On My Soapbox

In Canadian law, assault is defined in six categories: assault, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, attempted murder, manslaughter, and murder. Wait a minute. What happened to sexual assault? Under the Criminal Code,

this has its own category with three levels of severity. I have a problem with this. Well, two issues. Maybe a couple more.

There are connotations attached to

sexual assault, preconceived ideas, and prejudices made worse by a separate category of charges. Okay, so maybe one could say that the Criminal Code is laid out this way because of the severity of consequences to the survivor. That's all well and fine if the justice system as a whole acknowledged those damages and punished offenders accordingly. It doesn't.

Image courtesy of the Toronto Star

Sexual assault has nothing to do with sex except involving those particular organs. It's about power, subjugation, dominance and sometimes, punishment.

Why must this type of assault be singled out, defined, and advertised this way? Why can't the Criminal Code be amended - erase that category and expand the assault categories; identify this type of crime and its degrees of severity in a way that doesn't stigmatize the victim?