LAW 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Indictable Offence, Sexual Assault, Summary Offence
26 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Criminal Law pt 2
Sexual Assault
Lecture plan:
1. the offence of sexual assault today
2. Historical Perspective: rape myths
3. Consent: The Ewanchuck case
Sexual Assault s. 265
265(1) a person commits an assault when
o(a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that
person, directly or indirectly
o…
(2) This section applies to all forms of assault, including sexual assault, sexual assault
with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm, and aggravated assault
Sexual Assault s. 271
271 everyone who commits a sexyal assault is guilty of
o(a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more
than 10 years or…
o(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to imprisonment
for a term not more than 18 months
Cases often turn on consent
Absence of consent is element of offence
Mistaken belief in consent can be defence
Consent must be expressed by words or conduct (Ewanchuck)
Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault
Special rules:
oLegal age of consent is 16 years
oIf you are 12 or 13, you can consent to sex with someone less than two years
older than you
oIf you are 13-15, you can consent to have sex with someone who is less than five
years older than you
oYou cannot consent to have sex with someone who is in a position of trust,
power or authority over you
Sexual Assault s. 265
Consent
o(3) for the purposes of this section, no consent is obtained where the
complainant submits or does not resist by reason of
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
1. the offence of sexual assault today: historical perspective: rape myths, consent: the ewanchuck case. Absence of consent is element of offence. Mistaken belief in consent can be defence. Consent must be expressed by words or conduct (ewanchuck) When belief in consent is not a defence. Sexual assault is broader and doesn"t just focus on penetration or intercourse. Penetration is from thinking of women as sexual property. Sexual assault= crime of violence and the violence that women face is broader and goes beyond rape. Sexual assault includes rape and any sexual touching where consent is absent. Myth: rape as theft of sexual property: legal rule: (1) spousal exception . You can"t rape a women you are married to. Myth: real rape = forcible rape by a stranger: legal rule: (1) spousal exception (2) requirement of forceful resistance. If women didn"t fight back, then it wasn"t a real rape.
