Status of Women Committee on Feb. 15th, 2022

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Good afternoon, everyone. I would like to welcome you to the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

I call this meeting to order. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted on Tuesday, February 4, the committee will resume its study of intimate partner and domestic violence in Canada.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from public health authorities, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, the following is recommended for all of those attending the meeting in person.

Anyone with symptoms should participate by Zoom and not attend the meeting in person. Everyone must maintain two metres of physical distancing, whether seated or standing. Everyone must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is recommended in the strongest possible terms that members wear the masks at all times, including when seated. Non-medical masks, which provide better clarity over cloth masks, are available in the room. Everyone present must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer at the room entrance.

Committee rooms are cleaned before and after each meeting. To maintain this, everyone is encouraged to clean surfaces such as the desk, chair and microphone with the provided disinfectant wipes when vacating or taking a seat.

For those participating virtually, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.

You may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation services are available for the meeting. You have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of floor, French or English. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we'll ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled by the proceedings and verification officer. I will remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you're not speaking, your microphone should be on mute.

Before we welcome our witnesses, I would like to provide this trigger warning. We will be discussing experiences related to violence and assault. This may be triggering to viewers with similar experiences. If you feel distressed or if you need help, please advise the clerk.

I know we're starting late. This meeting usually goes to 5:30, and the first panel is usually from 3:30 to 4:30. Would the witnesses be able to extend that time to 4:45? Would you all be able to remain with us until 4:45? Can you give me a thumbs-up?

That's fantastic. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that, as it will give everybody a greater opportunity to speak to you.

I would like to welcome our witnesses now.

On our first panel today, we have, from Statistics Canada, Lucie Léonard, director of the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics; and Kathy AuCoin, chief of the analysis unit at the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. As an individual, from the University of Calgary, we have with us Lana Wells, associate professor and Brenda Strafford chair in the prevention of domestic violence. From the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, we have Katreena Scott, professor.

Just to let everybody know, our witnesses will have five minutes to speak.

You're going to see me signalling to wrap up. That usually starts about 10 to 15 seconds before that time, and we just ask that everybody be tight on their time so that everybody gets the best and optimal time.

We're going to pass it over to Statistics Canada now.

You have your five minutes for your brief. Go ahead.

[Lucie Léonard, Director, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Statistics Canada]

Madam Chair and members of the standing committee, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present our most recent statistics on intimate partner violence in Canada. Much of the information that I will be focusing on this afternoon is available in several publications, and I've provided the clerk a complete list of them with key data points in a written brief for your reference. It is important to note that the data I would be highlighting comes from various sources, including police-reported data and self-reported victimization surveys.

Police data captures forms of intimate partner violence that meet the criminal threshold and are reported to police. However, as many of you are well aware, intimate partner violence often goes unreported to the authorities and includes a range of abuses. These include psychological, emotional and financial abuse, all of which can be extremely harmful but will not be collected through police data. As such, I will be drawing from both types of data sources to provide a full picture of the nature and extent of intimate partner violence in Canada.

Overall trends of intimate partner violence over the past two decades have declined. According to the 2019 general social survey on victimization, spousal violence—that is, physical and sexual assault and the threat of violence—in the provinces was significantly lower in 2019 than in 1999. Over this time period, spousal violence decreased for both women and men. Overall trends for police-reported data showed declines in intimate partner violence from 2009 through 2015. However, more recently there have been incremental year-over-year increases. Specifically, the rate of police-reported intimate partner violence against women increased 10% in 2020 from what was recorded in 2017. Similar increases over the same period of time were noted for men.

Concerns about the impact of lockdown restrictions during the pandemic have also been noted, and through a web panel survey conducted during the early months of the pandemic, 8% of Canadians reported that they were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of violence in the home. This proportion was higher for women than for men.

