Legislation has played such an important role throughout our history in defining what is abuse against women and what is socially and morally wrong. Words are important. If we're too afraid to call these heinous, inhuman, terrible practices what they are in the House of Commons, then how can we expect society to point at these things and say they are wrong too? We have to set the standard and point at these things and call them what they are.
We can't be afraid to do that, just like Margaret Mitchell, the NDP MP, did when she stood up in the House of Commons 33 years ago and said we need to call non-consensual sex between married people rape. She was laughed at.