Krista Ford apologizes for Tweet, assault victim speaks out

TORONTO, Ont. –  The daughter of Councillor Doug Ford, Krista Ford, has now apologized for a tweet she sent out after young women were attacked in the Bloor and Christie streets area.

In the tweet Wednesday night, she said: “Stay alert, walk tall, carry mace, take self-defence classes and don’t dress like a whore.”

The tweet caused a huge backlash, including an open letter on Facebook to 27-year-old Ford from Alice Moran, who identifies herself as one of the women assaulted in the Annex area.

In the letter, Moran stated that women have the right not to be assaulted.

“You’re a woman and you should know that your body is yours and yours alone.  No matter how you dress it, you have a right — an actual Charter of Rights and Freedom right — to not be sexually assaulted.”

She added that it was not her clothing that made her a target of sexual assault.

“For the record, I was sexually assaulted while wearing a knee-length polka-dot dress. The last time I wore that dress, it was to Easter dinner at my Gran’s, where I’m fairly certain I could make little to no money whoring,” she wrote.

Moran said she feels sympathy for Ford, and added that Facebook reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I’m in no way angry or resentful towards her, and I feel bad that she’s probably in a media storm today that’s horrible,” she said.

Ford tweeted an apology for her statement.

“I didn’t mean to cause such an alarm and I apologize if I did. I just want women to be safe,” she tweeted Thursday afternoon.

In a statement to the Toronto Sun, Ford continued to explanation her statement.

“What I meant to say was that women should take measures to protect themselves and be very careful not to place themselves or allow themselves to be placed in vulnerable positions that may compromise their safety,” she wrote.

Ford’s Twitter account is now protected.