Julie S. Lalonde

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Julie S. Lalonde
Born
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Alma materCarleton University
Notable workResilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde (2020)

Julie S. Lalonde (born June 18)[1] is a Franco-Ontarian women's rights advocate, author, and educator.[2] She has created multiple feminist organizations and education campaigns, and has offered many training sessions surrounding sexual violence, harassment, and bystander intervention[citation needed]. Her first book, Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde, was published in February 2020.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Julie Lalonde was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and later moved to Ottawa, where she currently resides.[4] She attended Carleton University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts (honours) in Canadian Studies and Women's Studies in 2007, and a Master of Arts in Canadian Studies in 2013.[5] Her thesis focused on elderly women experiencing isolation and poverty in Ottawa.[2] As a student, Lalonde spent six years advocating for the creation of an on-campus sexual assault centre for Carleton University, which eventually opened in 2013.[5]

Career[edit]

In 2011, Lalonde helped establish and manage the Ontario provincial campaign, Draw the Line, which promotes public education about sexual violence, harassment, consent, and bystander intervention.[6]

Around the same time, Lalonde founded the Ottawa chapter, the first in Canada, of Hollaback!, an international non-profit organization fighting to end street harassment.[2][7] Since 2013, Lalonde, as the director of Hollaback! Ottawa, has been advocating for OC Transpo to implement initiatives to reduce harassment on public transit.[8] In 2015, the “Let OC Transpo Know” campaign was implemented, encouraging transit passengers to report when they feel unsafe or experience harassment.[8] As of 2019, Lalonde has continued to have conversations with OC Transpo, pushing for further bystander intervention training and education campaigns.[9]

In 2017, Lalonde, in collaboration with Montreal-based artist Ambivalently Yours, created Outside of the Shadows, a bilingual art and educational project about criminal harassment in Canada, based on her own experience of being stalked.[10] The project includes a short film posted on YouTube and a series of posters providing advice for both survivors and witnesses of stalking.[10]

On September 29, 2016, Lalonde gave the keynote speech at her hometown's Take Back the Night march in Sudbury.[11]

On March 11, 2020, Library and Archives Canada hosted the book launch for Lalonde's debut release, Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde.[12] Named one of CBC Books’ best Canadian nonfiction of 2020, Lalonde's memoir details her decade-long experience of being stalked by a former boyfriend.[13]

Anti-harassment training[edit]

In October 2014, Lalonde was contracted to give a series of presentations about consent and sexual violence to the Royal Military College of Canada, where she said she received “incredible hostility”[14] from the cadets. She received a formal letter of apology from the commandant five months after making a complaint.[14] In February 2018, Lalonde offered training sessions about sexual harassment prevention at the NDP convention.[15] She led similar anti-harassment sessions at a Liberal Party convention with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in attendance.[15] In 2019, Lalonde ran bilingual closed-door training sessions about harassment prevention and bystander intervention in the workplace organized by the Prime Minister's Office and the Liberal Research Bureau.[15]

Awards and recognition[edit]

Lalonde has received several awards and recognition for both her activism and her writing.

  • Shortlisted for the 2009 YWCA Women of Distinction Award[2]
  • Winner of the 2011 Femmy Award for her work towards women's equality in the National Capital Region[2]
  • Youth Recipient of the 2013 Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case[2][16]
  • Winner of the 2020 Ontario Speaker's Book Award for Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde[17]
  • Shortlisted for the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ @JulieSLalonde (June 13, 2020). "Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! It turned into a beautiful day and I'm so grateful I got to hug my fr…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Canada, Status of Women (2013-10-21). "Governor General's Awards Recognize Five Canadian Women Marking the 84th Anniversary of the Persons Case". Newswire. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  3. ^ a b "Resilience Is Futile". Between The Lines. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  4. ^ "'What it does to your life': women's rights advocate releases video highlighting stalking". CBC News. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  5. ^ a b "Alumni in the News". Carleton University. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  6. ^ Ascah, Adrienne (2013-05-08). "Drawing the line against sexual violence". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  7. ^ Radtke, Elizabeth (2013-09-13). "Julie Lalonde: Standing Up Against Street Harassement". Her Campus. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  8. ^ a b Burke, Ashley (2016-08-16). "Leering, groping, exposing: OC Transpo reporting tool reveals bad bus behaviour". CBC News. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  9. ^ Hansen, Leah (2019-08-21). "Advocates push for bystander training amid LRT harassment worries". CBC News. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  10. ^ a b "Our Partners – Equality Project". The Equality Project. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  11. ^ Durnan, Matt (2016-09-29). "Women unite to take back the night". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  12. ^ "Book Launch of Resilience Is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde". Library and Archives. 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  13. ^ "The best Canadian nonfiction of 2020". CBC Books. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  14. ^ a b CTVNews.ca Staff (2015-05-22). "Educator recalls 'horrific' experience giving sexual harassment talks at RMC". CTV News. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  15. ^ a b c Aiello, Rachel (2019-01-09). "Liberal staffers' anti-harassment trainer worried about 'more silence' pre-election". CTV News. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  16. ^ "Governor General Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case - Status of Women Canada". cfc-swc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  17. ^ "2020 - Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde (Between the Lines, 2020)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
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