Through the survey of safety in public and private spaces, we measure lifetime experiences of all forms of intimate partner violence, including physical and sexual assault, and psychological, emotional and financial abuse. According to this survey, 44% of women reported experiencing some form of violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, that is, since the age of 15. In addition, almost one-quarter of women reported experiencing physical assault, compared with 17% of men. Notably, women were six times more likely than men to have been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Women in some population groups are at greater risk of experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Indigenous women are at great risk of experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Specifically, about six in 10 first nation and Métis women stated that they had experienced some form of psychological, physical or sexual abuse committed by an intimate partner in their lifetime, as did 44% of Inuit women. Taken together, this represented 61% of all indigenous women.

Sexual minority people—those whose sexual orientation is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual orientation—are much more likely to experience all forms of intimate partner violence. For example, in 2018, two-thirds of sexual minority women had experienced at least one type of intimate partner violence since the age of 15. More than one-quarter of sexual minority women reported being sexually assaulted by an intimate partner at some point since age 15.

In addition, more than half of women with disabilities experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Almost one-third had been physically assaulted, while 18% reported being sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime. More than one-quarter of intimate partner violence victims experience violence or abuse on a monthly basis or more frequently, and one in 10 women victims experiences it almost daily.

Measures of intimate partner violence often take into account the levels of fear that victims experience. Being afraid of a partner can indicate that experiences of violence are more coercive, relatively more severe and more likely to reflect a pattern of behaviour by an abusive partner. Compared with men, fear is considerably more common among women who experience intimate partner violence. Nearly four in 10 women who were victims said they were afraid of their partner at some point in their life because of the abuse.

The type of intimate partner violence experienced is associated with the likelihood of being fearful. Among victims of intimate partner violence who experienced solely psychological forms of abuse, 12% of women and 4% of men stated they had been afraid of a partner. In contrast, 55% of women—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Excuse me, Ms. Léonard. I'll give you a couple more seconds. We're already a few seconds over time. If you could wrap it up in 10 seconds, then we'll be able to ask you through the questions.

Thank you.

[Lucie Léonard]

Absolutely.

In contrast, 55% of women who experienced physical or sexual violence feared their partner at some point.

Thank you, Madam Chair and honourable members, for your attention this afternoon.

My colleague Kathy AuCoin and I are happy to answer any questions you may have, in French or English.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Excellent. Thank you so much.

We just found out that you wouldn't be able to see me because I'm on the other screen, so I will have to interrupt you at the five-minute mark just to let you know that we're coming to that time.

I'm now going to move it over to Lana Wells, associate professor and Brenda Strafford chair in the prevention of domestic violence, from the University of Calgary.

You have five minutes.

[Lana Wells, Associate Professor, Brenda Strafford Chair in Prevention of Domestic Violence, University of Calgary, As an Individual]

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members, for inviting [Technical difficulty—Editor] privilege to be here with you today. I want to thank each of you for your service to ending intimate partner violence in Canada.

I'm calling from the town of Canmore, Alberta, which is located within the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. The territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.

Since 2010, I have held the position of the Brenda Strafford chair in the prevention of domestic violence in the faculty of social work at the University of Calgary, where I am leading a research hub called “Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence”. The focus of our work is on preventing first-time perpetration and victimization of domestic and sexual violence by designing and scaling up interventions that target the structural and cultural conditions that produce and reinforce violence, while trying to build the will and skills of individuals, families, communities, organizations and systems to prevent violence.

Over the years, our primary prevention efforts have focused on developing multi-level interventions that prevent teen dating violence, because we know that one in three Canadian youth experiences violence, and that victimization during adolescence is related to revictimization in adulthood. Youth who have experienced dating violence have a higher rate of experiencing domestic violence in adult relationships, so working with youth and the adults around them is a key strategy for violence prevention.

We've also focused our research on supporting the transformation of the anti-violence sector to better serve and support informal and natural supporters, because we know that only 12% of Canadians experiencing intimate partner violence go directly to the police. Most survivors and aggressors go to their friends, families, neighbours and co-workers first. In fact, research shows that positive informal supports lead to decreased risk of experiencing domestic violence, especially if that support occurs before relationships become violent, when initial problems or issues begin to emerge. So the importance of stepping in early with the right skills must be taught to all Canadians.

