Elaine Craig

Associate law professor, Dalhousie University, Halifax

In one of society’s most significant failures, the treatment of victims of sexual violence, Professor Elaine Craig has done more in her professional career than almost anyone else to shed light on those failures. Craig’s research and writing, specifically her 2018 book Putting Trials on Trial, has caused the most honest and widespread discussion ever held in Canada on the topic of how victims of sexual violence are treated during trials. Her research has directly led to better education for judges and lawyers and widespread discussions across the country about the need for better law and practices and a heightened sensitivity to victims. In 2018, she co-founded and is the inaugural research director of CCLISAR, a national non-profit aiming to address the gap between Canada’s seemingly progressive legal regime and its effects on the social problem of sexual harm and the experiences of survivors of sexualized violence.