Robinson couldn’t help but think if she knew there were other victims, the outcome of the case would have been different. The investigation finds another survivor, Robinson reaches out and gets a response right away: “Hello Powerful Woman.” She finally meets the woman who got the teacher banned.
What prompted Anne-Marie to seek out the other survivor?
There's a fire in the wood stove, knickknacks and art fill cozy rooms. Pamela is a lawyer, often advocating for women and victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. I've shared the transcript and other court documents with Pamela. I was just getting so mad, actually, while I was looking at all of this stuff. Silver streaks fall loose from the bun on the top of her head.
Chunky jewelry hangs around her neck. But it's a facade. If provoked, she can swear like a sailor. What the fuck? She grabs her yellow legal pad full of notes on Anne-Marie's case. But this isn't just about Anne-Marie. And it's not just about something that happened decades ago. Pamela sees systemic issues at play in too many sexual assault cases.
I suppose as a lawyer, I shouldn't say what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it. I don't encourage women to report to the police because I don't think the system works well for them. If a woman wants to do it, I will support her and help her function in that system. But if Pamela was sexually assaulted tomorrow?
I can't imagine why I would report that to the police. She points to the most recent stats to explain. A 2019 report from Statistics Canada.
It's kind of like a funnel system, if you will. We have like up at the top, at the big part of the funnel, we have every sexual assault in Canada. And then really quickly, it narrows down.
For every 100 incidents of sexual assault in this country, only six even get reported to the police.
Then the police have a decision to make. Will they or won't they lay a charge? And they do not lay a charge every time somebody reports. Then the Crown decides whether or not to proceed with a prosecution. So they can dump a case there. The funnel gets narrower. let's say the Crown decides to proceed with a prosecution, then they have their Crown resolution meetings with the defense lawyer.
The charge may be reduced. There might be a guilty plea. There might be an acquittal.
Or, as in Anne-Marie's case, there's a dismissal. No trial. No conviction. The accused walks away. Pamela gives us her take on what happened in Anne-Marie's case.
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