Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the incredible strength and courage that it takes for survivors to come forward and share their experiences. Thank you for doing that today. We should always be listening to the voices of survivors.
I want to thank Mr. Garrison for initiating this study, because it gives us the opportunity to really make it a bigger issue than is currently presented by our legislation.
In 2020, the London Abused Women's Centre provided service to 8,177 women and girls. Of that number, 6,701 of those women and girls were abused by an intimate partner, and 1,300 were being trafficked and also abused by their trafficker and sex purchaser.
In 1998, a coroner's inquest was held into the murder of Arlene May by her ex-partner, Randy Iles, who killed himself following the murder. In its opening remarks, the jury said:
The myths attached to family violence must be dispelled. Domestic violence is a criminal offence and must never be viewed as a 'private matter'.
The jury further wrote:
Domestic violence cases are different than other criminal cases. In most situations the accused and the victim would normally never meet again. With domestic violence, the accused often must have contact with the victim due to property, support and child issues. The criminal justice system will have to be changed to deal effectively with these differences.
That was in 1998, and we are still calling for the criminal justice system to be changed.
We know that many of the activities surrounding domestic violence are criminal offences. However, there is no specific domestic violence offence in the Canadian Criminal Code. Instead, domestic violence-related crimes are spread out among at least 35 different sections in the Criminal Code, making it difficult to connect them to a pattern of behaviour by the male abuser to gain and maintain power and control over his partner.
Criminalizing controlling or coercive conduct absolutely adds another tool in the tool box but once again, it will be lost as a stand-alone section in the Criminal Code. Without understanding coercive control as a pattern of behaviour used by abusers, it will be difficult to enforce.
I have worked to end male violence against women for more than 25 years, and I have seen the confusion created by the multiple stand-alone sections in the Criminal Code. The courts regularly reduce multiple charges against abusive men to one single charge, usually assault. That charge is then often withdrawn in exchange for a peace bond.
When charges are withdrawn, women and their children remain at serious risk of increased torture, abuse and murder. Men use the withdrawal charges to present women as liars, while at the same time, presenting themselves as blameless. The absence of any consequence to male abusers for their crimes against intimate partners sends a clear message to victims: help is not on the way.
Domestic violence cases are different from other criminal cases. The present laws in Canada, under which perpetrators are charged, are simply not adequate for responding to the distinct dynamics present in domestic violence cases. We worked, in 2016-17, with former MP Irene Mathyssen whose office helped write specific domestic violence legislation for a private member's bill. Unfortunately, it stalled when the election was called.
The London Abused Women's Centre recommends the committee expand its area of study to include amending the Criminal Code to create a domestic violence offence. It further recommends that the committee seek the permission to review Ms. Mathyssen's confidential act to amend the Criminal Code for domestic violence.
To be clear, and in ending, there is a need, Mr. Garrison, for your amendment. However, LAWC proposes that it be included as one section of a much larger piece of legislation, a much-needed piece of legislation, specifically, a domestic violence bill.