{"id":11790,"date":"2025-11-22T16:59:50","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/22\/sex-assault-survivors-say-theyll-only-get-justice-if-reports-proposed-changes-are-enforced\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T16:59:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:59:50","slug":"sex-assault-survivors-say-theyll-only-get-justice-if-reports-proposed-changes-are-enforced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/22\/sex-assault-survivors-say-theyll-only-get-justice-if-reports-proposed-changes-are-enforced\/","title":{"rendered":"Sex assault survivors say they\u2019ll only get justice if report\u2019s proposed changes are enforced"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>  WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced\u200b \u200b\u200b\u200bsexual violence or know someone affected by it.  Survivors of sexual violence say a newly released national report on how the justice system fails them has a potentially fatal flaw: itsrecommendations for change are not enforceable.  Unless those in authority make those changes, the status quo will be maintained \u2014 a justice system that favours the accused at the expense of the victim, they say.\u201dTo the people who have the power to enact changes in this system, do something. So many people have died with their stories and their truths, but you didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d said Jewel Pierre-Roscelli, who was sexually assaulted in 2023. \u201cIt\u2019s dehumanizing.\u201dOn Wednesday, the Federal Office of the Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime released a report titled Rethinking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Systemic Investigation. The 288-page report has 43 recommendations for change.It\u2019s time for police and lawyers to learn the difference between consent and survival mode, the report says, and to stop treating survivors as criminals. It\u2019s time to stop weaponizing the victim\u2019s therapeutic records to hold it against them in court. And to ensure that survivors can access these rights, it\u2019s time to provide independent legal counsel \u2014 a lawyer \u2014 just like the accused.\u201dAt its core, we\u2019d like to see enforceable rights for the victim,\u201d said Benjamin Roebuck, the federal ombudsperson for victims of crime. \u201cRight now, they\u2019re feeling more like evidence than a victim.\u201d\u2019We deal essentially with myths and stereotypes about sexual violence that \u2026 shouldn\u2019t be part of the justice system,\u2019 says Benjamin Roebuck, the federal ombudsperson for victims of crime. (Adrian Wyld\/The Canadian Press)That\u2019s in part because players in the justice system \u2014 from police to judges \u2014 too often mistake a victim\u2019s response to an assault as consent to the assault, instead of recognizing it for what it is:  an effort to survive it, say victim advocates and survivors.\u201dI\u2019m someone who\u2019s just experienced hurt, and police are worried if I\u2019d said \u2018no\u2019 or not,\u201d Pierre-Roscelli said. \u201cIt\u2019s retraumatizing. I\u2019m not treated like a human. I\u2019m not treated like I am believed.\u201dThe report, Roebuck said, recognizes that.\u201dWe deal essentially with myths and stereotypes about sexual violence that aren\u2019t valid lines of questioning or reasoning and shouldn\u2019t be part of the justice system,\u201d Roebuck said in an interview.\u201dLike making assumptions about what it looks like when someone is afraid.\u201d It\u2019s critical that all judges would have to take training.- Alexa BarkleyA couple of the report\u2019s recommendations would try to remedy that. It calls for a review of \u201ctrauma-informed protocols for police investigations\u201d and for \u201congoing training to criminal justice actors on the unique needs of survivors.\u201dIt\u2019s a good start, said Alexa Barkley, an advocate with the advocacy and survivor support organization End Violence Everywhere, or EVE. But it\u2019s missing a key component, she said: mandatory, across-the-board training for all judges (old and new) who preside over sex assault trials.\u201dIt\u2019s critical that all judges would have to take training,\u201d said Barkley.Alexa Barkley says the report and recommendations are \u2018encouraging,\u2019 but don\u2019t go far enough. (CBC)The report also calls for the elimination of \u201cKGB statements\u201d \u2014 sworn and recorded video statements by victims that are taken by police to detail allegations that can be used in court if an alleged victim changes their testimony.Those statements include a caution police give to sex assault victims that lying under oath is a crime.