For 11 years, our research hub has been designing, implementing and learning ways to engage and mobilize more men and boys in violence prevention and gender equality. We believe violence is a learned behaviour, and if we want to stop violence, we must work with and support men and male-identified people. One of our most recent partnerships is working with the Calgary Police Service, a male-dominated environment, with which we are testing a “nudge and social norms” approach to get at the structural and cultural change, because we know policy and training are not sufficient to get at the changes we're all seeking.

Since COVID, we've been digging in to understand how big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analysis can support prevention efforts. We're trying to leverage new technologies to monitor COVID impacts to inform our response and recovery in real time, as we have no central repository of comprehensive, cross-analyzed violence data in Alberta. As a result, we partnered with a collective impact organization that represents hundreds of anti-violence organizations and systems in Alberta to better collect data but also to use the information to inform prevention efforts.

Lastly, we're conducting a research project to better understand alternative justice approaches to sexual violence healing and prevention. By “alternative justice approaches”, we mean those activities and interventions that are outside of the criminal legal system, that are survivor-centred and trauma-informed, and that promote prevention and healing with survivors and aggressors of sexual violence.

At Shift, we believe we need to be working on initiatives that create hope, healing and opportunities to transform gender relations and norms, that support accountability and repair, and that are survivor-centred. We believe a non-mandated model that integrates reparative and transformative principles has the potential to meet survivors’ needs, rehabilitate offenders, address injustice and prevent future acts of violence.

I'm super excited to be here with you today. As a committee, you have a very large and important mandate. I'm hoping our conversation will continue to motivate you to undo the systems of oppression that are hurting and reinforcing violence. That means focusing time, resources and political leadership on the root causes of violence.

I know this task is daunting and overwhelming, but for us to end violence, we will need to dismantle white supremacy, patriarchy, colonialism and racial capitalism, because they are the foundation that gives rise to individual and collective manifestations of violence. These systems have normalized inequality and systemic racism, put profit and exploitation over people's well-being, put individualism over co-operation and social cohesion, and normalized competition, aggression and many forms of violence that we don't often recognize as violence—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

That's five minutes and 10 seconds.

[Lana Wells]

I'll end there. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here, and I look forward to a robust discussion.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I'm sorry. I hate cutting you off, because I know there's so much information you're providing to us, but we'll try to get all that information with the questions.

We're now going to turn to Katreena Scott with the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children.

Katreena, you have five minutes.

[Dr. Katreena Scott, Professor, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children]

I, too, would like to thank the committee for this opportunity. I bring greetings from Niagara, Ontario, traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe peoples.

As introduced, my name is Katreena, and I'm the director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, which was one of five centres across Canada whose creation was prompted by the 1989 targeted murder of 14 women at l'École Polytechnique in Montreal.

We've heard just now about the prevalence and impact of domestic and family violence, and it's true that ending these problems is going to require taking a number of actions, but there are clear pathways to change. We know that we need to make significant progress on gender equity with initiatives like national child care and “take it or leave it” paternal leave. We know we need to continue public conversations about gender violence and that these conversations need to include considerations around structural violence and intersectionality, and, as my colleague Lana Wells just spoke about, we know that we need to do a much better job of prevention.

What I want to talk about today is what happens when public education and prevention fail. What kind of response can Canadians count on? There will be many people testifying to this committee about what is needed to respond to survivors. We know that one part of the answer is providing stable and adequate funding to women's shelters, sexual assault centres and other programs for survivors of abuse, but what do we need to do to address people who are engaging in abusive behaviours, who are causing harm to others? When Canadians are concerned about their own behaviours in their family and their relationships, where do they turn to get help?

We have seen investments federally, provincially and territorially in professional education to make sure that gender-based violence is better recognized by health care providers, social service professionals and workplaces. These are welcome developments and changes but, again, whom do people call when they want to make a referral to service? What about the many Canadians who have a family member, a loved one, a colleague or a neighbour who turns to them, who sees degrading, abusive or threatening behaviour? How do they get help for the person they want to change?

