Full Description
Sexual Assault in Canada is the first English-language book in almost two decades to assess the state of sexual assault law and legal practice in Canada. Gathering together feminist scholars, lawyers, activists and policy-makers, it presents a picture of the difficult issues that Canadian women face when reporting and prosecuting sexual violence. The volume addresses many themes including the systematic undermining of women who have been sexually assaulted, the experiences of marginalized women, and the role of women's activism. It explores sexual assault in various contexts, including professional sports, the doctor-patient relationship, and residential schools. And it highlights the influence of certain players in the reporting and litigation of sexual violence, including health care providers, social workers, police, lawyers and judges. Sexual Assault in Canada provides both a multi-faceted assessment of the progress of feminist reforms to Canadian sexual assault law and practice, and articulates a myriad of new ideas, proposed changes to law, and inspired activist strategies.
This book was created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Jane Doe's remarkable legal victory against the Toronto police for sex discrimination in the policing of rape and for negligence in failing to warn her of a serial rapist. The case made legal history and motivated a new generation of feminist activists. This book honours her pioneering work by reflecting on how law, legal practice and activism have evolved over the past decade and where feminist research and reform should lead in the years to come.
Contents
Foreword: Still Punished for Being Female -- Claire L'Heureux-Dube Introduction -- Elizabeth A. Sheehy PART I The Victories of Jane Doe -- Elizabeth A. Sheehy Jane Doe versus Toronto Commissioners of Police: A View from the Bar -- Sean Dewart New Zealand's Jane Doe -- Julia Tolmie Hockey Night in Canada -- Laura Robinson Indigenous Women and Sexual Assault in Canada -- Maria Campbell, Priscilla Campeau, and Tracey Lindberg Legal Subversion of the Criminal Justice Process? Judicial, Prosecutorial, and Police Discretion in Edmondson, Kindrat and Brown -- Lucinda Vandervort The Supreme Court of Canada's Betrayal of Residential School Survivors: Ignorance is No Excuse -- Sheila McIntyre Sexual Assault and Disabled Women Ten Years after Jane Doe -- Fran Odette Police Investigation of Sexual Assault Complaints: How Far Have We Come Since Jane Doe? -- Teresa DuBois Striking Back: The Viability of a Civil Action Against the Police for the "Wrongful Unfounding" of Reported Rapes -- Blair Crew Third-Wave Anti-rape Activism on Neoliberal Terrain: The Garneau Sisterhood -- Lise Gotell Sisterhood Will Get Ya: Anti-rape Activism and the Criminal Justice System -- Meagan Johnston Where Has All the Anger Gone? -- Diana Yaros Vitreous Fragility: Re-imagining Women through Art -- Shary Boyle The Jane Doe Coffee Table Book about Rape: Reflections on Rebellious Writing and Teaching -- Gillian Calder and Rebecca Johnson PART II Who Benefits From the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit? -- Jane Doe Perpetuating - and Resisting - Rape Myths in Trial Discourse -- Susan Ehrlich Questioning "Expert" Knowledges -- Sunny Marriner Zero Tolerance Some of the Time? Doctors and Sexual Abuse in Ontario -- Sanda Rodgers Judges and the Reasonable Steps Requirement: The Judicial Stance on Perpetration Against Unconscious Women -- Elizabeth A. Sheehy An Equality-Oriented Approach to the Admissibility of Similar Fact Evidence in Sexual Assault Prosecutions -- David M. Tanovich Raising the Age of Sexual Consent: The Renewing of Legalistic Moralism? -- Julie Desrosiers What's in a Face? Demeanour Evidence in the Sexual Assault Context -- Natasha Bakht Limits of a Criminal Justice Response: Trends in Police and Court Processing of Sexual Assault -- Holly Johnson HIV Exposure as Assault: Progressive Development or Misplaced Focus? -- Alison Symington All That Glitters Is Not Gold: The False Promise of Victim Impact Statements -- Rakhi Ruparelia Confronting Restorative Justice in Neo-Liberal Times: Legal and Rape Narratives in Conditional Sentencing -- Gillian Balfour and Janice Du Mont A Feminist Remedy for Sexual Assault: A Quest for Answers -- Constance Backhouse Afterword -- Jane Doe
