A Canadian judge soon may be removed from the bench due to egregious comments made during a 2014 rape case. Federal Court Judge Robin Camp asked the then 19-year-old victim “Why couldn’t you just keep your knees together?” as a method to stop the attack.
According to CNN, the victim claims to have been raped over a bathroom sink at a house party. However, Camp’s ignorance about how rape actually works didn’t stop him from making further insensitive comments. Per court records from the trial, Camp also questioned why she didn’t do more to prevent the attack, such as “skew her pelvis” or to avoid penetration, push her bottom into the sink.
Camp then alleged that maybe the victim brought the attack on herself. “Young wom[e]n want to have sex, particularly if they’re drunk.” In a different portion of the trial, Camp said “Some sex and pain sometimes go together…that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” The now 64-year-old judge ultimately acquitted the man charged with the crime, and advised him to be “gentle with women.”
“I want you to tell your friends, your male friends, that they have to be far more gentle with women. They have to be far more patient. And they have to be very careful. To protect themselves, they have to be very careful.”
The verdict was later overturned on appeal and a new trial is set for November. However, Camp’s outlandish comments caused Canadian Judicial Council to open up an investigation, which has led up to a week-long hearing that will determine if he will removed from his position. Camp has since offered up an apology for his comments claiming he reacted the way he did because of a “non-existent” knowledge of Canadian law.
He has since apologized to women calling his comments “rude and insulting.”