All Points West with Jason D'Souza

Victoria woman helps change law that silenced sexual assault victims

Kelly Favro shares her story of what it took to change a law that was supposed to protect victims of sexual assault from further harm, but in effect silenced them.

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How a B.C. woman helped give voice to survivors of sexual assault

The publication ban meant to protect Kelly Favro from further harm effectively silenced her — so she took action. Thanks to her and others like her, the rules have changed.

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Victims of sexual violence say new Criminal Code changes to publication bans give them more autonomy

Survivors of sexual violence are lauding changes to Canada’s Criminal Code set to give victims more say in courtroom publication bans that previously barred them from speaking publicly.

Advocates believe the amendments passed late last month will give victims of sexual offences more agency, this in the face of a legal system many felt was haphazard and paternalistic in forcefully shrouding survivors’ stories in secrecy.

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‘A huge victory for women’: Criminal Code change makes it easier for sexual assault survivors to remove publication bans on own names

A Victoria woman who fought to remove the publication ban on her name so she could tell the story of her sexual assault has been successful in Ottawa in lobbying for a change to the Canadian Criminal Code.

“This is a huge victory for women. This law has been around since 1988. So this is 35 years of publication bans where most, if not all, victims were never informed before a ban went on their names,” said Kelly Favro who campaigned with My Voice, My Choice.

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The court wouldn’t let her talk about her sex assault. A new law means the next survivor won’t have to fear prosecution for speaking out

Bill S-12 “gives clarity, and most importantly, it means that victims won’t be criminalized when they talk about their experience,” said sex assault survivor Morrell Andrews.

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These 10 shows just won awards at Fringe Fest 2023

The 2023 Vancouver Fringe Festival has come and gone, closing out 11 days and over 85 shows.

And while each and every one of those shows was splendid in its own way, there are a few that particularly resonated with Vancouver audiences—and the folks who decided on this year’s award winners.

**Congratulations to MVMC founding member, Maarika Freund, for being a runner-up for Best of The Fest with PEACHES: THE PLAY!

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Theatre reviews: Sultry tango, orange puppets, and orca laments—a first look at Vancouver Fringe Festival shows

Peaches: The Play!’s cutting social critique; Tango in the Dark’s mad dancing skills, and more

PEACHES: THE PLAY!

To September 17 at The Nest

It’s 2028 and years have passed since Maarika, a struggling actress, last found work. Her career took a downturn after she bravely came forward to expose her assailant, a fellow actor. Over the years, she stood firm in her commitment to addressing rape culture through her podcast, and now, that dedication places her in the running for the lead role in a new Broadway musical.

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Peaches: The Play! At The 2023 Vancouver Fringe Festival

Maarika Freund, founder of “MAARIKA IS FUNNY” Productions [and a founding member of MVMC], is the writer, director and performer of PEACHES: THE PLAY!, which is having it’s world premiere at the 2023 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

Synopsis: It’s the dystopian future of 2028, and Maarika finally has a big audition! Only, there’s a catch: she has to audition for the role of Harvey Weinstein. We chatted with Maarika to learn more.

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The sexual assault survivors fighting their own publication bans

Publication bans have become all but automatic in sexual-assault cases across Canada. These bans were put in place to protect survivors who have come forward. But My Voice My Choice, a group of women who are fighting those publication bans, argue that these bans prevent survivors who want to speak openly about their experiences. Molly Hayes and Zosia Bielski are national news reporters for The Globe and Mail. They’re on the show to explain the limits of these publication bans and the group fighting to make their voices heard.

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No longer silent, more victims of sexual violence fight publication bans imposed in their names

When abusers go to trial, survivors who want to tell people what happened are often thwarted by court orders that are costly and time-consuming to undo. These women want to change that.

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Federal government wants to let sexual assault victims opt out of publication bans

Legislation would require judges to ask prosecutors if they've consulted victims about publication bans.

The federal government introduced legislation Wednesday that would change the Criminal Code to give victims of sexual assault the opportunity to opt out of publication bans.

Publication bans are intended to protect sexual assault victims by prohibiting the publication of information that could identify them publicly in relation to their case.

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Bill introduced in Senate to change publication ban rules on sexual assault cases

Several B.C. and Vancouver Island advocates have spent years campaigning for change

A group of Vancouver Island women calling for legislative change on how publication bans are handled in sexual assault cases may soon see results.

Bill S-12 was introduced in the Senate by Senator Marc Gold on Wednesday (April 26), proposing requirements for judges when implementing publication bans on sexual assault cases.

