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Okay, because yesterday was such a bummer of a post, I wanted to leave you with something a bit more positive today. So I searched out what I think is one of the strongest advertisements running on television this year, and one of the best ads for the non-profit/charitable sector I’ve probably ever seen. It’s an astonishing combination of moving and inspirational. Enjoy.
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Okay, Confabulistas. I’ve got a question for you: has this somehow been the worst summer on record in which to be a woman? It seems as though there has recently been an intense wave of crazy bad news in the media related to all kinds horrible things befalling womankind. To be honest, it makes it difficult to be a blogger writing about politics and pop culture when it feels like all there really is to say is, “Well, another day of violence and atrocities for the fairer sex!”
Need some examples? Well, there was this story about tens of thousands of protesters in Mali’s capital city who congregated to oppose a law granting women equal rights in marriage. There’s Bill C-422, a private member’s bill to amend the Canadian Divorce Act, which Antonia Zerbisias suggests could possibly be dangerous to women and children if passed. There’s Amnesty International’s statement about the rape and torture of men and women in Iranian detention centres. You with me here? Let’s not forget about a Marriott hotel in Connecticut who blamed (and then backed off) a rape victim for her own assault. Carleton University pulled the same stunt (as we reported last week), and then settled with the victim. The Quebec government threatened to mess with access to abortion. And, to top it all off, Muriel Duckworth died.
Okay, okay, there were some positive developments–or at least, things that hit the feminist radar that didn’t make you want to cringe. There was an election in Afghanistan, and this account talks about observing women voting (though the whole thing is still shaking down, and of course, the overall situation in Afghanistan is absolutely nothing to cheer about. It’s not clear if the articles about women not voting, expressed in this piece, have manifested themselves). The New York Times Magazine issue dedicated to women’s rights was cool. Shirley Greenberg was awarded the Order of Canada.
I’m a natural optimist and a strong believer for balance in life; I get my daily diet of news and public affairs and season it with pop culture silliness, if only for my own sanity. But this steady campaign of horror makes it difficult to cut the violence in the world with a little bit of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
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Every Thursday, Confabulous’ resident lawyer Tannis A. Waugh discusses the most interesting legal issues emerging in popular culture and addresses your burning law-related queries. Want to contest a parking ticket? Can’t help you. Got a legal question for our in-house LLB? Drop her a line at tannis [at] confabulous [dot] ca. Note: Nothing in this column constitutes legal advice in any jurisdiction and is for information and discussion purposes only. If you have a legal problem, consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction immediately.
As an alumni of Carleton, I thought this was very apropos that I would get a chance to review and comment on the negligence suit that’s been brought against the university.
On August 31, 2007, a Carleton University student working late in one of the labs was violently sexually assaulted. It’s important that you hear the facts of the assault because they’re particularly egregious. The victim had her head slammed down to the ground while the perpetrator repeatedly smashed her face against the floor after which he sexually assaulted her. The perpetrator then wiped her body down, stole some of her clothes and her cell phone and left victim on the floor tied up and semi-naked.
Just shy of the two year limitation period to bring a suit against Carleton, the victim has brought a suit against the university for just over $500,000.
In the Statement of Defence served by the university, they engage in victim-blaming, according to the Carleton University Student’s Association (CUSA) and other student organizations, by indicating that Carleton is not responsible because the victim failed to keep a “proper lookout,” didn’t lock the door of the lab and stayed in the lab alone.
This is a civil suit and the university is being represented by lawyers hired by its insurer and as such, all the stops are being taken to shield itself from liability which is generally what happens when an insurance company is involved in negligence matters such as this one.
It might be helpful for me to give a crash course in how a civil case comes to pass in Ontario.
Firstly, the plaintiff will file a statement of claim which is meant to be a precise statement of the facts that the plaintiff intends to prove at trial. It doesn’t get into the evidence that will be relied upon by the plaintiff but rather, it is a concise statement of the facts that the plaintiff intends to prove by calling evidence.
The university, or more particularly, its insurers, have 20 days to respond (or 30 by filing a Notice of Intent to Defend) or longer if the parties’ lawyers agree to a further extension, to prepare and serve a statement of defence.
