A group of protestors went topless over the weekend after Quebec City police harassed a woman for sunbathing without a top on.
Last month, Eloyse Paquet Poisson shared a Facebook post in which she discussed being accosted by six cops while chilling in the park on a sunny day.
Poisson pointed out that there were male visitors who were topless as she was, but they had not been approached by officers.
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In addition, there is no law in Canada which states it’s illegal for women to be shirtless in a park, but nonetheless she was hassled by police before a number of bystanders jumped to her defence.
It didn’t take long for the online community to do the same, with Poisson’s post going viral and sparking a protest on Sunday (19 June).
CTV News reports that a group of people took to a park in Montreal to demonstrate about the incident and the wider topic of gender equality.
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Alice Lacroix, who organised the ‘Liberez les Seins’ protest – which translates as ‘Free the Boobs’ – stood amongst those who went topless for the event.
Speaking to the news outlet, she said: "It's legal to be topless and people are still calling the cops making a complaint that a woman is topless even though it’s perfectly legal.
“So at the very least we’re teaching people today you can be bothered, you have the right to be bothered – and I have the right to be topless.”
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Criticising the over-sexualisation of women’s bodies, Lacroix went on to say society should be teaching men to be responsible for their own emotions.
“It’s really fascinating to me the amount of people who think that we want to be topless in the park to be sexy and to attract men,” she added.
“It is the absolute opposite. None of us want that – we just want our freedoms, we just want to live in a society where we know that laws are equal, and that’s more important than somebody catching a peek of a boob.”
Alongside the women who turned up to the demonstration, men also stood in support of the cause.
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That included a man named Stephane Salois who wore a bra to the park, telling CTV News: “I’m here with my bra. They cannot [be topless] so I’m hiding my breasts also.”
UNILAD has contacted the Quebec City police department for comment.
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Daisy Phillipson