Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
What’s really on trial in the Ghomeshi case
The trial is poised to show that women in sexual assault cases may be worse off than ever
http://www.macleans.ca/society/whats...ghomeshi-case/
Sex crimes continue to be treated singularly within the law. No one asks the victim of a mugging why they handed over their wallet, or what they were doing in that neighbourhood, or question whether the crime even took place. We know false claims are the anomaly (two to eight per cent, according to FBI studies). Yet disbelieving the complainant remains the norm. Conviction rates have not risen a whit: according to the 2012 study “Sexual Assault in Canadian Law” they stand at 0.3 per cent. And complainants are still on trial.
Yet those working within the system note changes unanticipated when laws were rewritten decades ago—like cellphones and social media—which render rape shields porous and that breach complainant privacy in new ways. Twenty years ago, complainants protected by publication bans weren’t at risk of online bullying and harassment. And there was no risk of defence lawyers combing through Instagram and Tinder to seek out incriminating pics or posts to create reasonable doubt. All of that makes coming forward fraught in ways it wasn’t a generation ago.
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People do question the victims of muggings. That would be the lawyer for the person arrested/on trial for the mugging. Even the police I'm sure ask simple questions to establish the story when the victim initially reports a mugging.
As for the norm being disbelieving the complainant, who is the author talking about? The public? The police?