Closing the Justice Gap: Why sexual assault complainants require trauma-informed independent legal representation in criminal trials

The disconnect between sexual assault victims’ needs and criminal justice system logic is well known. Rape myths and deeply held stereotypes about how ‘ideal victims’ are expected to respond still shape and influence criminal justice system processes and legal decision-making, in spite of decades of law reform. Complainants in sexual assault trials are often subjected to hostile, victim-blaming cross-examinations and regularly have their privacy, dignity and equality rights violated. The provision of independent legal advice and representation for sexual assault victims is a recent law reform aiming to attenuate the sharp asymmetry in rights between accused and victim in the criminal justice system. In this article, I provide an overview and critical analysis of the importance of trauma-informed independent legal advice and representation for complainants in sexual assault trials, focusing on developments in Canada. Not only does independent legal advice and representation facilitate informed decision-making; it also provides a meaningful bulwark against the structural imbalances leading to the systemic harms sexual assault victims typically experience in the criminal justice system. Legal advice and representation at all stages of the criminal process, then, can provide a long overdue corrective to the systematic marginalization of victims’ rights in criminal trials.