In Quebec, just before the pandemic, a panel of experts on support for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence released a report about rebuilding trust. In it, the panel made 190 bold recommendations to finally build the safety net we talked about. I'll run through a few of them.
The panel recommends creating a special court based on the principle of vertical prosecution to support victims in domestic and sexual violence cases. It recommends the wearing of electronic bracelets to—finally—prevent ex‑spouses who are released from prison and continue to harass their victims from committing murders, homicides and infanticides. Bear in mind that children are also killed because of domestic violence. The panel talks about a continuum of support services. It is essential to understand that victims need support every step of the way.
Coming back to your first question, about Ms. Huard-Boudreault—whom I'll call Daphné—I would say this. Daphné was a young woman of 18, and in her case, police officer training was terribly inadequate. Officers are supposed to follow a protocol to escort victims of domestic violence when going to the home to retrieve their belongings. The police let her go to the home on her own, giving her ex‑partner enough time to kill her before they arrived a few minutes later.
The issues are incredibly complex, so we would need to spend a few hours with you to go through them all.
Another important element is domestic violence as grounds for deciding whether the security or development of the child is in danger. I'll let Ms. Pontel tell you about that.