TORONTO - Two thirds of Canadians who took part in an online poll survey following the Jian Ghomeshi trial believe most sexual assault claims are true.
The Canadian Women's Foundation, which commissioned the survey, calls the result "encouraging."
Ghomeshi was found not guilty in late March by a Toronto judge who said he was unable to rely on the testimony from the three women whose sexual assault allegations stood at the core of the case.
In the survey, 67 per cent of Canadians said they believe most sexual assault cases are true and valid" while seven per cent of respondents said they believe the claims are exaggerated, while one per cent believe they are false.
Twenty four per cent of respondents said they didn't know what to believe.
By gender, 75 per cent of female respondents and 59 per cent of the men who took part said they tend to believe most sexual assault claims.
The survey also asked respondents who they thought was usually to blame for sexual assault, with 73 per cent blaming the perpetrator and only two per cent blaming the victim.
The online survey was conducted April 13th and 14th among just over 15-hundred randomly selected adults who are part of the Angus Reid Forum.
