The courthouse in London, Ont., where the Hockey Canada trial was held.Nicole Osborne/The Globe and Mail

J.B. is the “Ottawa woman” who testified against former Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard in 2022. The Globe and Mail is not publishing her name in keeping with a publication ban. She recently co-founded Beyond The Verdict, a Canadian survivor-led advocacy group.

I know what it’s like to sit in the witness box and have your trauma weaponized against you in front of a courtroom full of strangers. That’s why I watched the Hockey Canada trial with increasing alarm. With the judge’s decision set for this week, I can’t help but reflect on my own experience – and what’s at stake for all of us.

In 2022, I testified against Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard and was cross-examined by Megan Savard, the same defence counsel now representing one of the accused in the Hockey Canada case. Both trials featured aggressive defence tactics that echo the very abuse that complainants come forward to report in the first place. Complainant E.M. had to face these tactics from five different defence teams. I can only imagine how it must have felt to have her trauma picked apart by a lineup of lawyers, her credibility questioned, her humanity........

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