{"id":18627,"date":"2021-07-06T08:51:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T12:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?post_type=case_summary&#038;p=18627"},"modified":"2025-06-30T20:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:04:23","slug":"r-v-kirkpatrick","status":"publish","type":"case_summary","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/case_summary\/r-v-kirkpatrick\/","title":{"rendered":"R. v. Kirkpatrick (2022)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Content warning: this summary includes mentions of sexual assault in the \u2018Facts\u2019 section.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This case concerns the meaning of consent in sexual assault law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEAF intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This case&nbsp;deals&nbsp;with&nbsp;the boundaries&nbsp;of&nbsp;consent&nbsp;to sexual activity&nbsp;under Canadian&nbsp;criminal law.&nbsp;The complainant testified that she insisted the&nbsp;accused&nbsp;use a condom during sex.&nbsp;The first time he&nbsp;used one, but the second time he did not.&nbsp;This raises the question: if someone is asked to use a condom, but they do not comply, is the activity considered consensual?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arguments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>LEAF argued that including \u201csexual activity with a condom\u201d in the definition of \u201csexual activity in question\u201d promotes substantive equality for equity-seeking groups. Sexual activity with a condom and without a condom&nbsp;are&nbsp;separate acts that require separate consent. This interpretation is a principled approach that affirms and protects the dignity and autonomy of sexual assault complainants, while appropriately&nbsp;limiting&nbsp;the scope of the criminal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Outcome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A majority of the Supreme Court clarified that when a person consents to sex on the condition that their partner wear a condom, but the partner does not comply, the sexual activity in question is not consensual and constitutes sexual assault.&nbsp;The majority recognized non-consensual condom refusal and removal as a form of sexual violence that disproportionately impacts women and gender-diverse people. The Court cited LEAF\u2019s submission that \u201c[t]his is even more true for racialized members of these communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEAF is grateful to Frances Mahon and Kirat Khosa, counsel for LEAF in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Download the factum <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/SCC-39287-Factum-of-the-Intervener-LEAF.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read the Supreme Court of Canada&rsquo;s decision <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/ca\/scc\/doc\/2022\/2022scc33\/2022scc33.html?autocompleteStr=kirkpatrick%202022&amp;autocompletePos=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LEAF&rsquo;s arguments are informed and supported by a case committee composed of academics and practitioners with expertise in relevant issues. The committee members for this intervention are (in alphabetical order): Andrea Kr\u00fcsi (University of British Columbia), Joshua Sealy-Harrington (Lincoln Alexander School of Law), and Adriel Weaver (Goldblatt Partners).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[],"tags":[298,449,256],"class_list":["post-18627","case_summary","type-case_summary","status-publish","hentry","tag-consent","tag-criminal-law","tag-sexual-assault"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>R. v. Kirkpatrick (2022) - LEAF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"R. v. 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