Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
My name is Pamela Arnott. I work at the Department of Justice, more specifically at the Policy Centre for Victim Issues. I am accompanied by my colleague, Gillian Blackwell, who works in the area of family violence.
Gillian will speak about the Department of Justice's contribution to the family violence initiative. I would like to speak to you about the federal victims strategy, and particularly about two components within that strategy.
The federal victims strategy is led by the Department of Justice. Its objective is to give victims a more effective voice in the criminal justice and federal corrections system. While the strategy focuses on all forms of victimization, there are a number of components of its work that are particularly relevant to violence against women. I'd like to speak to you about the work we do with the victims fund as well as the work we do in criminal law reform.
The Victims Fund currently has $11.6 million per year available to fund projects and activities. Although prevention is not one of the objectives of the fund, its provisions can allow projects to be funded that establish exemplary practices in service delivery.
I would like to spend a few minutes on two areas of funding that are particularly relevant in fighting violence against women.
The first group of projects that I would bring to the committee's attention is the work we've done for child advocacy centres. Since 2010, more than $10 million has been made available for child advocacy centres, and we have financed more than 20 locations across Canada.
Child advocacy centres reduce the trauma that child victims and their families may experience in dealing with the criminal justice system, often including children who have witnessed or experienced violence, including violence against women or against themselves.
Second, the victims fund has been instrumental in advancing culturally sensitive services for aboriginal victims of crime and for families of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Early reports from those projects indicate that the projects have been quite successful in advancing dedicated services for families of missing and murdered aboriginal women.
In the area of criminal law, Canadian legislation provides for basic procedural or sentencing measures that together provide an overall response to violence against women, girls or other vulnerable groups.
Testimonial aids and other protection tools facilitate meaningful participation by women and girls who have suffered acts of violence. These include the fact that, in sentencing, courts are required to deal more severely with offences in which there is evidence that the crimes were motivated by age or gender or when the offence involves a breach of trust or the abuse of someone in a vulnerable situation.
The Government of Canada has pursued a robust criminal law agenda in the past few years that strengthens the criminal law's response to all forms of violence, including violence against women and girls. Some of its initiatives include increasing penalties for sexual offences committed against children—this was done in Bill C-10 in 2010—targeting the exploitation inherent in prostitution in 2014, and strengthening responses to child sexual abuse in the Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act in 2012.
More recently, Bill C-32, the victims bill of rights act, proposes rights for victims of crime, many of which will benefit women and girls who have been victims of violence. The bill proposes to give victims several rights, including the right to have their security and privacy considered, the right to be protected from intimidation and retaliation, the right to request the protection of their identity if they are a complainant or a witness in proceedings, and the right to request testimonial aids.
Related amendments to the Criminal Code support these rights. For example, amendments to the administration of rights to records held by third parties would require that a court consider the plaintiff's right to security of the person when determining whether it is appropriate to produce or examine a file. Testimonial aids should be more easily accessible to vulnerable victims and the security of the victims should be considered when making parole orders.
I will ask my colleague Gillian to continue the presentation.