Seeking Justice for the Victims of Sexual Violence on October 7
— and — Why this matters for all victims of sexual violence
Presented by the Women’s Advocacy Group and Women of Holy Blossom
Wednesday, March 27, 7:30 pm
Legal and social justice experts have been among those seeking justice for the women, children and men who were subjected to sexual atrocities by Hamas on October 7 in Israel and, in the months since, for those held hostage in Gaza.
The silence and dismissals, the under-reporting and justifications risk rolling back the hard-won legal protections for victims of sexual violence in both Canada and the US.
Join us for this important roundtable discussion with Dahlia Lithwick, Tiffany Moller, Dr. Guila Benchimol, and Megan Stephens, in conversation with Rabbi Yael Splansky.
All are welcome – in person and online. No graphic images will be screened, but this educational program is not suitable for children
This event is generously sponsored by Women of Holy Blossom
Dahlia Lithwick is a regular contributing analyst at MSNBC and senior editor at Slate Magazine. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and Commentary. She is host of Amicus, Slate’s award-winning biweekly podcast about the law and the U.S. Supreme Court. Her recent book, Lady Justice (September 2022), became an instant NY Times Bestseller, Dahlia is now part of the international team of legal experts seeking justice for the victims of sexual violence on October 7.
Tiffany Moller is co-founder of Jonas Moller LLP, a criminal litigation firm and Pallas Global providing independent monitoring, governance and ethics counsel. She served as an Assistant Deputy Commissioner and the first-ever Chief of Compliance and Oversight for the New York City Police Department. Tiffany is a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where she teaches several courses including applied legal storytelling and a course on ethics and governance. Tiffany has been working with other US-based lawyers to raise awareness and concern about the dangers of ignoring (or justifying) sexual violence targeting any group, in the wake of the growing evidence of the sexual atrocities committed on October 7th.
Megan Stephens is a Toronto-based lawyer specializing in constitutional and criminal litigation, with a focus on assisting women in their encounters with the justice system. She regularly represents complainants in sexual assault and human trafficking proceedings and appellants in criminal matters. Before starting Megan Stephens Law, Megan was the Executive Director & General Counsel at the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and spent more than a decade as crown counsel at the Crown Law Office – Criminal. Megan is a Director on the Board of Holy Blossom Temple.
Guila Benchimol is a victim advocate, researcher, and educator in the area of gender-based violence in Jewish communities and spaces. She holds a doctorate in sociological criminology from the University of Guelph. Since Oct 7, Dr. Benchimol has been to Israel and to the UN to listen to the testimonies of survivors, first responders, rape crisis service providers, investigators, and with one of the documentation teams to assist with their work. Among her recent publications is An Open Letter to the Survivors of Oct. 7 – Jewish Exponent
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