May is Sexual Violence Prevention Month, but he haven’t really had much time to talk about that because these last few weeks have been pretty bad for anyone concerned about equal rights. domestic abuse, gender-based violence, and the lack of balanced media coverage to give these issues the proper context. A news cycle like this demands an entire episode of this podcast to makes sense of it.

A few weeks ago, an American media outlet published details from a leaked Supreme Court decision that would effectively end the right to a legal abortion in the United States. The vulnerability of such an important women’s right just south of border had a striking effect on people here in Canada, where abortion is legal but access is far from equal. The ads on every other bus might make you think that there’s as many abortion clinics as microbreweries in Guelph, but there isn’t.

But it’s not just abortion that’s making the news. The Supreme Court of Canada released a decision affirming the self-induced extreme intoxication defense. The Johnny Depp defamation case brought against his ex-wife Amber Heard has leaned on excessive and negative scrutiny of Heard. Former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard is now finally on trail for two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm. And isn’t there an election on right now? Who’s talking about these issues, and enhancing women’s rights?

Enter: Jensen Williams, who is the public educator at Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. She joins us this week to talk about why pro-choice Canadians can’t rest on their laurels, and why all sides of the abortion debate have been galvanized by the leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision. She also talks about the tangled mess of issues around the Depp trial, how the media is covering it in both good and bad ways, and what any us can do to create real space for discussion and change when it comes to gender-based violence.

Before diving into the discussion though a note of listener discretion because we’re talking about some very difficult subject matter. If you feel like you might need some help, consult the numbers below.

So let’s get into the news on this week’s edition of the Guelph Politicast!

You can learn all about the great and important things that Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis does at their website. If you are in immediate need of support, you can call the Women in Crisis line at 519-836-5710 or 1-800-265-7233. This Friday, check out the Celebrations of Survivorship: An Afternoon of Solidarity Against Sexual Violence hosted by Women in Crisis from 12 to 2 pm at the Red Pavilion at Riverside Park.

If you’re interested in hearing from the candidates, we’re hosting all the Guelph candidates over the next couple of weeks on Open Sources Guelph, and we will also be hosting the candidates in the riding next door in the Wellington-Halton Hills Politicast on Saturdays.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .

Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Image courtesy of Drew Angerer of Getty Images.