Post-event Demeanour of a Sexual Assault Victim


When assessing the credibility of a witness, there are a number of factors to consider. These may include a witness’s reactions to events.

It has long been held that post-event demeanour of a sexual assault victim can be used as circumstantial evidence to corroborate the complainant’s version of events.

R. v. J.J.A., 2011 SCC 17, [2011] 1 S.C.R. 628, at paras. 40-41, per Rothstein J. in dissent.  [The majority decision, written by Charron, J., had ordered a new trial, solely ruling on the admissibility of fresh evidence, and so had not found it necessary to deal with the issue of post-event demeanour of the complainant].  See also R. v. J.A., 2010 ONCA 491 (CanLII), at paras. 17 and 18 [renamed R. v. J.J.A on appeal to the SCC]; R. v. Mugabo, 2017 ONCA 323 at para 25.

In R. v. James, [2014] S.C.J. No. 5, at paragraph 5, Moldaver, J., speaking for the unanimous Supreme Court of Canada remarked that “…the trial judge failed to consider the complainant's distraught condition a short time after the event when she reported the alleged sexual assault to the police.”




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