How women's advocates are using the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial to talk to players about consent

A month after the start of the high-profile sexual assault trial of five former junior hockey players in London, Ont., advocates against gender-based violence are using the proceedings to teach young men about consent and their responsibilities as role models for others. 

"I think for young men and for hockey players, they're watching what these five defendants have gone through and they won't want to be in that position," said Allison Preyde, the manager of prevention and education at Anova, the gender-based violence centre in London. 

"They don't want to be dragged through that to put their careers on the line so we're having conversations about how to make situations safer and what situations aren't worth the risk."

Former hockey teammates Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are each charged with sexual assault. McLeod is additionally charged with being a party to the offence. 

In June 2018, they were in London for a gala to celebrate their teams' world junior gold medal win earlier that year. After a night of drinking at a local bar, McLeod went home with a woman, known in court proceedings as E.M., for consensual sex. He later invited his teammates to his room to have sexual relations with the woman, something she says she didn't consent to. 

Their trial started April 22 and included the nine-day testimony and cross-examination by five defence teams of E.M., who said she at times went along with what the men wanted because she was scared and had never been in a similar situation. In the witness box, she described her mind separating from her body as a coping mechanism. 

Evidence presented at trial included text messages sent by McLeod inviting his teammates to his hotel room for group sex, and the players texting each other in the days and weeks following the incident when police and Hockey Canada began investigating, assuring each other that they did nothing wrong. 

Consent, the Crown has said, is at the heart of the case. 

"We talk a lot about power imbalances, and how that power can be used for good because our position is that athletes are not bad or that sports are bad," said Hanna McGee, the Youth Outreach Coordinator at the Saffron Centre, a sexual assault centre in Sherwood Park, Alberta. 

McGee developed a program called Consent in Sport, which delivers education to athletes as young as 13, including those in the British Columbia Hockey League. 

"Often, athletes don't even realize the significance of their social status, their influence, even in small communities where they're highly regarded and treated like celebrities. With a lot of that power comes a lot of responsibility," McGee said.  

Being on a sports team can mean making friends for life, but can also make it difficult to speak up and stop negative behaviour, McGee said.

"It's absolutely crucial in the world of sports to be able to lean on our teammates and lean on our coaches. But it can turn into a harmful groupthink, where we can deflect responsibility, we can act without autonomy, we can blame others for our actions. How you act and carry yourself is going to follow you forever," she said.  

"The trial provides an opportunity for us to really think about the significance of impact over intent and thinking about consent being truly freely given and truly ongoing."