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Even though most Quebeckers had never heard of Jian Ghomeshi, the story that rocked the CBC had strong echoes in Quebec. It unleashed a flood of personal revelations from women who had been unreported victims of sexual violence or abuse.

What was divulged differed wildly in nature and gravity – from the gunpoint rape once suffered by La Presse columnist Michèle Ouimet to a student's complaint that her professor told her she had "beautiful eyes."

Sue Montgomery, a veteran reporter for Montreal's The Gazette, joined hands with Antonia Zerbisias formerly of the Toronto Star and their Twitter hashtag, #BeenRapedNeverReported, had a phenomenal impact in both French and English.

The National Assembly voted in favour of an all-parties inquiry on sexual harassment, even though nobody could remember a recent case involving politicians or their staff members. A few women told reporters that they had been abused by politicians at some point in their life, but none agreed to reveal their identities except former minister Liza Frulla, who experienced occasional and relatively innocuous attention, such as the "wandering hand" of an inebriated politician in an elevator.

Then, a group of radical feminist students at University of Quebec at Montreal decided to take up the issue, commando-style. They plastered the office doors of three sociology professors with posters accusing them of harassment, voyeurism and aggression. "Zero tolerance on rape culture!" another poster proclaimed. The faculty's student association published the pictures of the doors, professors' names clearly visible, on social media.

One of the three men – their names haven't been published in the mainstream media – told a reporter that he suspects his "crime" was to have run an academic conference where no female speaker was invited. The three men are suing the students' association for defamation, but for now, this professor said, his family life is shattered.

Two MPs, including a Quebecker, recently suspended from the Liberal caucus for "personal misconduct" related to sexual harassment allegations were treated the same way – by no less than their own leader.

They were publicly stigmatized as possible sexual harassers on the basis of anonymous complaints. They were punished without benefit of the presumption of innocence. They were not even informed about the exact nature of their "fault" since they never had a chance to hear their accusers' versions. One can only imagine the devastation these two men and their families are going through. Their political careers are likely destroyed, and they probably won't have a chance of clearing their names, since the complainants – two female New Democratic MPs – don't want to press charges.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's rushed and awkward intervention – another sign of his appalling lack of judgment – didn't just trample his own MPs' basic rights; it ignored the rights of the complainants, who actually didn't want to make the matter public. (A strange twist is that, out of keeping with parliamentary protocol, one of the women complained directly to Mr. Trudeau, rather than to her own leader.)

On Parliament Hill, some thought that Mr. Trudeau had no choice but to act quickly. Otherwise, the reasoning went, the Conservatives would have heard about the allegations and accused him of covering up for his deputies. This is preposterous. All Mr. Trudeau had to do was to state that he would act on these allegations only when conditions for due process were met. This is what a strong, mature leader would have done.

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