Instagram Page Revealing Anonymous Stories Of Abuse In Montreal Has Nearly 70k Followers
Montreal at night.
A recently created Instagram account with the handle @victims_voices_montreal is rapidly gaining traction online. The page posts anonymous testimonies of various forms of abuse that have occurred in Montreal.
The account's bio reads "TW: alleged incidents of SA, MA inappropriate/predatory actions in Tiotiá:ke's (mtl) tattooing, piercing and music scene."
The stories are submitted via direct messages, and the victims' names are kept anonymous in each post.
This article contains descriptions of sexual assault, which may trigger some readers.
Every new post begins with a trigger warning on the first slide, followed by the story, written as it was submitted.
One well-known name who's been called out on this Instagram account is David Desrosiers, a former member of the Montreal-based band Simple Plan.
After his name showed up in various testimonies, Desrosiers announced in a now-deleted Instagram post that he's quitting the band to "seek professional help to educate [himself] and act appropriately in the future."
Simple Plan also informed their followers that the band was taking a break to "reflect and put in place guidelines to prevent similar situations from happening."
The page's admins, who are also anonymous, have set a firm code of conduct for interactions with and on the page.
Anyone who comments on their page is expected to follow the rules above.
@victims_voices_montreal has stopped accepting new submissions for the time being, citing a large backlog of over 1000 messages, according to their Instagram stories.
Similar accounts are popping up around the province and across the country.
Pages have been created for the entire province of Quebec, the city of Laval, the Rive-Sud, Joliette, and many more areas surrounding Montreal.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, call the Assaulted Women's Helpline at 1-866-863-0511 or find them online here. You can also contact the Support Services for Male Survivors of Sexual Assault at 1-866-887-0015 or online here. For a list of resources by province, go here.
