Madam Speaker, honestly, a lot of my speech today is inspired by the people I have met in this role and of course by my past experiences and reading about the experiences of others. The experiences I have shared today are no different from the experiences of my constituents and I am sure of the member's constituents.
I am speaking from my constituency office right now, and often there are women right in the seat in front of me who want to talk to me about the violence or the sexual abuse that has occurred in their lives, whether at a workplace or at home. I do not know why some people feel more comfortable coming to a woman. I have also had people from other ridings come to me to talk about the matter.
Many times they make the decision not to report. They make the decision not to go forward to trial. However, there are many who do report, which takes a lot of courage. I always advise them to report the matter. I think it is the most important first step they can take, but many do not go to trial because they have heard stories over and over again about the insensitivity they would face at trial. I think that is going to make a big difference—