Jeffrey Sloka sexual assault case verdict: OCRCC responds

As Sexual Violence Prevention Month begins, we take a moment to recognize the horrendous verdict that was passed down last Friday in Kitchener, Ontario.

A former neurologist (whose medical license was stripped by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 2019 due to sexual assault allegations) was acquitted of ALL 48 charges of sexual assault in an Ontario court.

Not only did Justice Craig Parry in this case find the accused not guilty, he found all 48 complainants to be unreliable. Read that again. All 48 survivors. All unreliable.

Craig dug deeper and went on to say that some testimony was “deliberately dishonest”.

This marks another high-profile sexual assault case where a judge alone decides not only the verdict, but to also vilify, humiliate and discredit victims.

To survivors who are watching and listening: we believe you. And we’re not near done fighting against a system that was not built to find justice for you.

We believe survivors

We commend the survivors in this case for finding the courage to continue to speak about her experience. We commend all survivors of sexual violence who choose to tell their stories, whether it be in a court of law, or to a friend, family member or other support people. Finally, we recognize and commend those who never share or report their experiences—in Canada, this is by far the vast majority of sexual violence survivors. We wish we could say this experience with criminal legal systems was an isolated event; but for sexual violence survivors, we know that, unfortunately, it isn’t.

If you are a survivor of sexual violence:

If something has happened to you, please know that there are people who believe and support you.

• You can talk to a friend, family member or other person you trust
• You can contact a sexual assault centre. All support is free and confidential
• If something has happened to you and you are considering reporting, we can help you think through your options. If you are not considering reporting, that’s okay too
• Learn more about sexual assault centres in Ontario here

 

If you are a friend, family member or mentor, there are things you can do too:

• You can be an ally to sexual violence survivors
• You can listen to the person’s story without judgement
• You can listen to the person’s story without expectations that they formally report
• You can help them to find safe places to get support

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Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) is a network of 30+ community-based sexual assault centres in Ontario. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, go to https://sexualassaultsupport.ca/get-help/.

 

Media Contacts:

Dina Haddish, Members’ Coordinator

coordinator@sexualassaultsupport.ca