feel safe and secure in their community.

Dunn said the graffiti only amplifies the importance of that work.

“It’s very important that we are there tonight. We participate in the discussion. We take over the street. We hold our place and make it known that this is not okay,” she said.

Dunn also pointed to the trial of five Canadian World Junior team hockey players found not guilty of sexual assault after a sexual encounter with a woman in a London hotel room in June of 2018.

She said the verdict centered on the legal definition of consent, but she said that doesn’t speak to the situation where a young woman found herself surrounded by young men; and what could have or should have been done.

“We can see, based on the work that we do here, where there would have been moments for any one of those guys to say, ‘Hey, wait a second, this is maybe not okay.’ Like, there are this many of us and only one of her,” said Dunn.

This is also the first year the province is recognizing Consent Awareness Week, which will now be observed annually during the third week of September.

Dunn said based on what happened in the trial, there continues to be a need to further the conversation.

“There was still something wrong that happened. Right! And I think everybody knows that not guilty does not mean innocent. Not guilty, it doesn’t mean that nothing happened,” she added.

London police said the investigation into the Fanshawe Park Road graffiti is now in the hands of their Hate Crime Unit.