Justice for Cindy Gladue
Asian Women for Equality appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case Bradley David Barton v. Her Majesty the Queen. The hearing took place scheduled to be heard Thursday, October 11, 2018.
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Barton was found not guilty of manslaughter and murder in the 2011 death of Cindy Gladue, an Indigenous woman. The feminist group will contribute to the SCC’s understanding of the impact of racist and sexist stereotypes used by men to defend themselves from charges of violence against women.
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Cindy Gladue was a 36-year old Indigenous woman. She was prostituted from a hotel bar in Edmonton, Alberta. Barton admitted to doing extreme violence to her over the course of 2 nights in June 2011 when he paid another man to procure Cindy Gladue. She was found dead in the bathtub of his hotel room after bleeding to death from injuries Barton caused by performing, what he called, “rough sex” on her.
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“The defence lawyer repeatedly described Cindy as a sex worker and made sure the court knew she was a native woman. This tactic devalued Cindy and framed her as ‘less than’ by conjuring up racist and sexist stereotypes about women who are Indigenous and also about prostituted women. This meant that the trial could never be fair to Cindy or to any woman in her situation,” says Nayoung Kim, a member of Asian Women for Equality.
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Barton is fighting the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision to send his case for a retrial. The SCC decision may require a new trial or allow the acquittal to stand.
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Asian Women for Equality made our submissions to the Supreme Court of Canada as a member of the Women's Equality and Liberty Coalition.
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The Women’s Equality and Liberty Coalition is made up of six organizations with front-line expertise on men’s prostitution/commercial sexual exploitation of women as well as other forms of male violence, including wife battering, incest, sexual assault and sexual harassment: Vancouver Rape Relief Society, La Concertation des Luttes Contre L’Exploitation Sexuelle (La CLES); Asian Women For Equality Society; Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (AWAN); Formerly Exploited Voices Now Educating (EVE) and CEASE: Centre To End All Sexual Exploitation.
2019 May 24 UPDATE
Press Release: Supreme Court Decision of a Re-trial of the Man who Caused Cindy Gladue’s Death is Good, but overall Judgment is Disappointing.
Earlier this morning, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered its decision in the case of Barton v. Her Majesty the Queen, that Bradley Barton – who by his own admission, caused Cindy Gladue’s death, and was found not guilty of her murder in 2015 – will face a new trial for manslaughter.
“This case held many negative stereotypes, addressing racism is a very important step but re-labelling prostitution as sex work is not the solution. Polite words that hide the truth are not what is needed, discussing the root problem is. Prostitution is active misogyny and a form of violence against women, Ms. Gladue could not consent to anything under those conditions, and.Barton must be held accountable for all of his actions that lead up to and caused her violent death.”
Trisha Baptie, founder of EVE (Formerly Exploited Voices Now Educating)
“We hoped the Court would see that systemic misogyny motivates male violence against women, including male demand for prostitution. We expected the Court would take into account the fact that Canadian law recognizes women’s participation in prostitution is a consequence of profound racial and sexual inequality. This decision fails racialized women on both those points,” .
Suzanne Jay of Asian Women for Equality
“The Barton case reveals how deep-seated the myths are when it comes to why women (particularly, in this case, Indigenous women) enter the sex trade and the reality of that experience. Calling her a “sex worker” doesn’t change the fact that this particular man thought she was at his service and disposable. Since the Criminal Code was amended in 2014, buying sex is defined as a crime against the person and the notion of consent is no longer relevant so we can only hope that women like Cindy Gladue will have more protection and that the men buying them will be charged for this crime.”
Diane Matte from La Concertation des Luttes Contre L’Exploitation Sexuelle (La CLES)
“This case is another example of the colonial, patriarchal systems that continue to impact the lives of Indigenous women. Indigenous women are often portrayed as women who invite, enjoy and deserve the harms that men inflict on them, it only lends to the notion that all Indigenous women are available for men’s sexual use. The “buying” of sex is male violence. Indigenous women deserve more, we deserve a life of safety, equality and freedom. We will use our voice for those who cannot. We will use our voices for Cindy Gladue. We will fight for a life free from violence for all women!”
MiKenze Jordan for the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (AWAN):
For more info: Hilla Kerner, 604.872.8212, hillak@rapereliefshelter.bc.ca
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