It also doesn’t mean the raising of awareness around sexual assault that followed the former CBC host’s fall from grace was a waste of time.
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The judge also said that one alleged victim willingly saw Ghomeshi after he’d purportedly assaulted her, which called into question her claim that she’d been traumatized by his actions.
After #BeenRapedNeverReported – co-created with Antonia Zerbisias – came #IBelieveLucy then #IBelieveSurvivors.
Social media debate roared on hashtags #Ghomeshi and #ibelievesurvivors after the verdict was announced, while protesters gathered at the downtown Toronto courtroom chanting that they believed the women.
One carried a placard on which “Don’t get raped” was modified to read “Don’t rape”, perhaps to reflect the perceived change in emphasis around sexual assault over the previous year and a half.
Horkins acknowledged that “the courts must be very cautious in assessing the evidence of complainants in sexual assault and abuse cases”. “Is that the price that you have to pay in order to get a positive outcome through the criminal justice system?”
“The Minister of Justice is going to be working with the Minister Status of Women to bring forward legislation that protects survivors of violence and children and ensures dignity and respect”, she said.
The woman was tackled by police and taken inside the courthouse before being handcuffed and put in the back of a police van.
Indeed, in Justice William Horkins’ verdict, there was very little said about Ghomeshi himself, who didn’t testify in his own defence, while Horkins excoriated the three complainants.
“Each complainant in this case engaged in conduct regarding Mr.Ghomeshi, after the fact, which seems out of harmony with the assaultive behaviour ascribed to him”.
In his ruling, Horkins took pains to stress the acquittal was not the same as saying definitively the events never happened.
It remains to be seen whether that case, too, will demonstrate the inability of the courts to protect the accused’s presumption of innocence without bending over backward to find fault with the alleged victims. “The harsh reality is that once a witness has been shown to be deceptive and manipulative in giving their evidence”, he said.
Of those sexual assaults that are reported to police, most do not lead to charges, let alone convictions, the group said.
Speaking to TV station CP24, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he considered the issue of violence against women “very important” and would be looking at ways to encourage victims to come forward.
Montgomery hopes that won’t be the case.
University of Toronto law professor Brenda Cossman says witnesses are held to unrealistic standards to prove their cases in the current court system.
“The problem is sexual assault is different than other crimes … when it’s committed by people you know”, Montgomery said. Assuming that an alleged sexual assault victim is telling the truth “is an equally risky false assumption”, he said.
“In no other criminal trial are victims questioned in the same manner”.
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“Let me be the first to say that my tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks”, he wrote at the time.
