As a Victim of Sexual Assault, What Can You Do?

Scenario:

Melissa is a 15-year-old girl struggling with math at school. Fortunately, her new math teacher is extremely nice, offering her extra help with her homework after class. One day, when she goes to his office to ask him a question regarding the new assignment, he accidentally brushes her chest. Confused, she does nothing until he puts his arm around her waist and tries to kiss her. Leaving in a hurry, she doesn’t say anything to anyone. The next day at school, the teacher tells her to see him after class. This time, he tries to force her to take off her shirt. When she refuses, he tells her that no one will believe her anyways and that he will give her an A+ on the next assignment if she complies. Scared, she rushes home, unsure of what to do.

What can Melissa do? What are her legal rights?

What can Melissa do?

If Melissa wants to, she can immediately report the crime to her parents, another teacher, her principle or directly to the police. Her first step to the justice system will be reporting to the police whose role will be to investigate the facts of the case to see if Melissa’s teacher can be charged. The earlier she reports the crime, the higher the chance the police will be able to find relevant evidence (witnesses for example). If there is enough evidence, the police will produce a report recommending charges. After going to the police, Melissa can ask for special measures so that she does not have to see her teacher while pursuing these charges.

Melissa’s Legal Rights:

The The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is in force around the world, including in Canada. It lists the fundamental human rights of all children, defined as everyone below the age of 18. The Government of Canada protects these legal rights. Melissa’s teacher has infringed her right to be protected from physical, mental or sexual abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Criminal Code Offences Involved:

According to the Criminal Code of Canada Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual interference and sexual exploitation.

Section 151(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual interference as: every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years.

Section 153 of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual exploitation as: every person commits an offence who is in a position of trust or authority towards a young person, who is a person with whom the young person is in a relationship of dependency or who is in a relationship with a young person that is exploitative of the young person, and who a) for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of the young person; or b) for a sexual purpose, invites, counsels or incites a young person to touch, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, the body of any person, including the body of the person who so invites, counsels or incites and the body of the young person.

Additionally, Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual assault. Sexual assault is any form of sexual contact without both parties’ voluntary consent. A sexual assault can also occur when someone threatens to sexually assault another and is able to immediately follow through with that threat. Importantly, sexual assault need not be limited to intercourse. It includes kissing and touching. 

In order for Melissa’s teacher to be found guilty, it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he engaged or intended to engage in a sexual act without Melissa’s consent.

Consent

Consent means that a person agreed voluntarily to take part in the act. If one does not voluntarily agree, then there is no consent. In Melissa’s case, the first time she brushed him off and ran out, and the second time directly refused, making it clear that she did not consent to any sexual activity.

In order to determine if consent was given, a court will look at Melissa’s words, conduct, and reasonable steps that she took. In this case, Melissa said NO and immediately left. If Melissa is interested in reporting these crimes, then it is recommended that she immediately tell her parents/guardian who can then assist her with going further to telling the principal of her school and the police.

It is very common for a person in Melissa’s situation to feel a variety of different emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, anger or shame.

There are a variety of resources available in order to offer advice or support:


Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

Assaulted Women’s Helpline: (416)863-0511, outside GTA: 1-866-863-0511)

Justice for Children and Youth: (416) 920-1633, 1-866-999-5329 (outside GTA)

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres: http://www.sexualassaultsupport.ca/Default.aspx?pageId=535883

Boost Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention: http://www.boostforkids.org/Home.aspx


The scenario for this post was written by Cydney Kim a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team.  Cydney is in grade 12 at University of Toronto Schoolds. The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

Some Comments About the Age of Consent

 The following is an opinion piece by JFCY volunteer and PLE Team Member Marsha Rampersaud.  Marsha is a criminology student at York University.  The opinions in the piece are hers, not those of JFCY.  To learn more about the current law relating to age of consent, see this past blog post and our YouTube video.

After watching the JFCY's  YouTube video on the “AGE OF CONSENT” I was interested to learn more about this law.  I researched the history of the law and the reasons behind the last set of amendments in 2008.  What I found in my research was both surprising and informative. 