The reality is that finding help to address abusive behaviour in Canada is really, really difficult. All Canadian provinces and territories have at least one program that specializes in working with those who perpetrated abusive behaviours, but in many parts of Canada, the only way you can access this program is by being arrested. This can't be the way we want the system to work. Although all places have at least one program, mostly it's that, just one program, a short-term, group-based, one-size-fits-all intervention that, in many rural communities, is offered once or twice a year.

We have known for years that one size doesn't fit all. There are many examples, but just to share one, we've known for a long time about the relationship between intimate partner violence and substance use. We know that abuse is not caused by alcohol or drugs, but for those who suffer from addiction and also perpetrate abusive behaviour, it's important to address these behaviours in tandem, and despite many years of recommendations, there aren't collaborative or joint programs available in Canada. Even if you can pay for service privately, you're going to be hard pressed to find a therapist to do this work.

What can we do about it? Part of the problem is one of workforce capacity. It takes specialized knowledge and skill to work with perpetrators of abuse, to know how to have difficult conversations, to help amplify people's discomfort with and concern about their behaviour and to be able to track access and address abuse and risks for abuse. This is not something that's taught in most psychology, social work, nursing or even psychotherapy programs. Most learning happens on the job.

We did a survey recently of specialist service providers in Canada, and one of the things we found is that only eight per cent of current specialists who work with men who cause harm said that they were prepared when they started their job. Almost all of them reported that ongoing training that was available from their agency was also inadequate.

The federal government could develop and support workforce capacity. We just finished a WAGE-funded project based on the collaborative work of service providers, survivors and researchers from all Canadian provinces and territories to develop the flourishing practice model, a framework that outlines the expertise of service providers in this area.

The other thing that governments can do is make the development and testing of a range of different intervention programs for perpetrators part of the national action plan.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

The five minutes are done.

[Dr. Katreena Scott]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Awesome. Thank you so much.

We'll be starting our first round. In the first round, each member will have six minutes. I'll give you the one-minute warning so you can wrap up in that six-minute time.

I'm going to pass the floor over to Michelle Ferreri.

Michelle, you have six minutes.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Thank you so much to all of the witnesses. It's not an easy topic to have on a Tuesday. I think it's Tuesday, isn't it? Who knows what day it is any more?

I'm not sure who wants to answer this. All three witnesses could answer this. It's mostly around statistics.

Emotional abuse during childhood has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of intimate partner victimization in adulthood. Are there statistics that address the correlation between emotional abuse during childhood and perpetrating intimate partner violence?

[Kathy AuCoin, Chief of Analysis Unit, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Statistics Canada]

Thank you, Chair, for the question.

There are key linkages between risk of being a victim of intimate partner violence and experiencing maltreatment before the age of 15. That could include harsh parenting or witnessing violence within the home. From a child's perspective, if the home front had those behaviours, their understanding as an adult is that this is acceptable and normal. There are key linkages.

In addition to that, we also know that children who have been exposed could be victims of other forms of violence outside of an intimate partner relationship. There are definitely some key linkages to that—

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Thank you. I hate interrupting. I always feel like we're rushed because we have such limited time.

I'm just wondering if you have specific stats around that.

[Kathy AuCoin]

We do.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

If there are, can you table them for the committee?

[Kathy AuCoin]

Certainly.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Fantastic.

I'm also looking for stats on men. Do you have any stats right now—again, I would ask them to be tabled with the committee—on men who know what intimate partner violence is, starting at a younger age?

[Kathy AuCoin]

We have no data on that specific question.

We do have something I will send your way. With the survey of safety in public and private spaces, we asked a series of questions about attitudes towards gender-based violence. It was very generic. We broke it down by male and female and whether their perceptions of those statements were supportive or not.

I think that would touch on what you're getting at and we could supply the committee with that information.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Thank you. That would be super helpful.

In your research or in your statistics collection, do you break it down into age, socio-economic class and ethnicity?

[Kathy AuCoin]

We can. For the first report, we didn't do a deep dive.

Those are great questions. We can definitely produce it for you.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Fantastic.

This question is for Katreena, I believe. Katreena, were you the last witness who spoke? I always want to make sure I have the right people.

[Dr. Katreena Scott]

Yes.