As Bill Cosby performed, Brenda Halloran told her story of abuse

Former Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran spoke candidly Wednesday night about encountering abuse at home and sexual violence at work, while minutes away, comedian Bill Cosby performed in Kitchener amid mounting allegations of sexual assault.

"My first marriage, I went through a very difficult marriage with a man who was an alcoholic, a con artist, a sociopath," said Halloran in an interview with CBC News.

"[I]t was a very very difficult time and I ended up having to leave him as his anger and violence was growing. He was breaking things in the home and I was frightened and afraid of him and I had to leave with my little girl and rebuild my life."

Halloran was speaking at the Voices Carry event at Dallas nightclub in Kitchener, which raised $7,459 for Women's Crisis Services and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. It was envisioned as an alternative to the comic's first show of 2015 at Centre in The Square, with organizers offering free admission to anyone coming to the $20 event with Cosby tickets.

Halloran said it was many years before she was able to speak about the domestic abuse she encountered.

"And you know, when you look back, you think it'll never happen to you. I was a strong woman and had a good job, and here I was in an abusive marriage," she said.

'I've never really publicly spoken about it'

Halloran said she was also forced to quit her job after being sexually assaulted in the workplace by her boss in the 1980s.

"I've never really publicly spoken about it," she said.

"And that time, in the 1980s, for young women, there was no place to go, no one to tell, and there were no rules. And who would have believed me against the boss of a multi-million dollar corporation?" 

It was inspirational to be at an event like Voices Carry encouraging young women to speak out without fear of being doubted, Halloran said.

"I think a lot of women, especially in my age group, went through some difficult work experience," said Halloran. "And now we have laws and we have events like this, we're talking about it. Women are now coming forward, and that's so important."

Halloran was first elected Waterloo mayor in 2006 and served until 2014, when she decided not to run for office again.

"I can show other women that you can survive. I hope that people will take comfort knowing that you can manage and survive and take a strong role in the community," she said.

Sara Casselman, spokesperson for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, said three women had approached her separately at the event to tell her they'd all experienced sexual assault and had never told anyone.

"Disclosures are something I hear on a regular basis, but to be out of the office and hear it so much in one evening already and the evening has just begun….what it means is that we’ve done something right here, in this space that we’ve created, is exactly what we’re trying to achieve," said Casselman.

Cosby, 77, has had to cancel or postpone at least 10 shows on his current tour because of the growing number of women who have come forward to claim he drugged and sexually assaulted them, but the three in Ontario this week are going ahead as scheduled.

The comedian has never been charged in connection with any of the allegations and has denied them all.