A judicial stay of proceedings has been made in the sexual-assault case connected to Because We Are Girls, prompting one of three sisters profiled in the new documentary movie to send a four-minute video message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A Surrey-area family is the focus of the film, which debuted in May and documents the abuse of three sisters who grew up in Williams Lake decades ago.

Cloverdale resident Jeeti Pooni reacts to the court decision in a video posted to her social media channels Tuesday.

The movie chronicles the sisters鈥� account of childhood abuse.

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鈥淢y sisters and I chose to go through the criminal justice system to try and stop our abuser from harming other girls,鈥� Pooni says in the video. 鈥淚t was a 12-year journey. All I can say is the criminal justice system is so broken 鈥� it鈥檚 a broken, dinosaur system.

鈥淵esterday, a very important decision came down in our ,鈥� she says.

鈥淥ur case was stayed, meaning the charges were dropped, there will be no sentencing, even though our abuser was found guilty last year, April 6, 2018, for four out of six counts,鈥� including two counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.

On Monday, a judge ruled that excessive court delays prevented the accused, Manjit Singh Virk, from getting a fair trial.

In the video posted to social media, Pooni says she doesn鈥檛 blame those who 鈥渄on鈥檛 come forward, those that have been horrifically harmed by rape and sexual assault. I don鈥檛 blame them for staying silent.鈥�

She says going through the justice 鈥渕ade my sisters and I feel, at the time, that we were unworthy, we didn鈥檛 matter, we were very disrespected, humiliated, and the process was very dehumanizing and extremely traumatizing, and it re-traumatized us over and over again over the past eight years the court has been trying our case.鈥�

She calls on Crown Counsel to appeal the decision, and for an inquiry into the case 鈥渢o help answer questions of all the wrongs, of all the delays that were offered to defense, all the adjournments, countless adjournments, that left my sisters and I shattered, time and time again.鈥�

She asks to 鈥渟it down鈥� with Trudeau, 鈥渟o that you and your government can help enable those of us that have been harmed, and those of us who have been violated, help us live better, prosperous lives.

鈥淲e need special sexual-assault courts that deal with crimes of rape and these heinous violations,鈥� she adds.

鈥淲e Canadians, even those of us who have been harmed, deserve a better justice system.鈥�

Three years in the making, the Baljit Sangra-directed Because We Are Girls had its world premiere during Toronto鈥檚 Hot Docs film festival in early May, and days later opened the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver.

The movie reveals how the girls felt they couldn鈥檛 tell anyone about the abuse, for fear of 鈥渂eing shipped off to India鈥� and being shunned for what happened.

鈥淭he biggest advantage he had was he knew we鈥檇 keep our mouths shut,鈥� one of the sisters says of the accused, whose identity is kept out of the film.

鈥淎ny mention of him, there was no place in the film, no need,鈥� Jeeti told the Now-Leader in April. 鈥淎t the time the film was being shot, the court case was proceeding, so there were things we couldn鈥檛 share, but now that it鈥檚 all wrapping up, I think the important thing is that this story is not about him, it鈥檚 about the resilience of my sisters and I, and stepping into our power and standing up for ourselves and sharing our truth, no matter if we鈥檙e believed or not.

鈥淭he story is more about that, and also when you see my daughters in the film, that鈥檚 when it should really hit home that my sisters and I were once little girls just like that, right. It鈥檚 to show that innocence and wake up the community to stop blaming the girls and the women.鈥�

On Thursday, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) announced that its film, Because We Are Girls, will play at Vancouver鈥檚 Vancity Theatre between July 5 and 11, for five screenings. .

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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