Join us on Wednesday, August 6th, as the AVA Webinar Series presents Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law in Canada, featuring Dr. Mandi Gray from Trent University.
Wednesday, August 6th, 2025
12 – 1:30pm MST
Mandi Gray’s book Suing for Silence critically examines how abusive men can use defamation lawsuits as a weapon against anyone who attempts to hold them accountable. In Canada, formal reports to the police or other institutions such as universities are not protected from lawsuits for defamation or malicious prosecution. Advocates and lawyers who specialize in sexual violence have noted a rise in the use of civil legal action by men accused of sexual violence within the last decade. In this talk, Dr. Gray will use examine critical feminist perspective to explain how the failure for institutions such as police and the courts to respond to reports of sexual violence can make survivors and their supporters vulnerable to retaliatory lawsuits. She argues that if these lawsuits are to continue, we will risk witnessing the disappearance of sexual violence discourse and is yet another barrier to consider before making a formal report.
About the Speaker
Dr. Mandi Gray is an assistant professor at Trent University in the Sociology department. Mandi has worked with women and girls involved in the legal system since 2008. Suing for Silence is her first book. She is also the primary subject and impact producer of the 2018 documentary film Slut or Nut The Diary of a Rape Trial. Her work has appeared in publications including Toronto Star, CBC, Globe and Mail and Toronto Life. Mandi is originally from Winnipeg but has called Toronto home since 2013, where she lives with her sassy little dog CeCe. www.mandigray.com