What’s Current: Harvey Weinstein criminally charged; facing arrest in New York

  • After a lengthy investigation into reports of sexual assault, Harvey Weinstein is reportedly being criminally charged by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Specifics have yet to be released but Weinstein is expected to turn himself in to the NYPD tomorrow.
  • Eight different women have come forward to accuse Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment on film sets and at his production offices. In BC, TransLink, has removed transit announcements featuring Freeman’s voice that they were running as part of an ad campaign.
  • A Quebec judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit against former Just For Laughs CEO Gilbert Rozon who has been accused of sexually harassment and sexual assault by more than 20 women.
  • Trans-identified male Patrick Pearsall (who prefers to be called “Tara”) has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and declared a dangerous offender. Pearsall was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenager and a young woman in Toronto. Pearsall did not start identifying as transgender until after the assaults, the most recent of which was in 2015.
  • Former judge Robin Camp has been reinstated into the Law Society of Alberta, meaning he can once again practice law. Camp resigned from the bench after a review found that his comments during a sexual assault trial — including asking the victim why she didn’t keep her “knees together” to prevent the assault — undermined public confidence in the judiciary.
Lisa Steacy

Lisa Steacy is an Assistant Editor at Feminist Current. She has a B.A. in Women & Gender Studies from the University of Toronto. However, the women she met in her five years as a frontline worker and collective member with Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter deserve almost all of the credit for her feminist education. She lives in Vancouver with her partner and their cats.