The sexual assault trial earlier this year of five former members of Canada’s national junior hockey team focused attention across the country on sexual violence as well as on hockey culture. Many of us who work with survivors and victims of gender-based violence were surprised neither by the nightmare of the trial itself for E.M. nor by the verdict. For others — those who are not involved with this issue on a regular basis – the trial and verdict served as a wake-up call to how problematic the current criminal law response is to gendered violence.
It’s easy to think about sexual assault as something that happens to people we don’t know and in places where we don’t live, but that’s not the case. It can happen anywhere and to anyone.
I’ve been reminded of that over the summer, as I have followed another sexual assault trial. It’s taking place in Kingston, where I live. Michael Haaima, a 40-year-old technology entrepreneur, is facing 98 charges for sexual assault and related offences committed against 28 women and girls between 2007 and 2022. The charges include sexual assault (20 counts), aggravated sexual assault, exploitation, uttering threats, forcible confinement, luring, making and distributing child pornography and many others.
This trial, which is taking place before a judge alone at the Frontenac County Courthouse, began at the end of May and is expected to run at least until next spring. Haaima may be found guilty of all, some or none of the charges he is facing. Regardless of that, the lives of the women and girls who reported him to the police, have been changed forever.
No media attention
This story has received almost no media attention. The Kingstonist, an independent, locally owned online news site, is doing an excellent job of covering it, but it’s a small operation and can’t dedicate all of its resources to just one story, however important. And, news site is not well known, which means that not enough people are reading its coverage.
The Kingston Whig Standard, once one of Canada’s best daily newspapers, occasionally sends a reporter, and the CBC provided an online report when Haaima was charged two years ago, but coverage since then has been limited.
When I tell colleagues about this case – folks who are up on gender-based violence news stories — they stare at me blankly because they just haven’t heard about it. And that’s a real shame.
Contrast this with the intense national media coverage of the hockey player trial.
I guess that story was — if I can use this word when writing about sexual assault — sexier. One victim, multiple high-profile accuseds, the culture of Canada’s national sport in question, famous and media-savvy lawyers. The trial itself provided considerable drama, with an early mistrial, a second jury and, ultimately, the dismissal of that jury, leaving the decision in the hands of the judge alone.
Nobody in the Kingston trial is high profile. The offences with which Haaima has been charged are spread over 15 years and cover a wide ranging list of bad acts, so it’s harder to find a focus. With no jury, there is less opportunity for drama.
Important story
But there’s an important story here, and it deserves to be told to a national audience. The sheer size of the case – 98 charges and 28 complainants – should make this big news. The range of offences is breathtakingly lurid; my list above could have included such offences as compulsions to commit bestiality, (which means forcing someone to commit bestiality), voyeurism, choking and more. Surely, this should attract media interest? One accused and 28 complainants makes for a dramatic story, too.
The process is also newsworthy. This trial is projected to run for more than a year. That is extremely rate in Canada. The first few months have been riddled with adjournments, most often at the request of the defence, meaning complainants have come to court prepared to testify only to be told – in some cases, several times – that the trial has been adjourned. The impact on survivors of this is significant. Practically speaking, they may have booked time off work and lost pay unnecessarily or rearranged other aspects of their lives. But it’s the psychological impact of preparing to come face to face with the accused and be subjected to cross-examination by his lawyer and then being sent home until another day that will have the biggest and longest lasting impact.
There’s another story to be told here. Kingston is a mid-sized city, and few – if any – community-based services have the capacity to support this many survivors through a trial of this length. The sexual assault centre, the sexual assault/domestic violence treatment centre, the Victim Witness Assistance Program at the criminal court: all of these are organizations that are over-extended already. Adding up to 28 survivors, 98 charges and a trial scheduled to run for a year or more to their collective workloads is simply untenable.
I’m hoping that this case will generate the media coverage and public attention it deserves. When could be better than September, as communities across Canada hold Take Back the Night to raise awareness about gender-based violence; in particular, sexual violence?