Examining Expressions of Belief in the Jian Ghomeshi Case by Vickie Richard A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Psychology University of Alberta © Vickie Richard, 2018 ii Abstract In late October 2014, accusations of sexual assault levelled against Jian Ghomeshi dominated the Canadian news cycle. This case offers an opportunity to examine the public’s struggle to determine whether to believe Ghomeshi’s alleged victims, to make sense of how that belief matters, and ask what responses these beliefs demand. This project is a narrative study of expressions of belief in the Ghomeshi scandal. In this project, I use a multi-step approach to explore what it meant for participants to say they believed or did not believe Ghomeshi or his alleged victims. In order to first characterize the context in which those comments were made, in Chapter 1 I sketch a broad timeline of events that make up the Ghomeshi scandal using news articles and publicly available online media. In Chapter 2, I detail a discursive analysis of Ghomeshi’s Facebook post which publicly triggered the scandal. In Chapter 3, I provide a thematic analysis of the responses to the Facebook post made by commenters on the same platform. Finally, in Chapter 4 I present a discursive psychological analysis of what the expressions of belief in these responses might mean, an analysis I augmented with a discussion of Charles Taylor’s strong evaluations. I conclude with a discussion of this work. Keywords: Jian Ghomeshi, sexual assault, discursive psychology, Charles Taylor, Facebook iii Dedication Pour Maman et Papa, qui m’ont toujours encouragé de poursuivre mes élans, même quand ils m’emmènent en Alberta. Pour mon mari, sans qui mes élans se seraient épuisés, et avec qui tout est possible. And for those who have experienced sexual violence. May we never complacently accept it as normal. May you find support and resolution. And may those still searching keep faith you will find what you need. iv Acknowledgements My thanks go to Dr Elena Nicoladis and Dr Kim Noels for serving on my supervisory committee, as well as to Dr Sandra Wiebe for serving on my examining committee. I am grateful for your considerate response to this project, your words of encouragement, and your sustained interest over the years. My thanks also go to Dr Cor Baerveldt, not only for serving as my supervisor through this project, but also for the countless hours of discussion, advice, encouragement, and support for this project that go above and beyond supervisory duties. This was a great adventure. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. v Table of Contents Title Page………………………………………………………………………………… i Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………... ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………... iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………… v List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………. viii Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 1 On Qualitative Methods and the Narrative Approach…...………………………… 3 Chapter 1: Detailing the Ghomeshi Scandal……………………………………………... 7 Who is Jian Ghomeshi? An Outline of a Public Persona………………………….. 7 Timeline of the Scandal……………………………………………………………. 9 A storm brewing for Ghomeshi……………………………………………... 9 Questions are raised…………………………………………………………. 11 An imminent crisis…………………………………………………………... 12 A sudden break ……………………………………………………………... 14 The Facebook post…………………………………………………………... 15 The immediate reaction……………………………………………………... 17 The alleged victims speak back……………………………………………... 18 The tide turns………………………………………………………………... 21 The public discussion………………………………………………………... 24 Charges laid…………………………………………………………………. 27 A quiet year: 2015…………………………………………………………… 28 A new year: 2016……………………………………………………………. 30 The second trial that never was……………………………………………… 31 Final Words………………………………………………………………………... 33 Chapter 2: Examining Ghomeshi’s Facebook Post……………………………………… 35 On Discourse Analysis…………………………………………………………….. 35 Ghomeshi’s Facebook Post………………………………………………………... 36 vi A few preliminary words on structure, familiarity, and emotions in the post 36 Trustworthiness……………………………………………………………... 39 Anticipating and steering the discourse……………………………………... 41 Constructing “a jilted ex-girlfriend and a freelance writer”………………… 43 The allegations, as told by Ghomeshi……………………………………….. 47 The heart of the post………………………………………………………… 50 Putting it all together, with a few questions…………………………………. 52 Final Words………………………………………………………………………... 54 Chapter 3: Reconstructing the Narrative in the Facebook Responses…………………... 55 About the Data…………………………………………………………………….. 55 About the Method…………………………………………………………………. 58 The Emergent Narrative: the Early Days………………………………………….. 