TORONTO—The gruelling cross-examination of a woman allegedly assaulted by Jian Ghomeshi drew cringes of discomfort this week as her credibility was battered by the former broadcaster’s lawyer.
But advocates for survivors of sexual violence say the intense courtroom proceedings are typical of such cases.
Ghomeshi, once a dazzlingly popular CBC Radio host, went on trial Feb. 1 for four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking. He has pleaded not guilty and spent the first two days of his trial closely watching his lawyer, Marie Henein, as she ripped into the first woman to testify against him.
“What you'll see in this court case is a reflection of what survivors go through any time they go to court,” said Nicole Pietsch, co-ordinator of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres.
“Any time I’ve ever accompanied survivors to court, they’ve faced a cross-examination that made them feel like they were telling a lie, that people didn’t believe them, that they had messed up and they weren’t being a good witness.”
