PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently interviewed for an article on how a Canadian anti-SLAPP law could help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Bruce E.H. Johnson and Antoinette Bonsignore write in the Seattle Times, "It’s critical for the Legislature to restore the safeguards and protections in a 2010 statute that had protected sexual-assault survivors from defamation lawsuits by their abusers." 

Read more here.

In a case involving allegations of (inter alia) sexual harassment, the court denied the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss defendant’s counterclaims for, e.g., defamation.

There are many reasons for women to think twice about reporting sexual assault. But one potential consequence looms especially large: They may also be prosecuted.

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni published an Op-Ed in Ohio that ran in several newspapers across the state advocating for anti-SLAPP legislation in Ohio. The Op-Ed is published in full below.

Immediately following a report by the New York Times that he allegedly sexually assaulted numerous women throughout his career, Harvey Weinstein threatened to sue the Times for defamation. For First Amendment legal scholars, this comes as no surprise. There’s a long history of powerful bullies attempting to use the legal system to silence their critics.