It was a disturbing few days trying to process the news of the recent legal events in a murder case.
We already know that women are more likely to experience sexual violence than men. Our protection from further trauma is the Rape Shield Law. This means if you had sex with one man and then later attacked and raped, the courts in theory ,could not use that first sexual encounter as a way to challenge your credibility, question your morals. I said in theory and that’s the problem!
Cindy Gladue was a victim of murder.
It does not matter where, a hotel, a car or a house. It does not matter where she was employed. She died because of a man’s actions.
Her sexual history had nothing to do with what happened. The Rape Shield Law is meant to protect sexual assault victims from having their sexual history brought up in court. Until it happens to you or someone you love can you possible imagine how a victim would feel first having been raped then having every sexual experience talked about in front of a courtroom of strangers. It is re-victimization!
“The Crown argued that Barton intentionally wounded Gladue and was guilty of first-degree murder or, at the very least, manslaughter, because the 36-year-old Metis woman did not consent to the activity.
Barton was found not guilty by a jury that repeatedly heard references to Gladue as a “prostitute” and a “native,” but the Alberta Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and ordered a new trial for first-degree murder.
Ontario trucker Bradley Barton should be retried for manslaughter, but not murder, in the case of Cindy Gladue, who bled to death in the bathroom of his Edmonton motel room in 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.
In a 4-3 decision Friday, the high court says evidence about sexual history was mishandled at the original trial that led to Barton’s acquittal on a charge of first-degree murder.”
“In its decision, the Supreme Court said the trial judge failed to apply provisions in the law that limit the extent to which an alleged victim’s sexual history can be discussed during proceedings.”
A huge step forward, now the rest of the legal community needs to be mindful in dealing with victims of sexual violence.
Why are judges, and defense attorneys in Canada repeatedly allowed to ignore the accepted law (Rape Shield Law)?
Only as a society can we end violence against women and girls, only as a society can we get rid of the demand, only as a society can we end the cycle of poverty and the cycle of abuse. Every voice counts.
Let us remember Cindy as a young woman who was loved and valued by her family and friends.