Justice Robin Camp has been in hot water lately after remarks he made during a sexual assault hearing five years ago became public last year. A couple of days ago, the Canadian judge took the stand in a review that could see the end of his career.
At one point during the trial, Camp asked her, “Why not — why didn’t you just sink your bottom down into the basin so he couldn’t penetrate you?” and, “And when your ankles were held together by your jeans, your skinny jeans, why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?”
This was in 2014, before Camp was elevated to the Federal Court and when he was still sitting in the Alberta provincial court.
Those are the damning statements. Justice Camp ended up acquitting the accused man. That decision was overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeals in 2015. The hearing has to do with whether or not the Canadian justice system can continue to employ this man. This past year, Justice Camp has been enrolled in sexual assault courses and, according to Justice Deborah McCawley who attended those classes with him, has been honest in his intentions of reforming his terrible opinions.
About 10 months ago, McCawley — who also sits on a judicial education committee and co-chairs the national advisory committee on ethics — was approached to work with Camp. At first, McCawley said, she was skeptical a white South African man in his 60s could be helped, until she spent a day with him.
"I myself was guilty of the kind of thinking I've spent my whole career railing against," said McCawley. "At the end of the meeting, I realized he was sincerely committed to learning what had gone wrong."
The two attended several courses including "sexual assault 101" and "how to conduct a sexual assault trial." She also assigned reading and research.
Also called to the hearing was the woman whose alleged assault is the basis of all of these charges and changes. Now 24 years old, the woman who was raped in a bathroom when she was 19 expressed the trauma she had gone through during and after the trial.
The victim says Justice Camp's comments made her "hate herself".
"I felt ill and dizzy and I hoped I would faint just so he would stop. I was so confused during the trial," she says.
"I'm so disappointed and sad about the system. My biggest worry is the victims who will never come forward because of what they read in the newspaper about Justice Camp's words."
Camp says his ideas were wrong and were based on “stereotypical beliefs and discredited myths.” It was five years ago! If his remarks were made 150 years ago, I would say it seems like he’s learned something.