On May 3rd, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered $85,000 in damages to be paid to a young woman whose stepfather surreptitiously recorded her while she was undressed in her bathroom and bedroom.
The damages finding was driven significantly by the “thoroughly undignified and humiliating actions” of the defendant, the age of the defendant and proof that the defendant’s actions caused a significant psychological disorder that the plaintiff was still recovering from at the time of trial (which was four years after discovering the defendant’s wrong). The plaintiff was recovering, the judge also noted, as well as noting that the defendant conducted his defence with “appropriate restraint.”
The judge did not consider evidence that the plaintiff was herself provocative in his damages assessment:
The evidence establishes that the plaintiff was a confident and happy young woman. She had a strong sense of self-esteem and probably was proud of her body. She was perfectly entitled to choose what she showed of her body — and to whom, how, and when.
The Court also ordered damages to be paid for past loss of earning capacity, the cost of medication taken and health care received and the cost of future care.
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