Why some sexual assault survivors and advocates say the justice system is failing them

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

Jewel Pierre-Roscelli figured she had two choices once she realized the man who’d offered to drive her home was instead going to sexually assault her — she could either fight back and risk her life or survive the night.

She chose the latter, eventually escaped, reported the assault and waited for justice.

It never came.

"What this person did to me was wrong. It wasn't consensual," Pierre-Roscelli said. "But the Crown prosecutor called me, and she said based on the evidence that you've submitted, we don't feel it's enough for him to be charged. She said, ‘So it's over.'"

In that moment, the Winnipegger became part of a national statistic — one of almost 900,000 people who are sexually assaulted each year in Canada, most of whom don’t get justice in the courts.

"My life absolutely got turned upside down, and I've been trying to just continue surviving," Roscelli said. "And this person just lived their life. They're still out there living their life."

It’s why in March 2024, the Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime struck a special task force to assess how survivors of sexual violence are treated in the justice system, and how it impacts both reporting and outcomes.

Statistics Canada's latest data, released in November 2024, said of the approximately 900,000 sexual assaults in a year, six per cent of the victims reported the crime to police.

Of those who did report, only about one-third of the cases resulted in charges, and fewer than half of those ended up in convictions.

Those statistics aren’t just grim — they’ve remained virtually unchanged for decades. (In 2000-01, Stats Canada reported that few sexual assault cases ended up in court, and of those that did, they had among the lowest conviction rates of all crimes against persons: 43 per cent).

The task force is expected to release their report — and recommendations to remedy the issue — on Nov. 19.

Survivors and advocates say it’s a long overdue review.

"Some of us commit suicide because of these assaults," said Isabel Daniels, a Winnipeg survivor, who now provides trauma counselling for victims.