My writing has been my therapy. In the aftermath of my first sexual assault, I was able to re-connect with myself by journalling, honouring my emotions with an outlet — the physical scratch of my pen against paper was gratifying, and the metaphorical purge of my trauma, grief, and rage was healing.
Read my interview for Write Now for more insight on my writing process!
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December 2019 marks 30 years since the Polytechnique massacre in Montreal. Since then, there have been countless movements and conversations about violence against women. And when it comes to physical and sexual abuse, all women are at risk despite their age, race or income level, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. However, there are added layers and barriers when that conversation looks at racialized women. In this episode of Living In Colour, we take a look at the violence against women of colour, and how cultural barriers, community stigmas and racial stereotypes can normalize abusive behaviour.
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Living In Colour host Farah Nasser speaks with YTV host Mark Suki and freelancer writer and anti-rape activist Roslyn Talusan about the importance of a person’s name, the double standards of an ethnic name compared to an Anglophone-sounding name, how a name is a part of a person’s identity and more.
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Roslyn Talusan initially found it difficult to seek treatment in her early 20s after being assaulted by a former colleague and facing workplace harassment. “I was really reluctant to seek any counseling mostly because I thought I was ‘strong enough’ to handle it without help,” she told Re:Set. “Mental illness was still something very stigmatized to me, but I realized how deeply I was affected and knew I needed treatment.”
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For freelance writer and sexual violence advocate, Roslyn Talusan, cannabis consumption is very personal. Roslyn turned to cannabis to control anxiety and help her through the healing and recovery process of sexual assault. Her primary goal is get back a sense of ownership and groundedness with her body. But it wasn’t always that way.
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Anti-rape activist and writer, Roslyn Talusan, had been using cannabis medically for eight years to manage anxiety and depression related to C-PTSD, but only got officially registered as a patient fairly recently, just over a year ago.
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A Toronto-based freelance writer has been talking to Ariana Grande in DMs after the pop star's fans viciously attacked her for several days over her criticisms of the singer.
Roslyn Talusan, 27, told BuzzFeed News that while she was shocked to hear from Grande directly, and they've since apologized to each other, she also felt "victim-blamed and gaslit" by the singer's defense of her fans.
She's hoping Grande will be less "passive" about how her fans act on her behalf — and take a firmer stance against abusive online behavior.
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The incident sheds light on the ecosystem in which celebrity culture now exists and its consequences. Social media has made it easier than ever for stars to interact with both their fans and critics—there’s no need for a middle man publicist when you’ve got a Twitter and Instagram account. Although there are positives to that, including celebrities fostering a more “authentic” connection with their fan bases and openly discussing issues like mental health or substance abuse, there is also an undeniably ugly side to stan culture that emerges when a fav is being challenged.
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Just a day after Ariana Grande slammed "blog" writers, the singer defended stans who threatened those who criticized her for the comments.
Following Grande's comments, writer Roslyn Talusan called the singer out for dismissing bloggers and writer.
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My online life came to a full circle when ONTD features a post about how Ariana Grande reacted when I called her out for her dangerous comments about “them blogs” and the unfulfilled, purposeless souls who work at them (a.k.a. me).
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On this episode of Slut or Nut: The Podcast, Kelly chats with survivor and activist Roslyn Talusan about sexual assault in the workplace and actions victim’s can take if they are assaulted at work.
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"Through engaging with experts in care provision, alongside those working to provide community supports and empowerment initiatives, the UTSU facilitated a stimulating conversation that addressed various facets of care, support, and experiences of and for survivors. This analysis included understanding what systems exist, what promises have been made, the lived realities of survivors, and determining what action can be taken to address systemic flaws to ensure accessibility for all."
Read MoreRoslyn Talusan said the experience of talking about past assaults is re-traumatizing, especially when journalists get things wrong.
“Rape apologists have more reason to blame us, disbelieve us, and it makes it that much harder for advocates to affect change,” she said. “Reporters have the luxury of not having to give that much of a fuck in getting the details right or addressing the nuance.”
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On November 24, 2017, 2 months of hard work and passionate dedication came together in this amazing dance tribute to Britney Spears. Roslyn started with Dance Legion Toronto in December 2016, and has practiced semi-regularly ever since. She was ecstatic when her instructor asked her to be in the group's first ever major performance!
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After she became involved in the criminal process when she was raped by a co-worker in 2015, Roslyn Talusan wishes the prosecutor had given her more information about what her options were—ones that didn’t involve potential jail time for her attacker. Or that the Crown prosecutor, at the very least, had clarified what would happen during the criminal law process. Talusan had wanted to move forward in way that made her feel empowered and in control. Instead, the opposite happened.
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Ryerson’s Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education, a resource which provides support for survivors on campus and raises awareness about sexual violence, attended Take Back the Night on Sept.15 at Regent Park.
The annual event was organized by the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/ Multicultural Women Against Rape (TRCC/MWAR) and aimed to honour the experiences of women and transgender survivors of violence, including sexual and domestic violence as well as police brutality.
Ryerson graduate Roslyn Talusan, a collective board member at the Crisis Centre, said bridging the gap between generations can be healing for everyone.
Speaking as a sexual assault survivor, Talusan said, “It’s important to recognize and work against how ingrained rape culture is into older generations.”
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After tweeting about almost being published in Teen Vogue on June 2, Toronto-based freelance writer, Roslyn Talusan’s call-out of the magazine went viral. Dozens of writers flooded her inbox with similar stories of being strung along and even ghosted by editors after successfully pitching and drafting personal stories and essays for Conde Nast’s supposedly most progressive, feminist magazine.
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The hashtag #CondeNasty was aptly started by Roslyn Talusan to vocalize the injustices suffered by writers of color at the hands of Condé Nast. These egregious acts are perhaps most apparent within media darling Teen Vogue, which has seen a sudden explosion in adoration since their political coverage went stratospherically viral during the 2016 presidential campaign.
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CityNews reported that the withdrawal rate of sexual assault charges are much higher in Toronto than anywhere else in Ontario. Roslyn spoke with Cynthia Mulligan about why this resonated with her.
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