Outcry over choice of Henein as speaker
Critics ask Ghomeshi’s lawyer to cancel lecture for fear of ‘retraumatizing’ assault victims
ANTIGONISH, N.S. — The choice of Jian Ghomeshi’s lawyer as a speaker at four Canadian universities is sparking debate on one Nova Scotia campus.
Marie Henein, a prominent Toronto defence lawyer, is scheduled to speak at Bishop’s University in February, with the presentation livestreamed to St. Francis Xavier, Acadia and Mount Allison universities.
Jasmine Cormier, a student at St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, N.S., has written an article in that university’s weekly newspaper, saying Henein’s selection serves to silence victims and perpetuate rape culture.
“After all the controversy last year surrounding this trial and all the controversial things she said about women and victims and survivors in the past, it’s such a disservice to students who are victims of sexual violence, who should feel safe coming forward, especially on a university campus,” Cormier said in an interview.
Lucille Harper, executive director of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, said the choice of Henein minimizes the issue of sexualized violence and ignores its pervasiveness across campuses.
“They ignore the fact that in bringing this person in, you are potentially retraumatizing students on your campus who have experienced sexual violence, or making it really clear as to what might happen should you come forward and disclose sexual violence to the police and go forward through a criminal justice system, that you may very well be facing someone like Marie Heinen,” Harper said.
Cormier said she’s concerned by the message sent by Henein’s aggressive treatment of the women who had accused the former CBC host of sexual misconduct and she wants Henein’s speech cancelled.
“She’s a successful lawyer, she’s a woman and in those respects, she would be a great person to have at this school — but the things that she has said and the comments that she has made and the disregard for victims of sexual violence is just too much. When you think of Marie Henein now, that’s what you associate her with,” Cormier said.
However, others believe Henein’s speech will give another view on the important issue and allow for public debate.
“As an advocate for women herself, Henein’s speech is a learning opportunity more than anything else,” said Alison Craig, a Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer. “As a defence lawyer, Henein was doing her job, defending her client and holding the system to check. No way was she defending the crime,” Craig said.
“The majority of my practice is defending sexual assault and homicide cases. That does not mean I support rape and murder,” Craig said. After Ghomeshi’s acquittal in March of charges of sexual assault and choking, the then-editor of Canadian Lawyer magazine, Gail Cohen, penned what was headlined, “A love letter to Marie Henein,” in which she said Henein’s peers consider her one of the best in her field.
“The outrage, the mudslinging, the name calling and the general focus on Henein is a sign of the times, and not a good sign, in my humble opinion,” she wrote in May.
Henein did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
A St. Francis Xavier spokesperson deferred comment to Bishop’s, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. With files from Fakiha Baig