It has been just over one year since Brittany Rudyck publicly disclosed an assault that lead to the shutdown of downtown music venue The Vinyl Needle Tavern. Since then, Rudyck has taken the steps to heal and to use her voice and experiences to help the community.
Rudyck is originally from Choiceland, Sask., population: 381. “I was the only vegetarian; I was like the freak-girl. I moved away as fast as I could because it was just not the place for me,” Rudyck says with a laugh. She moved right after highschool to study broadcasting at the Western Academy of Broadcasting College in Saskatoon. After receiving a diploma in radio and television, Rudyck moved on to work at a country music radio station in Whitecourt, Alta., where she worked as a sports and news broadcaster, advancing quickly at the station. “I got to be the boss of a newsroom when I was nineteen and flail and struggle in a leadership position without really any other experience,” says Rudyck.
Following her move to Edmonton in 2010, Rudyck worked in the hospitality industry at bars and music venues throughout the city. While doing this, she was also an editor and freelance journalist for the Edmonton edition of BeatRoute Magazine. Since she started living in Edmonton, Rudyck has been heavily involved in the music scene. “I’m not from here so I kind of injected myself into the music scene by going to a lot of shows and just being interested and enthusiastic,” states Rudyck. By working for BeatRoute, Rudyck became even more immersed in the music scene, “there’s so much more going on than I thought there was from my tiny little bubble that I was normally attracted to before doing that.”
Rudyck is now a digital strategist for the University of Alberta and continues to volunteer at CJSR doing the History of Punk radio show which she just returned to after a month’s long hiatus over the summer. “It’s nice to be back, I missed it,” says Rudyck. After Rudyck made her public disclosure against The Needle Vinyl Tavern in November 2017, the venue closed indefinitely and the owner that assaulted Rudyck while she was working there, was charged with sexual assault. Due to many of the events that took place over the following months, Rudyck left BeatRoute and took a break from CJSR. “I just kind of erased all involvement in the music scene for a little while because it was just too much,” says Rudyck. After being bullied online, Rudyck says that “they kind of made me stop caring. Like why do I do this if I’m so unwelcome?” The paranoia, trauma, and anxiety that came with making a public disclosure was overwhelming for Rudyck, she knew she needed to step back and to give herself time to heal.
Rudyck didn’t completely stop however. She immediately galvanized into action and started seeking out places to get involved within the community like the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE). Rudyck values the importance of being involved and after being publicized in the news, it began to matter even more. “My face has been plastered all over the place so I might as well use what platform that I’ve been accidentally given to do something good for the community,” says Rudyck.
Rudyck has big plans to start a revolutionary non-profit organization that works specifically in hospitality and spaces in regards to consent and sexual violence in the workplace and within the scene. “It’s been a really intense year,” says Rudyck, “things are finally starting to take form after a year of drowning.” Some of the things that Rudyck’s organization will provide are support systems for victims, policies and training programs for businesses, and possibly a hotline for victims in the industry with a database of businesses and repeat offenders.
Although Rudyck has had an intense year of having a traumatic event publicized in the media, something good, and perhaps revolutionary has come out of it.
Angela Amato 