\u201cThese warnings treat survivors like suspects based on the myth that survivors of sexual violence are more likely to lie,\u201d the report reads.Barkley welcomes the recommendation.\u201dI\u2019ve lived that,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cIn my police interview, that\u2019s what they started with. You\u2019re presumed to be lying.\u201dPierre-Roscelli concurred.\u201dIt goes to being dehumanized, and like I\u2019m guilty of something. Like I\u2019m not a victim,\u201d she said.Therapeutic records need protection: reportAnother recommendation calls for better protection of therapeutic records. Currently, the defence can request access to a victim\u2019s prior therapeutic records, which can then be used against them in court.The consequences can be dangerous. Some survivors avoid accessing mental health support for fear of disclosure, leading to \u201csuicidal ideation,\u201d said Roebuck.Mid-trial applications to obtain private records can also create delays deemed unfair to the accused, leading to the possibility of a stay of charges, the report says.\u201dThe accused should not benefit from this,\u201d said Roebuck.He hopes a recommendation to amend the Criminal Code will change that. The report recommends the code be changed to \u201crecognize that psychiatric, therapeutic and counselling records \u2026 are distinct from other private records and should be the subject of a higher threshold to be accessed by the defence.\u201dThat\u2019s an \u201cencouraging\u201d recommendation, said EVE\u2019s Barkley, but \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s going far enough.\u201d\u201dOur proposed amendment to the Criminal Code suggests that therapeutic records should be off the table completely.\u201dAccess to legal counselThe report also calls for victims to have access to free legal counsel in instances where their basic rights, as spelled out in the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, are at risk of being violated.It\u2019s a recommendation that Karen Bellehumeur was glad to see. Bellehumeur is a former Ontario Crown attorney who now represents sex assault survivors. She notes that while the victims\u2019 bill of rights \u2014 a law passed in 2015 \u2014 is designed to protect people like sex assault survivors, it\u2019s often overlooked in court.\u201dWhat is the point of this bill if it has no teeth, if it has no enforceability?\u201d Bellehumeur said. \u201cSo this [recommendation] is essential that we get some teeth for this bill.\u201d The recommendations are a good starting point. But we hope they go further.- Karen BellehumeurRoebuck agrees that if an accused can have access to a lawyer to protect their rights, so should the victim.It\u2019s not reasonable, he said, that the person \u201calleged to have caused the harm is guaranteed that they\u2019ll be told what their rights are \u2026 and not to provide that to people who have been harmed,\u201d he said.Still, Bellehumeur said \u201cthe recommendations are a good starting point, but we hope they go further.\u201dLawyer Karen Bellehumeur says while the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights is designed to protect people like sex assault survivors, it\u2019s often overlooked in court. (Submitted by Karen Bellehumeur)Specifically, victims need that access to free legal advice from the start, as soon as they reach out to police, she said.What\u2019s more, she said, that legal support should be provided equitably, across the country. Right now, it\u2019s not, and this recommendation won\u2019t change that, said Bellehumeur.Overall, survivors and advocates were grateful for the report\u2019s message: right now, survivors are not getting the justice they deserve, and changes are required.But the recommendations aren\u2019t enforceable. The office of the ombudsperson for victims of crime can demand a response from the federal government, but it can\u2019t mandate action.What\u2019s more, the recommendations are not the \u201ccomplete overhaul\u201d that the legal system requires, said Barkley.\u201dIf the core of the system is to favour the accused at every turn, none of these changes are going to make a whole lot of difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced\u200b \u200b\u200b\u200bsexual violence or know someone affected by it. Survivors of sexual violence say a newly released national report on how the justice system fails them has a potentially fatal flaw: itsrecommendations for change are not enforceable. Unless those in authority make those changes, the status quo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,127,1],"tags":[116,126],"class_list":["post-11790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-manitoba","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-manitoba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}