The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld expansions to Canada’s rape shield laws made by the Liberals four years ago.
In a 6-3 ruling today, the court says the expanded rules to further prevent a sexual assault complainant’s past from being used against them in a trial are “constitutional in their entirety.”
Rape shield laws were enacted four decades ago to prevent a complainant in a sexual assault case from having evidence of their sexual history used to discredit them.
The Criminal Code says evidence of a complainant’s prior sexual activities that are unrelated to the charges at hand can only be admitted with permission of a judge following a private hearing, and cannot be used to infer that the complainant is less trustworthy or more likely to have consented….