60 It’s nobody’s business what you do in your bedroom!.................................... 60 Innocent until proven guilty! ……………………………………………….. 63 Questioning the women……………………………………………………... 65 Not everyone agrees… ……………………………………………………… 68 A Turning Point……………………………………………………………………. 70 The alleged victims speak back……………………………………………... 73 A compelling pattern………………………………………………………... 74 “Jian hurts women” …………………………………………………………. 75 “Ghomeshi is a…”…………………………………………………………... 77 “I retract/withdraw my earlier support for Ghomeshi”……………………… 79 Not everyone agrees here either……………………………………………... 82 Final Words………………………………………………………………………... 83 Chapter 4: Belief in the Responses to Ghomeshi’s Facebook Post……………………… 84 About the Approach……………………………………………………………….. 84 About the Data……………………………………………………………………... 87 On Believing the Person…………………………………………………………… 88 On Believing the Account………….……………………………………………… 95 vii Deepening the Analysis……………………………………………………………. 102 Taylor and strong evaluations……………………………………………….. 104 Revisiting the Public Retractions of Support for Ghomeshi………………………. 108 Final Words………………………………………………………………………... 114 Final Thoughts on the Project and Discussion…………………………………………... 115 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………… 119 Appendix 1: My Researcher’s Position Statement………………………………………. 131 Appendix 2: The Text of Ghomeshi’s Facebook Post…………………………………… 134 Appendix 3: On the Prevalence of Women’s False Sexual Assault Reports in Canada… 139 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Supportive and non-supportive comments for Ghomeshi and his post over time………………………………………………………………………………………. 71 1 Introduction In a paper summarizing research on outcomes for survivors of sexual assault, Lonsway and Archambault say the two specific behaviors that seem to have the most significant positive effect on victim well-being in the aftermath of a sexual assault are having someone to talk to and being believed. Victims who are believed and encouraged to talk about their experience – and who view these responses positively – have fewer physical and psychological symptoms than victims who do not receive such reactions or consider them to be negative. (Lonsway and Archambault, 2013, p. 2) This kind of research has inspired a number of public awareness campaigns intended to encourage more positive outcomes for sexual assault survivors. One example can be found from the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS). Since 2015, the AASAS has run the #IBelieveYou social media campaign in the fall. Its object is to have “a tangible impact on the health and safety of our province,” by encouraging people to “start by believing” suvivors’ sexual assault disclosures (AASAS, 2018, para. 4). Indeed, “believing” is an essential part of the recommendations AASAS lists for persons to whom a sexual assault survivor is disclosing their experiences: • If someone discloses to you, the best response is to start by believing. Believing [emphasis added] is something you can show, do, and say. • Unless a child is involved, reporting to police is optional, and there is no time limit on reporting. Respect their decision, whatever it may be • The role of friends and family is not to play judge and jury, but to start by believing [emphasis added]. When people start by believing [emphasis added], due process can happen, but the choice to report belongs to the survivor. • Avoid asking “why” questions. Even people with the best intentions can sound accusatory. • Let them know it’s not their fault. No one asks to be sexually assaulted. Other positive words include I’m sorry that happened, and how can I help. 2 • If you’ve doubted someone in the past, remember it’s never too late to start believing [emphasis added]. (AASAS, 2018, para. 9) Given how important ‘believing’ is held to be for outcomes for sexual assault survivors, and that it therefore features so importantly in recommendations for how to respond to sexual assault disclosures, it would be helpful to have a clearer understanding of what it means to “show, do, and say” believing, or conversely what it means to not do this There are many cases that offer us the opportunity to examine what it means to believe or not believe the alleged survivors or perpetrators of sexual assault, to make sense of how that belief matters, and to examine what responses follow from holding such beliefs. In late October 2014, one such case dominated the Canadian news cycle: the Jian Ghomeshi scandal. In a matter of days, due to allegations of sexual assault Ghomeshi went from being known as a favourite popular radio host to being discussed as a sexual predator, was fired from a high-profile job, and would even eventually face a number of criminal charges. The process