Thank you for the question, and thank you for all the work that you and the committee have done on this file.
I think as we look at changing our Criminal Code, it's important that we look at how our intersecting identities are impacted by those changes and how they're impacted by our current criminal justice system. So many people face barriers within our society, and when it comes to coercive control, those barriers mean they have additional barriers to leaving those situations. You mentioned a few of them. We talked a bit about newcomers and about how passports, immigration documents and the process of gaining citizenship are additional barriers to leaving. They are also ways for a partner to exert coercive control.
When it comes to some of the other groups, such as people with disabilities, you can imagine the barriers those folks face in our society and how those barriers then create barriers to leaving. I think when we're talking about all of these marginal groups, whether it's 2SLGBTQI+ folks or racialized people of colour, oftentimes they also have barriers to income equality. Because financial dependence has such a huge role in keeping partners in situations that are often violent, we need to make sure we're looking at how all these identities intersect.