The Ghomeshi trial and the infantilizing of women

...This case should never have come to court, where it was thoroughly un-dressed and dismantled by defence lawyer Marie Henein. But of course charges were laid and of course the cases were prosecuted — because then Police Chief Bill Blair set the I-believe-you tone from the outset and his sexual crimes unit boss banged that drum as the Toronto Police Service’s de facto charter. You are woman and you are believed and, geez, wonder why these accusations were so shabbily investigated? Wonder why the witnesses got bushwhacked on the stand, when finally someone bothered to ask: What’s this? What are these emails? Why this photo? How come the thousands of emails between DeCoutere and Witness No. 3, after the Ghomeshi creepiness had exploded in the media, giving a strong whiff (let’s “sink the prick) of collusion between witnesses. As well, each of the witnesses had a shaky grasp of truthfulness under oath as stories were altered, depositions changed, crucial details added after the trial had started.

But we’re not supposed to look askance at any of this because…oh, right, they’re women and They Have Accused.

I believe women, whether strong or weak of character, are adults and they shouldn’t be infantilized in court...