Presumption of Guilt

Chapter One

Breaking News- Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear case of former general Harold Butt.

What!

Calm down Mom.

Calm down? I can’t believe it, Adam. They’re going to put that poor woman through the whole nightmare again? As if Harold Butt hasn’t put her through enough already? Unbelievable!

They must have a valid reason to hear his appeal.

"Bullshit! It was a huge win when the jury found that scumbag guilty of sexual assaulting a woman on his staff. Now the justices want to overturn that decision. That’s why we need equal representation in the Supreme Court, so women can finally have equal rights. Canada has been run by the patriarchy for far too long.

You’re overreacting.

Women in Canada have waited decades for laws that finally give us the right to defend ourselves, and the right to be believed if we accuse a man of sexual assault or harassment. Winning the Harold Butt case gave women hope that the new laws would protect our rights, but if this case is overturned we’ll be back to square one.

But the law’s gone too far in the other direction. Now women have more rights than men.

You keep saying that Adam, but you’re wrong. Men have always asserted their rights through physical domination. Now women have a fighting chance.

Not all men are rapists, Mom.

I know Adam, but just imagine how many women were afraid to call the police, when they were raped, because they knew they’d be the ones treated like a criminal, and the guy would be acquitted or get off with a light sentence. Look at Brock Turner.

But…

After the Protection of Women laws were passed in 2030, the number of women who reported rapes, in Ontario, doubled in the following year. Women seem to feel more comfortable coming forward now, because they know they’ll be believed in court and the rapist will do some serious time.

About Brock Turner, you know he was American.

Yes, but what about Justice Camp who was a provincial judge in Alberta? He kept calling the victim the accused and asked her ‘why she didn’t just keep her knees together’. Then he acquitted the pervert who raped her.

At least Rona Ambrose’s bill was passed to prevent that from happening again.

Yes, but despite her efforts the law didn’t go far enough. It was only new judges who were subject to mandatory training for sexual assault cases. If the established judges wanted to, they could skip the training and continue believing that any woman who was raped was asking for it.

But judges had to put their reason for acquittals in writing.

What good does that do if the judge has already humiliated the woman in court?

There must be a way to make the laws fair for both men and women. Look at the law about gun control. Women and girls over twelve can carry guns to protect themselves, but men can’t? Men need to defend themselves too.

Yes Adam, but women and girls need to protect themselves from human traffickers. Do you realize how many women, particularly native women and girls, have been abducted along the highway of tears in B.C. and the highway 401 corridor in Ontario? Besides, if other men don’t have guns, you men have a better chance at defending yourselves.

Hey you guys, dinner’s ready. Can you stop arguing, so we can have a peaceful meal for a change?

But Rick, did you see that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Harry Butt case? That asshole should rot in jail for the rest of his life- why are you laughing? This isn’t funny.

"I know,