If passed, the bill would require judges to ask prosecutors if they have sought victim input on whether to impose a publication ban. It also codifies the process for getting a ban lifted and would require judges to ask if victims want to receive ongoing information about their case after sentencing and ensure that wish is entered into the public record.

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Ottawa’s new law to help sex assault survivors is counterproductive, lawyer warns

The federal government unveiled changes on Wednesday purporting to make it easier for sexual assault survivors to lift publication bans and speak out about their experiences — changes that one leading expert warns will have the opposite effect.

Publication bans are typically imposed on the names of complainants in criminal sexual assault cases as a matter of routine. But a growing number of survivors have pushed to have the bans removed so that they can speak publicly without the risk of being prosecuted for revealing their own identity.

The bill tabled Wednesday in the Senate would amend the Criminal Code and require judges to ask prosecutors if complainants have been consulted before a ban is ordered. And if a victim wants a ban modified or removed, the bill says judges must order a hearing to deal with the application.

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Federal Govt Announces Proposed Changes to Sex Offender Registry

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, federal ministers David Lametti (justice) and Marci Ien (women and gender equality and youth) outline new legislation that aims to strengthen and modernize the National Sex Offender Registry. The proposed changes would ensure the automatic registration of serious and repeat child sex offenders to the registry, as well as provide additional tools to law enforcement to adequately respond to sex offences. The proposed legislation responds to a 2022 Supreme Court of Canada decision that ruled the mandatory and lifetime registration on the registry was unconstitutional. They are joined by Morrell Andrews (member of My Voice, My Choice) and Benjamin Roebuck (Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime). (April 26, 2023) (no interpretation)

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Eyes turn to Parliament as Victoria-led petition on sexual assault publication bans closes
Final push sees petition signatures double to nearly 5,000

Momentum is building behind a group of B.C. women calling for changes to the rules on court publication bans in sexual assault cases.

A petition launched by the group, who have formed a collective called My Voice My Choice, closed on Friday (March 10), with the number of signatures nearly doubling in the final week to 4,900.

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130-131: Kelly Favro’s Story

In this two-part series, we explore Kelly Favro's harrowing journey from surviving a two-hour sexual assault to becoming the first person in British Columbia to have a publication ban removed from her name - by herself.

Publication bans are routinely ordered to protect the privacy of vulnerable participants in the criminal justice system. But in the case of sexual assault complainants, what if they didn’t actually consent to the publication ban? What if they don’t want it?

What happens when publication bans backfire?

Along the way, Kelly met many other sexual assault survivors and learned that she was not alone. You’ll also hear the stories of Jade Neilson and Samantha Geiger, two survivors who discovered publication bans had been put on their names without their consent, and how it impacted them in completely separate but negative ways.

It all culminated in a trip to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to fight for changes.

Listen to the podcast here

My Choice - pt.2 with Kelly Favro

Kelly is a survivor is a victim survivor of sexual assault who comes on the podcast to discuss her experience and in this episode the subsequent criminal proceedings. The outrage is real as we discuss the process and outcomes that forced Kelly into the world of advocacy, as she has had to fight tooth and nail to change outdated laws in Canada.

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My Voice - pt.1 with Kelly Favro

Kelly is a survivor is a victim survivor of sexual assault who comes on the podcast to discuss her experience and in this episode the subsequent criminal proceedings. The outrage is real as we discuss the process and outcomes that forced Kelly into the world of advocacy, as she has had to fight tooth and nail to change outdated laws in Canada.

Listen to the podcast here

Statement in Support of the Survivor-Led Initiative on Publication Bans

The Ending Violence Association of Canada (EVA Canada) supports the survivor-led Petition to the Government of Canada that seeks to enable survivors of sexual assault to have a say in publication bans on their own identity.

Publication bans are an important mechanism to protect the identity and privacy of victim-complainants during and after sexual assault trials, in order to increase their safety, minimize victim-blaming, as well as to encourage others to come forward. However, not every survivor wishes for a publication ban to be placed on their identity, nor for it to be indefinite.

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MP’s suggest reform to how sexual assault publication bans are applied

Kelly Favro never thought she’d have something to celebrate when it came to her journey as a sexual assault survivor.

“It was a lot of relief. It was a lot of happiness. It was a lot of crying,” said Favro. “This is historical and it’s monumental and it’s going to make it so much easier for people to say their name.”