‘Age of Consent’ describes the age when a person can participate in a particular activity (generally sexual activity) legally.  What this means is that if someone is below the age of consent for sexual activity, it doesn’t matter (in the eyes of the law) whether they have participated willingly or unwillingly in the sexual activity, because they are considered to lack the capacity to consent.  This has legal consequences for a young person’s sexual partner.  If one partner is below the age of consent, the other partner can be held criminally responsible for participating in sexual activity.  Age becomes the standard to determine criminal responsibility, regardless of whether the relationship was actually consensual.   

Age of consent law has changed in recent years.  In June 2006, Bill C-22 proposed changes to the age of consent law.  Bill C-22 did not become law, but similar changes were proposed in Bill C-2, an omnibus bill that followed Bill C-22.  It was given royal assent in February 2008, which means that the changes it proposed are now part of the Criminal Code of Canada.  


Offences relating to sexual activity engaged in by young people date back to the late 1800s in Canada.  The definition of these crimes has been revised over the years, as society’s expectations for men and women have changed.  One part of Bill C-2 changed the age of consent law in section 150.1 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which pertains to sexual offences.  The reason behind the bill, as stated by Parliament is to better protect youth against sexual exploitation by adult predators.

Bill C-2 was significant for a number of reasons: in describing the changes to the law, the government often referred to age of protection, instead of age of consent.  Why is this important?  While consent means to give permission, which leaves power in the hands of youth, protection means to keep someone safe.  This takes the power out of the hands of youth and puts it into the hands of law enforcers (police, government etc.).  In my opinion, the result is that young people who fall within the scope of the age of protection are denied a voice regarding their sexuality.

For a number of offences relating to sexual activity by young people, the bill effectively raised the age of consent from 14 to 16.  There are some exceptions: There isa "close-in-age" exemption in the bill, which allowed 14- and 15-year olds to legally consent to sexual activity with someone who was less than 5 years older than them, and 12- and 13- year-olds to consent to sexual activity with someone less than two years older. (For more on that, watch JFCY's YouTube video explaining these exceptions.)


Despite public protest, the bill failed to address the question of lowering the age of consent to anal intercourse, which remains at 18.  Keeping the age of consent for anal intercourse at 18 has a negative impact on gay, bisexual and queer male teenagers specifically, since the age to consent to all other forms of sexual activity remains at 16.  However, in Ontario, the Court of Appeal has found that this distinction is unconstitutional, which means that even though the law about age of consent for anal intercourse still exists, people should not be charged with it in Ontario.  Many other provinces have similar rulings, but the Canadian government still has not repealed the law, which means it is effective in provinces that don’t have these kinds of court rulings.  It also means that anyone who does not know about the court rulings, and just looks at the Criminal Code to find out about the crime, will not know that the law does not apply in Ontario. It could have a negative effect on the dignity and self-esteem of gay, bisexual and queer teenagers. Knowing all this, I can’t help but ask the question, who does this law actually protect?  Or, more appropriately, who does this law target? 

In my opinion, this shift in the legislation represents a paternalistic conceptualization of childhood and sexuality.  It presumes that the state knows what is best when it comes to a young person’s sexual decisions.  But who can know more about their sexuality than the youth themselves?

Under Bill C-2, people under the age of 18 are viewed as unable to make certain decisions about sexual activity by themselves.  This does not take into account the multitude of developmental stages that exist between ages 0 – 17.  The current legal conception collapses and combines infancy, toddlers, adolescence, pre-pubescence and pubescence, etc into one discreet category.  This view denies the agency of the youth.

I believe that age of consent law should recognize and celebrate a mature young person’s ability to make decisions.  Education is important so that young people can make informed decisions of when to give consent and when to withhold consent. If it were up to me, I would endorse a law that actually empowers youth through the promotion of safer sex and education and allows youth to make informed decisions, leaving the law free to target actual perpetrators.

Thanks to JFCY Volunteer and PLE Team member Marsha Rampersaud for this opinion piece, which represents her personal views on the laws about age of consent. It does not represent the views of JFCY as a whole.