More than 200 people assembled in front of the Elgin Street courthouse on Friday evening to protest Jian Ghomeshi’s acquittal of charges relating to sexual assault.
Beginning in front of the courthouse and moving along Elgin towards Parliament Hill, protesters carried banners and signs displaying messages of solidarity for survivors of violence. Other signs had messages condemning a legal system many advocates and legal experts have said to be failing to protect victims of sexual assault, and calls for strong reform of it.
As they marched, people chanted a phrase echoed by many all across the country: “We believe survivors.”
The rally was at times solemn and emotional, with a few protesters crying.
Many survivors of sexual violence attended the rally and protest. Other women, men, and children were also present in solidarity.
“I was raped once, by someone I thought was a friend,” said a protester, who requested her name not be published. “I didn’t speak out—it can take a while to admit to yourself what happened. Now it feels like I’m too late. I just hope that by showing up here, I might inspire someone to be braver than I was.”
“We are here because our justice system is fucked up. It fails to protect people in need, but you are not alone,” Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah told the crowd. “People believe you.”
Owusu-Akyeeah is the program director of the Carleton University Students’ Association’s Womyn’s Centre. Members of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, Purple Sisters Youth Advisory, and the Sexual Assault Network also spoke at the rally.
Once the protesters arrived at Parliament Hill, a moment of silence was held in honour of women who have not seen justice for the violent crimes committed against them.
The former host of CBC Radio’s Q, Ghomeshi, was acquitted of four charges of sexual assault and one count of choking on March 24, following a high-profile sexual assault trial.
“This protest is to say that we’re going to be heard, whether we’re heard in the court of law or not,” said organizer Amina Ghadieh, who is a University of Ottawa student. “We want to break the stigma of rape culture and victim blaming, which puts in a system where we don’t listen to or believe victims of sexual assault when they come forward.”
“A month ago, I testified at the Ottawa courthouse against my rapist,” Ghadieh said. “The whole Ghomeshi trial was happening at about the same time as my trial, so I was obviously very emotionally invested in what was going on.”
Protesters said the verdict didn’t come as a surprise, but rather a painful reminder of the difficulties victims of sexual assault face in court.
“I don’t think anybody was surprised by the verdict,” Owusu-Akyeeah said. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hit us as hard. Many of my friends felt sick to the stomach when they heard the news.”
The evening began with a First Nations prayer song. They asked for the strength of women to be recognized. Speakers also talked about violence towards members of the LGBT community and missing and murdered Indigenous women.
A similar protest was held in Toronto on March 24, several hours after Ghomeshi was acquitted of all charges.
