After five national junior hockey players were acquitted of sexual assault, people who work with victims of sexual violence say the judgement is extremely upsetting and may do more harm in the future. Supporters of the complainant known as E.M. stood outside the London, Ontario courthouse Thursday. Melanie Lemay, co-founder of Québec contre les violences sexuelles (Quebec against sexual violence), said she was there in spirit. “No matter what happened yesterday, I believe E.M. And a lot of people do. And we need to do better to protect young women,” said Lemay. Justice Maria Carroccia said she didn’t find the complainant’s evidence to be credible or reliable. Author and director Lea Clermont-Dion was sexually assaulted when she was a minor. She says the judgement was too harsh. “It was really difficult to hear those words, because I’ve got the impression that the verdict will reinforce myths and stereotypes that continue to be reinforced in society about the victim blaming,” said Clermont-Dion. Author of Crossing the Line: Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport, Laura Robinson says she understands why there had to be an acquittal. Beyond reasonable doubt is what’s needed, but says she was “shocked” by the judge’s remarks. “When you understand where traumatized victims are coming from, you know, that they have, discrepancies in how they account things,” she told CTV News. Advocates say the high profile nature, and not guilty verdicts, will discourage survivors from coming forward. A report released last year found just six per cent of sexual assaults are reported to police. “We don’t need to be discouraged. People believe you, and it’s not because they don’t go to trial that doesn’t validate what you’ve been going through,” said Lemay, who is a survivor herself. And if a case reaches trial, Clermont-Dion says E.M.’s seven days of cross examination are enough to dissuade anyone. “I had a cross-examination of two days and a half and it was absolutely difficult. So we have to think about those way of doing things. We can improve it. We can change things so that the confidence towards did justice system is improve[d],” she said. Clermont-Dion and Lemay have done consent workshops with the QMJHL and Montreal Canadiens, respectively. But add more needs to be done to change hockey culture. “So we still need to think, on the wider spectrum, on the how do we teach consent to younger generations because we don’t have this discussion with them,” said Lemay.
