Witness testifies about mental health of author Steven Galloway's accuser

Author and former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway is seen through a window as he leaves B.C. Supreme Court during a lunch break at his defamation lawsuit, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A defendant in Steven Galloway’s defamation lawsuit says she was concerned about the potential for self harm by the woman who accused the author and former University of British Columbia professor of rape and sexual assault, which he denies.

Mandi Gray told the British Columbia Supreme Court trial that she had become a “safe person” for his accuser, a woman known as A.B., who had talked of a “suicide plan” during a phone conversation in November 2015.

Gray says A.B., whose name is subject to a publication ban, indicated she was upset because Galloway, the author of novels including “The Cellist of Sarajevo,” had called her multiple times within a short period of time.

Gray, now an assistant professor at Trent University, says A.B. expressed “suicidal ideation,” though Gray acknowledged hers was not a clinical assessment.

The assault allegations were found unsubstantiated by a retired judge, and Galloway is suing his accuser and other defendants, alleging they defamed him by publishing the unproven claims on social media and elsewhere and that the accusations ruined his career.

His accuser, A.B., is not testifying in the case, citing mental health struggles.

Gray testified Monday it had been “so hard to watch” the woman’s mental health deteriorate in the lead up to the trial of Galloway’s lawsuit in Vancouver.

The court learned last month that A.B. was no longer asserting in her defence that Galloway assaulted her, rather that she reported he had done so.

This report by Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press, was first published Nov. 9, 2026.