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JIAN GHOMESHI FOUND NOT GUILTY

We have all been waiting for the verdict and now the judge, William Horkins, has ruled that the three women’s testimony was not credible. Jian walks away from the women who claimed that he sexually assaulted them.

There is no question in my mind that Jian practiced what he called, "Rough Sex" that he admitted to his bosses at the CBC. He stated that the sex was consensual and the women were willing participants. He choked and battered his accusers and yet they still e-mailed him after the fact; they sent along flowers and even a fetching photo of a bikini clad women who claimed that she had been assaulted by him.

Heck, Jian was a TV personality of renown and the women felt privileged that he took the time to include them in his social life. Three brave naive women went to the police and signed a complaint hoping that justice would triumph. I am not sure if the Crown Attorney or the police informed the women not to have any further dealings with Jian?; but they did.

Jian kept hundreds of their e-mails that he provided in his defense to his attorney, Marie Heinen, that were admitted in court to discredit the testimony of the complainants.

It worked and the women’s evidence was suspect and in the end justice that is blind was served. The women had their day in court. They lost. I wager that Ghomeshi will never ever be asked to host another TV program . His behaviour toward the women, his employer and we the public who trusted him was an affront to common decency and for that he will face the long term negative consequences of his actions.

Sad ,that his assault of the women is not a rare occurrence. Check out the women’s battered centres and you will discover that every evening that women escape in their night clothes to find a safe haven at the shelters. There are no need for a men’s battered hostels. For the most part women are too often victims of family or friends who abuse them.

Years ago I asked an associate of mine, Dr Peter Jaffe, "why do men rape?" His answer was very hard to stomach: "because they can’, was his simple reply.

I decided to make sure that my daughter, Sarah, was never going to be assaulted by a man because he could inflict harm to her person, At seven years of age I enrolled her in Karate. At the age of eighteen she obtained her Black Belt designation which helped her to have a positive-self - concept. I remember writing my column in the library and hearing a discussion between Sarah and her girlfriend Laura. Laura asked Sarah: "what she would do if a man tried to rape her?" I will never forget her reply; "I would feel sorry for him, I would put him in the hospital First she would put him the hospital and then she would feel sorry for him."

I suspect that the vast majority of males are not like Ghomeshi. There is a small percentage of predators who feel that women are just meat and vulnerable; for them there is a hard lesson to be learned from women who are able to protect themselves from harms way

The police and the judicial system can not be of immediate assistance when women are threatened. Women must be taught to be empowered and not be afraid to protect themselves.

Len Lesser