Gender-based violence is rooted in gender inequality in society. Anything we can do to strengthen gender equality has a preventative impact on gender-based violence. That was a recommendation as well from the Mass Casualty Commission. When we're looking at violence within relationships, we're already far down the road in looking at responding rather than prevention. Training in schools on healthy relationships and lots of different things that are being put in place are important, including the work in the national action plan to end gender-based violence.
Similar to criminal harassment, it's possible to end up with a law whereby survivors have to pull together and document and feel the pressure of creating a timeline, gathering all of this content themselves and trying to curate years' worth of controlling behaviours. If the burden is on the survivor to demonstrate that fear and that concern, then I think that creates an unfair burden. I do prefer a model that shifts that onus onto the perpetrator.
Within the criminal justice system, as well, one of the challenges we have is that in gender-based violence it's predominantly male offenders, whose rights are guaranteed under the charter and are very clear, but victims' rights aren't enforceable. There are lots of gaps that could be improved. When people come into contact with the system, it can be really messy.