Unit 10
Sexual Violence

Overview

According to Catharine MacKinnon, one of the primary benefits of a substantive approach to equality (as opposed to a formal approach) is that it can address the most fundamental of sex equality issues: violence against women. Canadian women’s organizations have spent a great deal of time and resources trying to challenge myths and stereotypes about women and sexual assault and to make the law more responsive to women’s experiences of violence. Can equality rights law change the level of violence against women and children? Is the possible cost to our system of justice appropriate? In this unit we review and assess post-Charter efforts to bring the law’s approach to sexual violence in line with equality rights thinking.

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit students should be able to

1. identify the basic components of the crime of sexual assault.
2. discuss how myths and stereotypes about women have shaped the law’s approach to sexual assault.
3. assess the impact of recent legal efforts to bring the criminal process for sexual assault in line with equality rights thinking.
4. evaluate the legal effect of the 1992 reforms.
5. identify some of the reasons why legal reforms to sexual assault law remain controversial.