Sexual Assault In Canada

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The term sexual assault means sexual contact or behaviour that takes places without clear consent of the victim, including attempted rape, fondling or unwanted sexual touching, forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetration of the perpetrator’s body, and penetration of the victim’s body, known as rape. Sexual assault towards women is still extremely prevalent in Canadian societies. An estimated 460,000 sexual assaults occur in Canada every year. For every 1000 sexual assaults, only 33 are reported. Only 12 of those reported incidents results in charges being laid. Only 3 of those charges ever ends in a conviction. These statistics are staggering because it is unbelievable how many convictions actually occur, and it …show more content…
Victims often feel powerless, shame, self-blame, fear of the legal process, and overall, they believe that reporting won’t do any good. Before 1982, lawyers were attacking the credibility of complainants in sexual assault cases by asking them questions regarding their sexual history. Parliament responded to this issue by ratifying section 276 of the Criminal Code in 1982. Section 276 states that despite a person’s sexual activity, they are not more likely to have consented to the sexual activity, and they are not less worthy of belief. So, despite this major change in the Criminal Code, why are victims still hesitant to report sexual assault? There are several reasons why sexual assault victims are still hesitant to report their assault to the police. One major reason is the fear of cross-examination. Cross-examination is the act of questioning a witness called by one’s opponent. Cross-examination is often used in an attempt to weaken the victim’s testimony. It can also take the form of aggressive questioning, which can be an extremely distressing …show more content…
Only 33 out of every 1000 sexual assault cases are reported, which raises a major red flag. There are several reasons why victims are hesitant to report sexual assault, including cross-examination, victim-shaming, and fear of the legal process. However, there are several possible resolutions to some of these problems, such as the Philadelphia model, lawyers for complainants, private cases, and restorative justice. The main goal is for victims of sexual assault to feel comfortable and confident about coming for ward and speaking about their experiences, rather than making them feel scared and like their voices aren’t being
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