4 Domestic Assault Myths About The Victim’s Role In The Case

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4 Domestic Assault Myths About The
Victims Role In The Case
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Domestic assault offences are considered very
serious assaults because they involve people
with an existing relationship. This relationship
could include spouses, siblings, parents and
children, grandparents and grandchildren, and so
on. It is not uncommon for some people to want
to use the legal system and the threat of
filing a complaint of domestic assault as a means
to get even after a dispute or argument. As
such, several myths have come about due to a
failure to understand criminal proceedings and
the law. Victim Myth 1 The victim did not want
to press charges so they should be
dropped. Regardless of what you might see on TV,
this is not how these cases are handled. Once
the police arrive and begin an investigation, the
wishes of the victim are of little concern.
Rather, it is up to the police to determine if
there is sufficient evidence to arrest and
charge the accused with domestic violence. Victim
Myth 2 When the police arrive to investigate,
the victim can decline to press charges. Again,
this is not how the law works. The victim can
state they changed their mind. However, the
police are still obligated to investigate the
original complaint. If they establish
credibility to the allegations, then they will
make an arrest and charge the accused with
domestic assault. Victim Myth 3 The victim
wants the charges dropped after the accused has
been charged. We have already seen that the
victims wishes no not matter when the police
investigate the claim of domestic violence. Once
the Crown prosecution has taken over things do
not change. The prosecutor does not represent the
victim or the victims interests. Rather, the
prosecutors role is to represent what is in the
publics best interests. While they will
consider input the victim has provided, they
often disregard the victims wishes when they
decide they want the charges dropped.
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Victim Myth 4 The victim recants their original
complaint of domestic violence. The victim, for
whatever reason decides to recant their original
complaint and now states the accusation of
domestic violence were not true. Yet, assuming
the case will be dismissed at this point is not
a good idea. In fact, there have been Supreme
Court cases where the Court has disregarded the
recanting victim and the dismissal of domestic
assault cases. While a recanting victim does
create a challenge for the Crown, they can still
proceed with a trial and allow the judge to
decide which statement is indeed accurate and
true. Please note, this is not to say there are
not times when domestic assault occurs, and
complaints are valid. Just that the role of the
victim has little bearing on whether someone is
charged with and prosecuted for domestic assault
after calling the police. If you have been
charged with domestic assault, it is imperative
you speak to C riminal Lawyer, Manbir Singh
Sodhi by calling ( 905) 457-2546 to s chedule a
consultation and discuss viable options to
prepare a defence against the charges.
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assault-myths-about- victims-role-case/
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