People First Radio – September 11, 2025People First Radio – September 11, 2025
People First Radio
Sociologist Olivia Peters discusses Canadian women’s experiences of intimate partner stalking and how systems often fail them, while Dr Kelsey Roden shares a frontline perspective on the toxic drug crisis and argues for evidence-based harm reduction. Together, their stories connect gendered violence, addiction, and policy gaps in a candid, compassionate way.
0:00•12 Sept 2025
Stalking, Safety and the Toxic Drug Crisis: Stories Behind the Systems
Episode Overview
- Stalking should be defined by how it disrupts a person’s ability to live life normally, not just by whether they appear fearful.
- Women often report being disbelieved or dismissed by police unless they perform fear, highlighting harmful stereotypes about what a ‘real victim’ looks like.
- Informal community supports – friends, landlords, colleagues, neighbours – can offer creative, practical safety measures that formal systems sometimes miss.
- Technology and online platforms greatly expand stalking behaviour, while Canadian responses and centralised resources remain limited.
- Dr Kelsey Roden argues that criminalisation and forced treatment worsen the toxic drug crisis, calling for expanded harm reduction, regulated drug supply, and policies guided by evidence rather than fear.
“I’ve been serving his life sentence this whole time.”
Experience the emotional and inspiring tales of recovery and resilience through two powerful segments on People First Radio. First up, sociologist and criminologist Olivia Peters shares what she learned from speaking with 20 Canadian women about intimate partner stalking, shining a light on experiences that often stay hidden. She explains that many women “had to pretend to be more fearful than I was in order to get help,” because systems tend to respond only when visible fear is present.
Instead, she argues that the real focus should be on how stalking destroys someone’s ability to live life normally – from changing routes to work to abandoning social media out of constant harassment. Peters unpacks how technology, social media, and even artificial intelligence make stalking easier and harder to police, and why community support can sometimes be more practical and creative than formal systems.
You’ll hear stories of landlords, colleagues, and friends stepping in, and also the stark gaps in police training, risk assessments, and national resources around stalking. Her call is clear: rethink what a “real victim” looks like and take reports seriously before tragedy forces change. The episode then shifts to addictions medicine specialist Dr Kelsey Roden, who speaks at the British Columbia legislature for International Overdose Awareness Day.
Practising entirely during the toxic drug crisis, she describes the “pit of anxiety” when returning from time away and learning which young patients have died. Roden sharply critiques criminalisation, forced treatment, and underfunded services, arguing that “people use drugs. Period,” and that policy must follow evidence, not fear. Her message pushes for regulated drug supply, expanded harm reduction, integrated treatment, and seeing people who use substances as leaders rather than problems to be managed.
Together, these conversations link gendered violence, mental health, addiction, and social policy, asking you to consider: how can communities, services, and governments actually keep people safe instead of only reacting once it’s too late?
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