Julie S. Lalonde
![]() | This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (May 2021) |
Julie S. Lalonde | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | Carleton University |
Notable work | Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde (2020) |
Julie S. Lalonde (born 18 June)[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.[3] Her first book, Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde, was published in February 2020.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Julie Lalonde was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and later moved to Ottawa, where she currently resides.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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][8] Since 2013, Lalonde, as the director of Hollaback! Ottawa, has been advocating for OC Transpo to implement initiatives to reduce harassment on public transit.[9] In 2015, the "Let OC Transpo Know" campaign was implemented, encouraging transit passengers to report when they feel unsafe or experience harassment.[9] As of 2019, Lalonde has continued to have conversations with OC Transpo, pushing for further bystander intervention training and education campaigns.[10]
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.[11] The project includes a short film posted on YouTube and a series of posters providing advice for both survivors and witnesses of stalking.[11]
On 29 September 2016, Lalonde gave the keynote speech at her hometown's Take Back the Night march in Sudbury.[12]
On 11 March 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.[13] 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.[14]
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 alleged she was met with "incredible hostility"[15] from the officer cadets.
One officer cadet stated the resistance was due to Lalonde's position "...men are the problem when it comes to sex assault because most rape is perpetrated by men". Respect for Lalonde's presentation was lost after she was pressed on sexual assault and intoxication, in particular when both participants were intoxicated claiming men could still be accused of sexual assault.[16]
She received a formal letter of apology from the commandant of the RMC five months after making a complaint.[15] In February 2018, Lalonde offered training sessions about sexual harassment prevention at the NDP convention.[17] She led similar anti-harassment sessions at a Liberal Party convention with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in attendance.[17] 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.[17]
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][18]
- Winner of the 2020 Ontario Speaker's Book Award for Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde[19]
- 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[4]
References
[edit]- ^ @JulieSLalonde (13 June 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.
- ^ a b c d e f Canada, Status of Women (21 October 2013). "Governor General's Awards Recognize Five Canadian Women Marking the 84th Anniversary of the Persons Case". Newswire. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "Julie S. Lalonde on building a consent culture". Dawson College. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Resilience Is Futile". Between The Lines. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "'What it does to your life': women's rights advocate releases video highlighting stalking". CBC News. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Alumni in the News". Carleton University. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Ascah, Adrienne (8 May 2013). "Drawing the line against sexual violence". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Radtke, Elizabeth (13 September 2013). "Julie Lalonde: Standing Up Against Street Harassement". Her Campus. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ a b Burke, Ashley (16 August 2016). "Leering, groping, exposing: OC Transpo reporting tool reveals bad bus behaviour". CBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Hansen, Leah (21 August 2019). "Advocates push for bystander training amid LRT harassment worries". CBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Our Partners – Equality Project". The Equality Project. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Durnan, Matt (29 September 2016). "Women unite to take back the night". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "Book Launch of Resilience Is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde". Library and Archives. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "The best Canadian nonfiction of 2020". CBC Books. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Educator recalls 'horrific' experience giving sexual harassment talks at RMC". CTV News. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ CBC.ca James Cudmore (22 May 2015). "Royal Military College cadets struggled with questions of sexual consent: Educator". CBC. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ a b c Aiello, Rachel (9 January 2019). "Liberal staffers' anti-harassment trainer worried about 'more silence' pre-election". CTV News. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "Governor General Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case - Status of Women Canada". cfc-swc.gc.ca. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "2020 - Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde (Between the Lines, 2020)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- Living people
- Franco-Ontarian people
- Canadian activists
- Carleton University alumni
- Activists from Ontario
- Writers from Greater Sudbury
- Women in Ontario
- 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
- 21st-century Canadian women writers
- Canadian women non-fiction writers
- Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners