Only one- third of all sexual assault charges in Ontario have resulted in a guilty verdict when brought to criminal court between 2009 and 2014, according to data from Statistics Canada.

For all other criminal court cases in the province, almost 60 per cent of those charged were found guilty during the same period.

Recent Toronto trials involving Mustafa Ururyar, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting PhD student Mandi Gray and the case against former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi who was acquitted on all charges of sexual assault, have put nature of sexual assault trials under a microscope.

Between the 2013-2014 period, more than two-thirds of sexual assault cases heard in criminal court resulted in either acquittal, or sexual assault charges were dropped before trial.

The number of cases that make it to trial in the first place are a sliver of the number of sexual assaults likely happening in Canada each day, said Sara Dunn, a manager at Statistics Canada.

The above chart shows the number of guilty verdicts in sexual assault trials in court in Ontario, versus the number of guilty verdicts for all criminal offences in court.

“Sexual assault is inherently difficult because of underreporting. We know there’s more cases of sexual assault occurring in Canada,” said Dunn, who examines the uniform crime reporting survey that calculates the number of sexual assaults documented by police.

The most recent Statistics Canada report titled Criminal Victimization in Canada, estimated accurate sexual assault figures in 2004, noting that only eight per cent of women report sexual assault to police.

Statistics Canada could not provide specific court information for Toronto. However, the rate in which sexual assault level 1 cases-which the organization defines as at most minor physical injuries are made to the victim- are cleared without charges, is 12 per cent.

Along with a low reporting rate, a low conviction rate indicates the nature of a sexual assault trial, where stigma is attached to the victim, said Cynthia Ingram, a Toronto-based lawyer.

“There’s a lot of cases that suggest absolutely they are treated differently,” said Ingram, who specializes in employment law and sexual harassment.

Recent cases like the March decision against Brock Allan Turner, a Stanford University student and athlete who was sentenced to two months for the rape of an unconscious woman is an example of how sexual assault cases are treated, she said.

Knowing that the trial process carries stigma and involves personal exposure as well may deter those from reporting, she added.

Toronto trials like the recent case this month against York University PhD student Mustafa Ururyar, 29, saw Justice Marvin Zuker sentencing Uruyar to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting Mandi Gray.

Zuker said in his decision that rape myths- the perception that victims are at fault for their own assaults- need to be dispelled.

“Rape mythology continues to inform us about sexual assault, and women’s reactions to [assault],” said Jane Doe, a Toronto sexual assault activist.

Doe is well known for her pseudonym after her civil case against the Toronto Police in 1998. She sued the police for negligence for failing to warn the community, after she was raped by serial assaulter Paul Callow.

She was awarded $220,000 at the time and her case was considered to be a historic win.

This month Doe has spearheaded a travelling art show in Toronto dedicated to change how sexual assault survivors are viewed.

Attending any rape trial in Canada will quickly show that rape myths continue to be applied, she said.

“These myths maintain that women lie, that they want to get revenge, or because they are angry,” she said.

Rehabilitation programs are not properly in place and deter victims from reporting sexual assault to police as well.

“This keeps women in private spaces. It maintains the status quo.”