Surviving the courts: Improving how provincial courts respond to sexual assault cases

This paper is concerned with how provincial courts respond to sexual assault cases, in light of their imperfect record on convicting perpetrators as well as their negative impact on the well-being of many survivors. I first conduct research to identify the causes of both these problems, and then I develop and assess several potential government policies to improve the court process. My research is informed by a literature review and eight interviews with victim support workers, advocates, academics, lawyers, and judges. I conclude that governments need to take multiple actions to address these problems, beginning with policies that specialize court actors and processes, educate judges, and inform survivors.