When drafting a statement of defence, the purpose is to set out all possible defences to the claims set out in the statement of claim. If this is not done, the defendant may not be able to add defences at a later point (this is generally done with leave of the court or consent from the other party only) and generally, will not be granted if it would prejudice the other party.
As a result, the statement of defence is usually set up as a kitchen sink denial of any and all possible liability.
For this reason, it would be pretty difficult to draft a statement of defence that complied with a lawyer’s duty to its defendant client by professional standards to not engage in victim blaming. That is, after all, the very nature of the statement of defence.
While the statement of defence obviously leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, I do understand that is the job of Carleton’s lawyer and frankly, there’s really no way to get around that…or is there?
After this assault, Carleton’s response was to institute significantly more security measures. To me, that indicates that Carleton recognized its lax security for its students who may be alone or working late.
It is a university, after all. Is that not what we were expected to do when we were in university? One only needs to think about being in an isolated area of the library or other part of their own university late at night to send a few chills down your spine about your own vulnerability.
The university may have been able to settle this case without the need for a public civil case to take place. Obviously, I’m not involved in this particular case but it’s general practice for a plaintiff’s lawyer to send a letter to the defendant prior to issuing a statement of claim in the interests of attempting to settle the matter without having to go through litigation. While it’s possible that this didn’t happen, it seems to me that this would have been the perfect opportunity to do the right thing. If the matter had settled, Carleton wouldn’t be receiving the bad publicity is now or the public outcry regarding its treatment of the victim.
Likely, this matter will be resolved before trial, as most civil cases are, and hopefully, the victim will obtain a settlement that will allow her to get on with her life as best as she can but in the meantime, the victim has to live through the stress of a claim that may take many years to resolve.
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What are your dreams for women?
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Trolling (not the bad kind) through the ole inbox today turned up an interesting bit of email from Christine Brooks, PhD and Shayna Korb, two feminist women researchers from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California interested in the spiritual experiences of feminist and activist individuals.
Dear readers, they’d like your perspective for a project they’re currently carrying out on this very topic:
We are two Third Wave feminist researchers with our own strong spiritual leanings and have noticed a lack of information on how our feminist peers live out their own spiritual lives. We’re doing a pilot study on third wave feminists’ experience of spirituality, a study that to our knowledge, has never been studied before.
If you identify as a woman and a third wave feminist and you’re between the ages of 18-40, fill out our short (we estimate under 20 minutes) narrative survey!
Sounds like a cool project!
Want to offer your two cents? You can find more info and the link to the survey here. Happy participating, spiritual third wavers!
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Feeling naughty in Toronto this week? Check this out:
Calling all campers! Sign up today for the best FREE summer camp experience EVER at Planet IndigenUs – Harbourfront Centre!
Join the fun with Kegedonce Press Authors and Friends with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network on August 22 from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. for “Camp Kegedonce,” a late-night fun-filled, sexy, anything-goes celebration of Indigenous erotica, sexuality and sexual diversity.
WHEN: Saturday, August 22nd
WHERE: Harbourfront Centre Toronto, Lakeview Terrace
TIME: 11pm to 1am
COST: FREE!It’ll be an R-rated romp through burlesque, body painting, music, and spoken word, with featured readings and performances by nationally renowned Metis writer Gregory Scofield performing from the revised, Kegedonce Press edition of his classic book of erotic poetry Love Medicine and One Song, the ever popular and effervescent Cherokee writer Daniel Heath Justice reading racy excerpts from the first ever Indigenous fantasy trilogy, The Way of Thorn and Thunder, and electrifying Anishnaabe writer Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm performing selections from the ground-breaking anthology Without Reservation: Indigenous Erotica.
The incomparable, sex-positive, dynamic Mohawk diva Jessica Yee will be on hand to rock the mic as MC. She’ll introduce you to hot young local Native spoken word artists from Red Slam and entice you with prizes and give-aways from the Native Youth Sexual Health Network and Good for Her feminist sex store.
Body painter Ark Angel and Métis burlesque dancer Veronika Swartz AKA “Priscilla Pussycat” from the Shameless Dames will make things sizzle while dj Mad Eskimo keeps the fires burning with his Arctic flavoured, heart thumping, body pumping, soulful electronic sounds, music, and images.
Questions? E-mail info [at] kegedonce [dot] com
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