Assault during march against violence classified as a hate crime, police say
CBC News | Posted: October 6, 2023 6:23 PM | Last Updated: October 6, 2023
A 29-year-old man was charged with assault following the September incident
An assault against a sex work activist has been classified as a hate crime by Hamilton police.
The incident took place at the Take Back the Night march on Sept. 21, an event to protest sexual violence, gender-based violence and street harassment.
Police say a 29-year-old man attempted to rip a banner out of someone's hands and throw it.
Jelena Vermilion, a local sex work activist, chases after the man and gets a hold of the banner, a video obtained by CBC Hamilton shows.
Vermilion and the man appear to engage in a brief tug of war before Vermilion falls onto the road and the man drags her a short distance. Police eventually arrested the man and charged him with assault.
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The hate crime unit reviewed the case and determined it was a hate crime, police said on Friday.
According to Canada's criminal code, a hate crime is designed to frighten, injure, harm, intimidate or harass the victim because of a bias against their actual or perceived sexual orientation, race, religion or ethnic background.
If the accused is found guilty, the hate crime classification will be considered an aggravating factor during sentencing, the code says.
Vermilion previously said the incident left her with aching joints, bruises and a concussion.
On Friday she posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying she was targeted because she is a trans woman and a sex worker.