Ghomeshi charged

[Hunter John]

I bet 90% of legitimate assaults never get reported.

[fishermccann]

Very likely higher, but then how do we come up with these total numbers if many victims tell no one?

[Sharon]

Not surprised ! The credibility of the witnesses/victims was pretty much in doubt right from the start. The fact that the "alleged" victims would pursue him after being "assaulted", is not logical, nor is it reasonable. It's not a case where the women were on trial, but in cases of he said, she said, such as this, the court will weigh the credibility of all witness very carefully. Obviously the judge did not find their evidence credible, and rightly so in my opinion.

Apparently it's more than just not credible. Heard on the news at 6 that the women may be charged for " lying under oath and hindering justice."

[ninepointer]

Anyone else notice that Ghomeshi and his lawyer look alike?

[rick_iles]

And yet tens of thousands of abuse victims do exactly that, every single day.

With outlooks like yours, it's not hard to see why they're marginalized and victimized even more.

People do irrational and unreasonable things every day. I'm sure you have too. It's not an excuse to victimize them.

I can think of many less stressful, surprising, non-abusive events in my own life where even just hours later - i'm thinking about a time i nearly drowned after spending 4 hrs in a lake in heavy winds, unable to make it to shore - where my recollection was extremely fuzzy. Nevermind now, years after it happened.

There is a huge difference in cases of spousal abuse, where long term relationships are involved. There is no question that it not uncommon for abuse victims to go back into an abusive relationship. However, this was not a long term, spousal situation. These "victims" were casual "hook-ups", where there was no investment into a long term relationship. You can't say they were dependant, or felt dependant on their abuser, as is frequently the case in long term abusive relationships. The fact is, these "victims" perjured themselves, failed to disclose very important facts to the investigators, obviously to bolster their complaint, conspired with each other prior to giving their evidence, and outright gave false misleading evidence under oath. The bottom line is, if you want to make a complaint, tell the truth, disclose all information and don't attempt to alter the direction of an investigation by misleading the investigators.
As far as my outlook goes, it's the result of decades investigating similar occurrences, and hours and hours of training.
With respect to your stressful "event", did you climb out of your boat, then wait for a day with similar winds, and then jump back into your boat to do it all over again ????

[rick_iles]

Apparently it's more than just not credible. Heard on the news at 6 that the women may be charged for " lying under oath and hindering justice."

I highly doubt there will be any charges laid. Time and time again, "victims" in spousal incidents have outright lied and/or committed mischief by making a false complaint, and the Crown refuses to prosecute....

[rick_iles]

That is so sad. How do they know those numbers of total assaults , once people ( counselors etc.) know about an assault are they not obligated to report it to the police.

No, only in cases of child assaults. You also have to realize the definition of a sexual assault. It can be anything from a minor touch to an actual penetration. I would suggest that given the broad definition of a sexual assault, there are not many women, or men for that matter that haven't been "sexually" assaulted at one time or another.

[fishermccann]

How do they come up with the number of unreported assaults, a guess?

[rick_iles]

How do they come up with the number of unreported assaults, a guess?

Good question !

[trimmer21]

How do they come up with the number of unreported assaults, a guess?

The only possible way would be anecdotally,meaning,some available information,but,not enough to prosecute (as was my personal frustrating experience when investigating complaints). I'll just say that all the protestors aren't doing victims any favors,either. The witnesses lied and fabricated evidence which led to the acquital. Protestors position themselves that it doesn't matter,he's guilty,anyway. They all look foolish.