Reactions to the Jian Ghomeshi trial should be stronger
After an unnecessarily long trial, Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted on all charges. If you have even an inch of concern about sexual abuse and rape, you probably had a strong reaction to the verdict. Don’t let the trial fool you, though. It should be known that the women were on trial, not Ghomeshi.
Although the verdict was hardly unpredictable, I still held onto a small sliver of hope for all women. After the hour long reading of the verdict by Justice William B. Horkins, my hope went out the door and was lost forever. The women had to face the horror of reliving their traumatic experiences, with the hope that no woman would have to face what they faced—that Ghomeshi would face some sort of charge or jail time. That did not happen, however, and instead, what they heard was an hour long verdict reading that felt like they were the ones put on trial, not Ghomeshi. The judge questioned the accountability, credibility, and reliability of the women. The women were told that they don’t matter, their bodies don’t matter, and that the abuser’s actions don’t matter. What does matter is how long ago it was, timelines that cannot be proved, where Ghomeshi’s hands were, and the fact they wrote to him afterwards. Literally everything that shouldn’t have mattered in the slightest way, mattered.
Having kept in contact with the abuser is not strong enough reason to be proven innocent. In many cases, the abuser is manipulative to extreme levels to make the victim feel guilty. I’m not directly stating that this is what Ghomeshi is like. I don’t know him, nor have I ever met him. However, personal accounts from those who work at CBC can attest to his personality, and the fact that the victims kept communication is barely a reason to acquit him of all charges.
Having multiple women speak towards their assault experiences with one man merely cannot be a coincidence. One in four women are sexually assaulted. Only six in 100 are ever reported to the police. The fact that Ghomeshi’s case went to trial is rarely something that ever happens. Reporting assault is essentially a futile effort. Sexual assault survivors are rarely heard, and their statements should not be taken lightly. Let this trial be a statement of the current state of our sensitivity towards sexual assault, and how we drastically, and so importantly, need to improve in making survivors feel safe.