Jian Ghomeshi no longer with CBC

[V]

Originally Posted by fatso

I'm having a tough time remembering who was "criticizing" the women for going to the press or calling their stories false simply because they didn't go to the police. I am sure someone one will prove me wrong on that though.

Well, there was the gold-digging whores post by Tyler.

[photon]

Originally Posted by ae118

What kind of woman doesn't report sexual assault?

http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/6059124

Very interesting thanks.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Ducay

They went to the media because they don't want attention. Good one!

What attention are they getting? They are anonymous.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

What attention are they getting? They are anonymous.

Sexual assault attention is the best kind of attention.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Media is anonymous. These people have lives. I'm sure they don't want the attention.

That's what I don't get. Do people actually place the media higher than the justice system when it comes to trust and maintaining anonymity?

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Bagor

That's what I don't get. Do people actually place the media higher than the justice system when it comes to trust and maintaining anonymity?

At the very least the media is likely more approachable and just generally "easier" to communicate with. A member of the media will talk to you on the phone, or email, or facebook, they'll even dress low key and meet you for a coffee at Starbucks.

Where as the police involve police stations, uniforms, badges and lack subtlety in most cases. "Oh why was there 2 police cars outside our neighbour's house last night?"

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by Bagor

That's what I don't get. Do people actually place the media higher than the justice system when it comes to trust and maintaining anonymity?

It is a pretty traumatic experience going through the justice system. Rape kits, questioning from the police, possibility that nothing comes of it, seeing the attacker in court if it proceeds, having credibility attacked by defense lawyer, and still no guarantee that he will be found guilty or go to jail.

Reporting it through the media is actually a good way to warn women who may consider dating Ghomeshi in the future of the threat that he poses.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

At the very least the media is likely more approachable and just generally "easier" to communicate with. A member of the media will talk to you on the phone, or email, or facebook, they'll even dress low key and meet you for a coffee at Starbucks.

Where as the police involve police stations, uniforms, badges and lack subtlety in most cases. "Oh why was there 2 police cars outside our neighbour's house last night?"

you're right the media members are much more personable and gentle in their approach and you can always request that your name not be revealed. Its simply an easier route for a victim to take.

And I'm not trying to insult the fine police officers or lawyers in this community. But the image for a victim and especially a woman is that they're not necessarily gentle in their handling of people. There have been too many stories about victims being ignored or brusquely treated. And too many people look at TV shows with defense lawyers hammering on the witnesses and requesting the right to treat a witness as a hostile witness.

Plus there's also the stigma and we see it more and more with social media that the victim isn't going to be believed or is going to be attacked if they come forward and that causes strain on the victim and they don't trust anyone in terms of being protected or believed.

I was a witness in a lets call it violent crime a few weeks back, and yeah the police could have treated me a bit better when I volunteered to go in and talk to them, but my paranoia factor went through the roof the minute I walked through the door. Taking the stand was a lot easier then I thought, I was expecting the defense attorney to flay me alive in open court and the judge to throw me in jail for contempt. But it was more like a nice well mannered debate where the lawyer just kept trying to trip me up.

But I understand completely why a victim would rather go through the papers.

It gives them a small measure of closure and a small measure of accomplishment and sometimes that small measure is enough to get them through the day.

[kipperiggy]

Originally Posted by Bagor

I agree except for the bolded part.

I'm still trying to understand why are they choosing to go the media route as opposed to the justice route?

Not necessarily true.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014...anonymous.html

And I don't disagree with what you are saying but if you're going to run the risk of exposing yourself why choose the media over the police?

I'm going to throw an answer out there. Could it be the preferred simpler method of revenge?

Less than 20 posts above your original post, your question is answered:

Originally posted by MarchHare: This is an outstanding piece of writing and everyone should take the time to read it. ESPECIALLY if you were one of those people who, earlier in this thread, were criticizing Ghomeshi's alleged victims for choosing to remain anonymous and not going to the police with their accusations.

Quote:
For this reason alone, I believe the women who have come forward to the Toronto Star and the CBC, if anonymous, and said that he hurt them. That he abused them. That he did horrible things to them without their consent. “So why no police charges?” Green Party leader Elizabeth May said, though she apologized and took it back soon after. She wasn’t the only one asking that, though. It was one of the most common questions of the day.

Yeah, well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if I was harassed, assaulted, if I was flat-out raped, I would not go to the police. Not unless I wore clear scars from it, not unless I was bloodied or scraped. Even then, only if it was a stranger. Only if it was someone who slipped out of the darkness and had no other power over me. Someone who, if and when my name filtered out, couldn’t take my work and friends away from me.

God, we ask so much of victims. On one side, we tell them that the price of our belief it to spend a lifetime chained publicly to an incident they usually want desperately to escape; we tell them that the price of our belief is that they make their name public, or take it to police. If they pay that price, we don’t believe them anyway. Instead, we simply charge them with trying to make hay.

No, I wouldn’t make my name public, and I wouldn’t go to police. I would never want to watch those prying eyes turn on me, inventing for themselves a fiction of the “jilted,” vindictive woman that Jian Ghomeshi pre-emptively declared at least three of his ex-partners to be.

