Protesters denounce patriarchy in Hamilton courtroom - August 26, 2010

Hamilton, Ont. - On Thursday August 26, The Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area (SACHA) organized a protest outside the Hamilton Court House after a rape trial was stopped and the accused was set free. A lively crowd of around 40 people, including local unions CUPE 3906 and USW 1005, members of the Immigrant Women’s Centre and of the Hamilton Coalition Against the G20, denounced the actions of Justice Kim Carpenter-Gunn and defense attorney, Peter Boushy and demanded that the legal system stop blaming survivors of sexual assault.

According to the Hamilton Spectator article that broke the story, the trial was stayed after the defense attorney questioned the credibility of the alleged victim because she had made new allegations against another man. According to Boushy, this “raised the spectre of fabrication.”

Judge Carpenter-Gunn agreed, telling the prosecuting attorney that if they continued with the trial she would have to warn the jury about the credibility of the woman’s testimony. The judge went on to say "I think the evidence that I heard yesterday, particularly from the complainant - and this is a credibility case - was quite unbelievable. The demeanor of (the woman) was off the wall ... I don't know whether that was because she was strung out on drugs. She certainly had that appearance, but I'm not an expert on that."

According to a press release put out by SACHA, the judge’s and defense lawyer’s comments amount to saying that “because the woman alleged she had been raped more than once, she is less worthy of belief” and that “there is a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to react to being raped.” Further, their comments imply that "if you use substance, you cannot be believed."

“This incident is a clear example of the inherently patriarchal and unjust nature of the courts, and of the Canadian State as a whole” said protester and local anarchist Peter Marin. He added “The presence of women’s groups, labour unions and anti-G20 activists at this protest point to the links between what happened in this sexist courtroom and the patriarchal policies of the G20 - policies which almost always have the worst impact on women and their families.”