NCJ Number
138221
Date Published
1988
Length
202 pages
Annotation
This study describes the current response of Canada's criminal justice system and related agencies to sexual- assault reports, delineates the direction and extent of any changes in practices and outcomes since the implementation of Bill C-127, describes the victims' experiences with the criminal justice system, and documents improvements suggested by practitioners to better achieve the intentions of the 1983 legal reforms.
Abstract
Bill C-127 became law on January 4, 1983. It deletes rape and indecent assault from the Criminal Code and replaces them with three degrees of sexual assault, so as to focus on the assaultive rather than the sexual aspects of the crime. The changes are expected to improve reporting and conviction rates, alter attitudes toward the nature of the crime, better sensitize criminal justice professionals to complainant needs, and make the experience of victim participation in the criminal justice system less harrowing and degrading. This study reviewed police and crown files for sexual assaults reported before and after the legislation, examined sexual assault center files before and after the legislation, interviewed criminal justice practitioners, observed sexual assault trials during much of 1987, and interviewed sexual assault victims. On the basis of all the evidence, this study concludes that the legislation has had a positive impact on the criminal justice system's response to sexual assault victims, although some victims are apparently subjected to unnecessary trauma as a result of their participation in the criminal justice system. Although further improvements in victims' experiences in the processing of sexual assault complaints are necessary, such improvements are most likely to come from extra-legal measures. 91 tables and a list of research reports from the Sexual Assault Evaluation Program