People bought that, you know. Hook, line and sinker.

It's people like you that continue to question the victims even in the face of the answer, that make it even more difficult for victims to come forward in the first place. Given the photo posted earlier in the thread where 997 out of 1,000 of perpetrators will walk free - shouldn't we encourage all victims (women and men) to come forward in any possible medium?

And yes, I am a woman, and I too have personal experience with sexual assault.

[troutman]

A Good Summary of events so far:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle21379820/

The Statement of Claim vs. CBC:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2..._sex_life.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Opinion...854/story.html

Ghomeshi has no right to sue his former employer, and yet here he is proceeding with filing his $55-milliion lawsuit. It looks bizarre until you realize that what the lawsuit is really about isn’t winning in court: It’s about Ghomeshi being able to say whatever he wants in legal documents with total protection from being sued for libel himself, while intimidating women from going public with allegations of assault at Ghomeshi’s hands.

But if Ghomeshi knows, as he must, that his civil case will be quickly dismissed, there appear to be two good reasons to file the suit anyway: One, it gets his story onto the public record, without any possible recourse. Statements of claim are privileged; through this claim, Ghomeshi, like any litigant, can get anything he wishes onto the public record with absolute legal impunity. The arbitration process where his case must ultimately end up due to his unionized status, is entirely private.

But in this contest of wills and narratives, there is an even more compelling reason for him to sue civilly. If the anonymous accusers are weighing whether to go public, a $55-million action must give them pause.

Who is going to risk being potentially sued for defamation by a party who has already assembled a team of lawyers and PR agents and showed a readiness to take on even the comparatively powerful CBC for $55-million? Given that they have already been painted by Ghomeshi’s version of events as being into BDSM kink — something they may not even be, or may not want known to friends and family — how quickly will any accusers come forward publicly now and risk being joined to this outsized action?

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by kipperiggy

It's people like you that continue to question the victims even in the face of the answer, that make it even more difficult for victims to come forward in the first place.

BS. Where did I question the victims even in the face of the answer?

I was simply curious as to why the preference for the media over the police when the justice system promises anonymity.

Show me where I questioned the victims?

[Regular_John]

Posted 2 hours ago... what a piece of work.

Jian Ghomeshi
I want to thank you for your support and assure you that I intend to meet these allegations directly.
I don’t intend to discuss this matter any further with the media.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Posted 2 hours ago... what a piece of work.

To be fair, that's all he should have said from the very beginning instead of his previous Facebook post.

[J pold]

That teddy bear thing is way too strange.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

To be fair, that's all he should have said from the very beginning instead of his previous Facebook post.

So very true.

It's odd really, the original CBC release just said "we're unable to continue working with him" and didn't hint at what the issue was. People were speculating drugs, alcohol, etc, but it was Jian himself who "put it all out there" with his initial release.

He could have simply said "I'm not longer with the CBC, thank you for your support during a difficult time" and rode off into the sunset. But he opted to bet the farm with a PR campaign and lawsuit. Which was a major misstep for him.

[FlamesAddiction]

Looking at those cross examination questions, I can somewhat understand how brutal it would be for a woman to testify in court.

Having said that, if I was a man being accused of such a terrible crime and believed in my innocence and that the allegations were based on vindictiveness, I would probably want to assassinate their characters as well.

Just an ugly, ugly situation regardless of what the truth is.

I still think that Jian Ghomeshi deserves the benefit of the doubt until he has his day in court though.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

It takes a lot of guts for Lucy to come forward like this. She has my utmost respect.

I just heard her interview on CBC and my respect in through the roof for her because of this. I know she's often portrayed as a ditsey stoner on TV but it took a lot of guts for her to come out and say this. Now I think the number is up to 8 women who have come forward, and probably a heck of a lot more in the near future. And all possibly thanks to Lucy. It just goes to show how hard it is for someone to break the silence about all this.

I read an article this morning about the allegations and it reads like something out of some sadistic BDSM novel so a heads up to those who might not like it.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10...his-apartment/

I have a hard time believing Ghomeshi when he says it was all consensual and both parties approved of it. Some guys can't get turned on until a woman is put in a position of helplessness and being abused and Jian seems like one of those guys. I hope the truth comes out in court and all the victims can come forward without fear of reprisal. It's sad that most of the reasons the victims say they didn't come forward are true. Victim blaming, public shaming and the burden is on them to provide the proof. Again, mad props to Lucy for hopefully making things easier for those who were victimized.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by J pold

That teddy bear thing is way too strange.

Would you say that it's beary strange?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by nik-

Would you say that it's beary strange?

You just bruined my day.

[kipperiggy]

Originally Posted by Bagor

BS. Where did I question the victims even in the face of the answer?

I was simply curious as to why the preference for the media over the police when the justice system promises anonymity.

Show me where I questioned the victims?

Fair point, let me clarify, I meant questioned why they would go to the media and not the police. In my opinion the piece I quoted answers that question.