In 2015 Favro was restrained against her will and violently sexually assaulted for two hours by Kenneth Charles Erickson, someone she had been casually seeing.

“I had marks on my wrists and my ankles. I was bruised, I had my underwear ripped,” Favro told CHEK News in 2021

For six years, she wasn’t able to talk about it, because of a publication ban crown put on her case without her consent.

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Advocates say complainants should be able to opt out of publication bans

OTTAWA - Morrell Andrews fought in court to control the use of her own name last year when she hoped to speak publicly about her experience with sexual assault.

She won that fight. But she’s hoping nobody ever has to wage the same battle again.

Andrews is calling on the federal government to update laws around publication bans to better support victims who want to come forward and tell their stories.

In her own case, she said, theCrown prosecutor and judge did not ask her if she wanted to keep her name private, and she wasn’t made aware of a publication ban until the offender pleaded guilty and was being sentenced.

“That’s when I found out that someone had decided for me that I should not have my identity published and would not be allowed to self-identify and talk about my experience,” she said.

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(Short Cuts) Trauma-informed Journalism: A Choice and a Voice

Former crime reporter Tamara Cherry — who now works as a specialist-for-hire on trauma-informed practices — joins Jonathan Goldsbie to consider what allegations swirling around Leah McLaren’s memoir have taught us about what could be called “trauma-indifferent” writing. They also look at how publication bans on the identities of victims can sometimes serve to re-victimize them, and how Canada seems to be on the verge of finally addressing that.This episode contains discussions of sexual assault.

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‘I needed permission from my rapist to talk’: Sooke woman says publication ban turned town against her
Samantha Geiger says the publication ban stopped her from defending herself

Samantha Geiger has spent most of the past two years looking over her shoulder, living in fear.

The Sooke resident has lived in the town since she was a child but says many people in the town turned against her after she reported a man for sexually assaulting her in May 2020.

Benjamin Kenmare was sentenced to six months in jail and 18 months probation in February 2022 for sexually assaulting Geiger, after a court process that took nearly two years.

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Justice committee pushes government to drop blanket publication bans for sexual assault cases
Advocates say automatic bans rob victims of ability to speak publicly about their experiences

The House of Commons justice committee is calling on the government to change the Criminal Code to allow victims of sexual assault to opt out of publication bans.

Such bans are intended to protect victims by prohibiting the publication of information that could identify them publicly in relation to their case.

But a report tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday recommends — among other things — that the law be changed so that publication bans are not imposed on victims without their consent.

The report — which received unanimous support from the committee's MPs — followed a months-long study looking at how the government can improve supports for victims of crime.

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Fighting to be named: Sexual assault survivors tell Ottawa to change publication ban law
Women say they should not have to fight the law when they decide they want to go public about their ordeals

In an Ontario courtroom in 2021, Vancouver’s Morrell Andrews read out her victim impact statement at the sentencing of the driving school instructor who had groped her when she was a teenager.

“When I was a student of the guilty party, despite being 18 years old, I still felt like a child. … I thought that it was my job to be polite, kind, caring and strong. I never told him no, I never said stop,” she told the court and her attacker, who pleaded guilty to assault.

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Federal committee backs B.C. women’s calls for change to publication ban rules
Recommendations include informing victims of publication bans before implementation

Morrell Andrews was sitting at her bedroom desk Thursday morning, ready for an ordinary day working from home. That was before she read a report that left her swelling with emotion.

“I was so overjoyed that I just burst into tears at my desk,” she said.

On her screen was the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights report called “Improving Support for Victims of Crime.” In it are two recommendations backing calls for change from Andrews and a group of B.C. women on the rules surrounding court-issued publication bans for sexual assault cases.

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House committee says victims should be able to opt out of publication bans

OTTAWA - The federal justice minister says he is open to updating the Victims Bill of Rights after a parliamentary report called on the federal government to make changes, including allowing victims of sexual offences to opt out of publication bans.

Witnesses at the House of Commons justice committee said that publication bans are essential and should be available to victims who want them in place — so long as they are consulted first.

But judges often impose publication bans to protect the identity of complainants in sexual offences at the request of the Crown. Some victims of sexual assault say they have had to fight to control the use of their own names.

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Laurel Collins joins Victoria woman's fight to change publication ban rules on sexual assault
Currently, survivors can face charges or custody for speaking out about their own cases

Sexual assault survivors have gained the support of Victoria MP Laurel Collins in a longstanding fight to change legislation that places publication bans on survivors’ names without their consent or knowledge. They’re optimistic that a government bill will be introduced in the House of Commons as early as 2023 to permanently change what happens when a sexual assault case goes to court.

