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Let's Talk About Sexual Assault

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Let’s Talk About Sexual Assault A Feminist Exploration of the Relationship Between Legal and Experiential Discourses Dana Phillips A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Laws Graduate Program in Law Osgoode Hall Law School York University Toronto, Ontario November 2015 © Dana Phillips 2015 Abstract This thesis challenges the tendency within feminist legal thought to imagine a sharp division between law and lived experience, and specifically between feminist methods that engage legal discourse and those that invoke grassroots narratives grounded in experience. In order to better elucidate the relationship between legal and experiential discourses, the author compares recent legal discourse on sexual assault—focusing on two Supreme Court of Canada decisions—with women’s own accounts of sexual violence, as presented in mainstream news media in the wake of the 2014 Jian Ghomeshi story. The findings, examined through the lens of feminist scholarship, support a view of legal and experiential discourses on sexual violence as deeply intertwined and mutually constitutive. While law shapes accounts of firsthand experience, experiential accounts also hold the potential to shape, or “reform,” the law. This understanding suggests a different vision of the nature and process of law reform. ii Acknowledgements Like any project of its kind, this thesis builds upon the work and insight of many others, to whom I am deeply indebted. I am particularly grateful to those who engaged directly with this project as it developed. My deepest thanks go out to my supervisor, Professor Benjamin Berger, for his unfailing support and encouragement, and his unique ability to help me articulate my own ideas. Our many conversations were not only crucial to my progress, but enjoyable and edifying in their own right. A wealth of gratitude is due to Professor Sonia Lawrence, for her time, expertise, and thoughtfulness in offering feedback on my work. Our interactions always pushed me to see the issues I was addressing in new ways, and from different perspectives. I also wish to thank Professor Amanda Glasbeek for her kind words and thought-provoking questions at my defence, as well as Professor Ruth Buchanan for an excellent introduction to the craft of research, and helpful guidance in developing my project proposal. Finally, I am thankful to the Graduate Program in Law at Osgoode Hall and to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for supporting me in this endeavor. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 A Note About Terminology ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Feminist Critiques of Law Reform ........................................................................................................................... 8 Alternative Foundations ........................................................................................................................................... 15 The Discursive Construction of Experience ...................................................................................................... 22 My Claim ........................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Overview and Summary of Chapters ................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER TWO: THE LEGAL DISCOURSE .................................................................................... 35 INTRODUCTION: Law and Experience ................................................................................................... 35 PART I: Overview of Reforms ................................................................................................................... 39 Actus Reus ....................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Mens Rea .......................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Evidentiary Issues ........................................................................................................................................................ 49 Summary of Reforms .................................................................................................................................................. 52 PART II: Ewanchuk and JA ......................................................................................................................... 53 A. The Cases .................................................................................................................................................... 54 R v Ewanchuk: Subjective Consent and Rape Myths ..................................................................................... 54 R v JA: Advance Consent ............................................................................................................................................ 57 B. Law and Experience in Ewanchuk and JA ........................................................................................ 60 Meta-Discourse: Law’s Self-Image ........................................................................................................................ 61 Discourse: Power Struggles and the Shifting Meaning of Consent ......................................................... 69 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 76 CHAPTER THREE: THE SURVIVOR MEDIA DISCOURSE .......................................................... 78 Part I: The Ghomeshi Story ....................................................................................................................... 81 Part II: The Survivor Discourse ............................................................................................................... 85 Consciousness-raising ................................................................................................................................................ 87 “Why Didn’t You Call the Police?”: Survivors and the Justice System ................................................... 89 Alternatives to Law: Justice through Storytelling ........................................................................................ 101 “What Happened to me?”: Constructions of Sexual Violence .................................................................. 113 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 122 CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 124 Feminist Conceptions of Law Reform .................................................................................................. 124 Survivor Narratives as Law Reform ..................................................................................................... 129 Reinforcing New Legal Norms .............................................................................................................................. 130 Transforming Legal Meanings .............................................................................................................................. 135 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 140 References ........................................................................................................................................... 143 iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The recent allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi catalyzed an exceptional moment of public discourse on sexual assault in Canada. Following public revelations from several women who described being attacked by Ghomeshi, many others were compelled to come forward with accounts of sexual assault in their own lives. A tide of survivor1 narratives soon flooded Canadian public and social media with messages about the prevalence of sexual assault, the challenges of seeking redress through the criminal justice system, and the importance of “breaking the silence.” The emerging stories affirmed concerns expressed by feminist lawyers and legal scholars about the persistence of gendered sexual violence in the wake of feminist-influenced criminal law reforms. They also aligned with feminist methods that cast doubt on legal solutions to sexual violence and emphasize the narration of personal experience as a tool for critical
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