A recent decision by Judge Horkins in the nationally publicized Jian Ghomeshi trial found Ghomeshi not guilty. The judge, when delivering his verdict read the full statement that went on to publicly victim blame the women in the courtroom.
He went on to state that courts need to avoid the "dangerous false assumption that sexual assault complainants are always truthful." In other words, he is perpetuating an incredibly harmful and misogynistic narrative that casts women as liars and serial rapists as credible.
This court ruling will have lasting effects in future sexual assault cases. The Judge Horkins' behaviour in the courtroom of reading out the entire decision opened the way for further traumatization of the brave women who came forward. On top of this, his decision was based on the very culture of victim-blaming that allows for sexual assaults to happen, rampantly, in this country.
Sign now to pressure the Justice Minister to publicly reprimand Judge Horkins for his statement and court behaviour. By signing today you are showing that you believe survivors and that women should be believed and not judged as inherently dishonest.
To the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould,
As a person concerned with equality for all genders and for non-discrimination in our justice system, I urge you to pressure Judge William Horkins to publicly retract his statement to the courts in the Jian Ghomeshi trial.
His statement was not only retraumatizing to the victims, but exhibited a discriminatory bias against women complainants of sexual assault. He publicly stated that the courts must avoid the "dangerous false assumption that sexual assault complainants are always truthful."
Nothing, however, is further from the truth. Recent statistics from the YWCA state that out of every 1000 self-reported sexual assaults, only 33 are reported and only 3 lead to convictions. There is a distrubing trend in the justice system that not only prevents women from reporting sexual assaults but allows assailants to go free 90% of the time.
It is time that this sort of victim-blaming bias is publicly removed from the court systems. Judge Horkins must be held accountable for these anti-women statements despite the verdict. His statement must be publicly reprimanded. Women must be believed in cases of sexual assault in order for justice to be found.
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Sincerely,
[Your Name]
