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Students urged to ‘Be More Than a Bystander’ BC Lions players speak to Chemainus Secondary students about violence against women and the need to be leaders
Lindsay Chung THE CHRONICLE
Standing in front of a packed gymnasium at Chemainus Secondary School, BC Lions quarterback Travis Lulay told students “all it takes for evil to exist is for good people to do nothing.” It’s a quote that retired Lions offensive lineman Angus Reid would use in his presentations that Lulay always liked, and it fit perfectly with the theme of the presentation Lulay and fullback Rolly Lumbala made to students Feb. 11 as part of the Be More Than a Bystander campaign, an initiative between the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia and the BC Lions that aims to increase understanding of the impact of men’s violence against women. The program encourages people to break the silence surrounding violence against women and girls and be more than a bystander by speaking up and intervening. One of Lulay and Lumbala’s main messages: doing something is better than doing nothing. “All we’re doing is encouraging you guys to be leaders, to do something, to stand up for what we all believe in,” Lulay told the students. “Let’s make this world a better place.” In B.C., there are more than 1,000 physical or sexual assaults against women every week, Lulay told students. “That’s over 50,000 a year,” he
Following the BC Lions’ “Be More Than a Bystander” presentation Feb. 11 at Chemainus Secondary School, quarterback Travis Lulay signs Dallas Johnson’s T-shirt. LINDSAY CHUNG said. “That’s far too many, I think it’s easy to agree. This is one of the numbers that is kind of shocking: one in three women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. It’s pretty easy to think of three women who are close to you; just know that at some point in time, there’s a chance that somebody close to you could deal with some of these issues.” Lulay says that part of the reason they visit schools and speak to young people is that women
younger than 25 experience the highest rate of partner violence of all age groups, and in many of those cases, violence occurs in dating relationships. “A study in London, Ont., found the students who reported the highest incidence of dating violence were young women in Grades 9 and 10 involved in steady dating relationships,” he noted. “Again, it’s dating relationships; it’s not always stranger danger, as you see on TV.” At least one million Canadian
children have witnessed violence against their mothers by their fathers or father figure, noted Lulay. “One of the things we’re talking about today is how this isn’t just an issue that affects women; gender violence is a bigger issue that affects us all,” he told students. The Be More Than a Bystander initiative stresses that making a difference and sending a message that violence and abuse is not acceptable doesn’t neces-
sarily mean taking a “superhero approach” and physically jumping in when you see someone being abusive. “You often think that if you see something going on, you either do nothing or you physically get in the middle of it, and that’s a scary thought, so all too often, we end up doing nothing,” said Lulay. “All we’re saying is you do have options. Just know that doing a little something is better than doing nothing — that’s one of the biggest things we want to encourage. Always know you have authority figures around, teachers, parents, counsellors, people can help.” Lumbala told students that he knows it is easy to make excuses and to turn a blind eye when you see something wrong, and it’s normal to be scared, but it’s a matter of being able to step out of your comfort zone and be courageous. He encourages students to say something when their peers are making inappropriate comments or listening to inappropriate music — and that doesn’t have to mean making a big scene; you can just take somebody aside and say you don’t think it’s appropriate. “This is your school, this is your community, so you guys have to take pride in what is tolerated here,” he said. “You’ve got to protect it, so we encourage you guys to become leaders, especially you men, to step up. You need to step up because See Players Page 4
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