The Pearson Centre recently had the great privilege of hosting a discussion about the all-too-common failure of the criminal justice system to secure justice for women, especially survivors of sexual violence. Our three expert panelists, Karen Vecchio, former MP and Chair of the Status of Women Committee, Megan Walker, VP of the National Council of Women of Canada and Alexa Barkley, co-founder of Survivor Safety Matters, are all longtime women’s rights activists and brought a range of insights to this important conversation.
TRIGGER WARNING: The following contains a discussion of topics around sexual assault and violence which may be difficult to engage with the content.
Prompted by the 2018 Hockey Canada case—where a $3.1 million settlement was paid to a sexual abuse survivor without the players facing any disciplinary consequences and very minimal public accountability—the panel highlighted how the problem of sexual abuse extends far beyond one sport. Similar abuse scandals in gymnastics and other athletic institutions point to a wider culture of hierarchy and patriarchy within the world of athletics. However, the recent Hockey Canada trial has dampened some of this hope and forward motion, particularly during a time when violence against women is already on the rise. The panel discussion made evident how, more than 50 years after Lester B Pearson was Prime Minister, we are still working on some of the same issues he prioritized. Needless to say, the fight for women’s rights is far from over.
The panelists all emphasized how the criminal justice system is set up to fail survivors, with courts failing to understand trauma responses such as “freezing,” like a deer in the headlights, or “fawning,” where victims treat the abusers well in an attempt to lessen harm to themselves or their children. Judges lacking trauma-informed training, paired with courts move away from using trauma-informed experts, are harming survivors during proceedings. Despite Canada having strong legislation in place in crucial areas, such as consent, poor implementation of these important laws by the judiciary continually undermines justice for women. The power imbalance in these cases is often made worse because many survivors are unable to secure proper representation in court, and the legal support programs that do exist are underfunded, scattered unevenly across the country, and not always helpful.
The discussion revealed how broader societal expectations around women’s behavior continue to fuel victim-blaming, and how public institutions—especially in sport—often protect perpetrators to avoid financial or reputational damage. The panelists brought attention to the problematic tendency within athletic organizations to certain people, and the drive in the athletic community to prioritize winning over justice. Even the decision of the NHL to temporarily prohibit the players involved in the recent court case from playing, may have been based more in fear of liability and financial damage than a quest to make a morally sound choice. As one panelist said, you can choose to support women or not, but “don’t play both sides.”
In sharp contrast to the special treatment and leniency that male athletes often enjoy, the panelists emphasized how survivors of sexual abuse are too often judged societally by harmful pressures to be “the perfect victim.” The panelists described the judge in the Hockey Canada case as displaying disturbing “contempt for the victim,” calling her testimony “not credible” even though testimony given by a man in the same case had been deemed credible in court.
Beyond the courts, the panel raised alarm about recent Canadian political decisions, including a threat of an 80% cut in governmental support to the Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE). They were also aghast at the initial appointment of a man to lead the Department of WAGE, which has since been rectified following the public outcry. Making matters worse, statistics indicate that gender-based violence is increasing in Canada, with a woman being murdered every 36 hours.
Despite the challenges women are facing right now, there is still hope. Though progress might be slow, positive change is happening, such as the Canadian government beginning to acknowledge the term “femicide.” Moving forward, the panelists called for trauma-informed training across the justice system, legislative recognition of “femicide,” early education around gender equality, and stronger public pressure on political leaders to stand up for the rights of women, girls and gender-diverse people. As one panelist noted, women don’t just deserve equality—they deserve to live completely “free from oppression.”