Confronting Sexual Assault: A Decade of Legal and Social Change

In the decade since the passage of rape reform legislation in 1983, Canada has witnessed an extraordinary growth in public concern about the pervasive and painful issue of sexual assault. Despite this legislation, society continues to pay the price of coercive sexuality. The essays in this volume address the role that legislative reform can play in reducing and ultimately eliminating those costs.

The subjects explored include the origins of the 1983 legislation, recent national trends in criminal justice statistics relating to sexual assault, cultural bias, alternatives to sentencing, and the provision of civil compensation for the victims of sexual assault. Essays also analyse how cases are processed, how judges have constructed sexual assault, and how the level of harm caused is determined. The concluding chapters discuss the struggle between the Courts and Parliament in determining the admissibility of sexual history evidence (before and after the Seaboyer decision) and the consultation process that contributed to the 1992 legislative changes.

Several common themes emerge. One is that statutory revisions can effect changes in the behaviour of criminal justice personnel only to a limited extent. Another is the need for explicit guidance in - and perhaps limits on - the exercise of discretion by these personnel in their handling of sexual assault cases. Finally, almost every chapter in this volume stresses that the issue of criminal sexual aggression can be understood and dealt with effectively only with the help of an integrated approach which includes both sociological and legal perspectives.