An alleged victim of sexual assault wishes to apply to the Court of Appeal to prevent the denunciations sent in the summer of 2020 to the Say his name page from being disclosed to Jean-François Marquis and his lawyer, as decided by a judge of the Superior Court.
“I never gave my consent for other people to read this private discussion I had with the Say his name page,” said Éloïse (fictitious name), who requested anonymity.
The latter filed on Monday an Act of Voluntary Intervention to obtain permission to intervene in the appeal to be heard on December 10, learned The duty.
“The whole subject of Say his name revolves around consent,” she recalls. I find it ridiculous that we are breaking the consent of victims who wanted to speak anonymously using the Say his name page. “
Say Her Name’s list of potential abusers – still available online – was created in the summer of 2020 in the wake of the wave of reports of sexual misconduct.
Jean-François Marquis, whose name has appeared on the list, claims $ 50,000 in moral and punitive damages from the administrators for defamation, in addition to demanding the closure of the site.
His lawyer, Pierre-Hugues Miller, wants to demonstrate that no verification was made before the names of potential attackers were added to the list. He asked the Superior Court to obtain copies of the denunciations.
In a judgment rendered last February, Judge Katheryne A. Desfossés partially acquiesced to this request by ruling that Dis son nom was to send to Me Miller and his client about a thousand denunciations received in July and August 2020, while redacting the names of the victims. Say his name is appealing this decision.
A need to protect yourself
“I want to be heard [par la Cour d’appel] to argue that we are in the process of making decisions for all the victims who have had private discussions with Say his name, without the victims being taken into account in these discussions ”, raises Éloïse, who also said to fear d ‘be identified despite the redaction of the names.
She explains having denounced her attacker (who is not Jean-François Marquis) through Say his name to avoid being revictimized during a legal process. “The justice system does not meet the needs of victims,” she argues. And rather than criminalizing her attacker, she wanted above all to raise awareness in him.
“The need I had was to protect myself. […] If we have to ask ourselves as soon as we speak to someone in private if this conversation is going to be shared, that’s rubbish, ”she denounces.
Éloïse says she is particularly upset by the fact that the story of her sexual assault could end up in the hands of Jean-François Marquis, an individual who was himself named on the list of potential aggressors. “It really pisses me off that he has access to this. “
The alleged victim says she is not in contact with other people who have reported their attacker through Say His Name, nor with the administrators of the whistleblower page.
“I am not speaking on behalf of other victims. But I also do it because others must have the same fears as me, she emphasizes. It endangers this alternative to the legal system. “
His lawyer, Me Maryse Lapointe, recalls that public denunciations of individual cases of sexual misconduct pursue a broader objective. “These processes by which women speak up allow society to change,” she argues.
“The fact that we talk at this point [du traitement judiciaire des victimes d’agressions sexuelles et des violences à l’endroit des femmes] at the government level shows that the movement is getting things done. “