The new head of Crown prosecutors in Montreal, specializing in the fight against sexual violence, now intends to use her experience to improve support for all victims, regardless of the type of crime.
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“The support exists and it is constantly improving. Each victim is unique, they have their own expectations and there is not just one approach to take”, explains Me Rachelle Pitre in an interview at Log.
For five years, the prosecutor had been in charge of the team assigned to sexual violence.
She was therefore in the front row when the #MoiAussi movement broke out in Quebec in the fall of 2017, with numerous denunciations from public figures on social networks.
“It allowed me to understand the legitimate concerns of society,” says the one who has multiplied public interventions to demystify the judicial process.
In the wake of this movement, the ex-comedy magnate Gilbert Rozon and the ex-host Éric Salvail had been accused of sex crimes to be finally acquitted by judges at the end of their trial.
Support
Without speaking about these particular cases, Me Pitre recalls “that one can never guarantee to a victim that his aggressor will be condemned”.
Aware that their path is often strewn with pitfalls, she recalls that it “is not insurmountable”, as evidenced by the dozens of convictions every day at the Montreal courthouse.
“It takes discipline, empathy, listening and support,” she says.
She also recalls that while sexual violence has occupied an important place in the public arena in recent years, other types of crime should not be forgotten.
Other large files
“There is that linked to firearms which is increasing rapidly, that linked to mental health or the consumption of narcotics …”, she gives as an example.
Saying she wants to improve working methods and continue to improve public confidence in the judicial system, she is particularly concerned about deadlines.
Especially since these have a significant impact on the victims, witnesses and defendants as well as their relatives, she adds.
“Many efforts are being made in a concerted manner by all stakeholders to improve delays,” she said, wishing to continue in the same vein, concluding that the modernization of the justice system will have a beneficial effect that “constitutes a change without precedent in ways of doing things”.