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Vancouver Island women push to end court-ordered silence of sexual assault victims
Group wants victims to have a say on publication bans for sexual assault cases

A group of B.C. women is banding together to petition Parliament to change the rules on court-issued publication bans for sexual assault cases.

They say the current rules silence sexual assault survivors and leave them uninformed while protecting abusers.

Petition e-4192, sponsored by NDP Victoria MP Laurel Collins, calls on the federal government to implement a number of changes on how victims are kept informed of publication bans on their sexual assault cases, give victims a choice on whether a publication ban is implemented or not and help them lift those publication bans if they wish.

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Sex assault victims want ability to opt out of publication bans
'Silence is a superpower for predators and pedophiles. That’s how they can continue to do what they’re doing,' says Barrie woman

Having a Barrie judge drop the publication ban on her name was only one step in Brandy Mullen’s journey.

The next step for the Springwater Township woman is to encourage legislators to clarify the law around publication bans to give victims of violence a choice, something she feels she and others didn’t have.

“Publication bans are important … but it’s the paternalistic way that they’re handed out that needs to be addressed,” she says. “Most of the time victims are not informed, never mind whether they want it or not.”

An area man was accused of sexually assaulting her when she was a child and was acquitted last spring. After the trial, Mullen asked the judge to have the publication ban protecting her identity removed so she could tell her story. The judge agreed.

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CARRIE LOW VS.

Carrie Low trusted police when she reported her horrific rape. But she says they failed to investigate properly, and only succeeded in traumatizing her further. Now she’s setting out on a mission to hold these institutions to account. This all-new investigation is hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Maggie Rahr.

Listen to the podcast here

'I have nothing to hide': Complainant gets ban lifted in Dartmouth rape case

A publication ban on the identity of the complainant in a high-profile rape case in Dartmouth provincial court has been lifted at her request.

“I have nothing to hide,” Carrie Low said Wednesday after appearing in court with a lawyer she retained to help her get the ban removed.

“Someone took away my right to have my own name out there without telling me. Then I had to go through another court process to have (the ban) removed.

“It’s very unfair and very unjust to someone who has rightfully spoken out and wants to have media coverage of this case due to all the failures that I have suffered and am still suffering.”

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Victoria sexual assault survivor achieves rare overturning of publication ban
Kelly Favro only learned of ban in 2020, four years after assault conviction

For what is very likely the first time in B.C. history, a sexual assault survivor has successfully had the publication ban on her case lifted.

It’s a ban Kelly Favro, a 37-year-old Victoria mother, had no idea existed until more than five years after she was sexually assaulted.

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Publication Bans: Morrell Andrews won't be silenced

So, episode 124 - a new record. But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

Her name is Morrell Andrews and she can finally speak publicly about being sexually assaulted.

Morrell Andrews wanted to speak out about sexual assault, but the court would not let her. So, she fought for her right to speak and had the publication ban that was imposed on her own name overturned.

Morrell talked to us about her journey thought the justice system. But trust me, this will not be the last her from Morrell. She is a strong and powerful advocate with some

Listen to the podcast here

She wanted to tell you about her sex assault. The court has finally let her
Morrell Andrews found herself the subject of a publication ban she didn’t want and didn’t need — “I am the victim, I don’t need protection,” she says.

Her name is Morrell Andrews and she can finally speak publicly about being sexually assaulted.

On Friday, the publication ban imposed without her knowledge on her identity as a sexual assault victim was finally lifted in Milton court following a two-week delay caused by the defence lawyer for the driving instructor who pleaded guilty to assaulting her.

Moments later, Andrews did what she had been waiting 37 days to do: share the victim impact statement she had written as a “love letter” to other survivors.

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She wanted to tell you about her sex assault. The court won’t let her
She never asked for a publication ban on her own name. “I wanted my words to be public. I wanted my words to help make change.”

The first time she learned it would be illegal for her to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted was when the driving instructor who groped her when she was 18 pleaded guilty last week in Milton.

The woman, now 26, had spent hours writing her victim impact statement and intended to share it on social media.

“I wanted my words to be public. I wanted my words to help make change,” she said in an interview.

Instead, those words remain “still in draft and all the power behind them unseen,” she said, because of a publication ban on her identity that she never asked for and was never told about, and which she has not yet been able to lift despite asking the Crown and a judge.

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