Applying the Jordan ruling to cases of sexual assault, let alone to cases in which charges were laid before the Supreme court of Canada made the ruling, contradicts the criminal justice system’s premise of offenders’ accountability and justice for the victims.
Although the VPD are keen to showcase their so-called efforts on sexual violence, for front-line anti-violence workers, it rings hollow and doesn’t square with what we hear every day from women who’ve been raped and/or beaten.
This refusal on the part of the police to take substantial action on violence against women is one of political will, set by those in leadership of the police departments and boards. This is a problem that cannot be remedied through the distribution of more funds. Rather, it requires a complete reorganization of priorities.
As a resident of Burnaby and as someone who has advocated to police on behalf of countless women, I want to tell my fellow women in the community to call your local women’s group — never go alone.
We need a complete transformation of all levels of the criminal justice system. We need a civilian oversight of police investigations into cases of sexual assault that will include front line feminist advocates. We need an open and ongoing review that will not simply result with sexual assaults being classified under different codes but instead restore investigations being done and appropriate charges being brought forward.
In recent years, media reports about trials in sexual-assault cases across the country exposed judges’ ignorance about sexual assault laws, about Parliament’s intentions behind the laws and the Supreme Court of Canada’s applications of the laws.
