By: Mackenzie Coleman, Law Student at the University of Alberta
“One woman or girl is killed every two days in Canada for affirming independence over their bodies and lives. In 2023 alone, there were 187 victims of femicide, most of them killed by a man who was close to them”.[1]
Gender-based violence (GBV) is the violence faced because of one’s “gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender”.[2] GBV may affect anyone, but certain populations are more likely to experience GBV including “women, young women and girls, Indigenous women, girls and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual Plus people. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and people of other sexual orientation than heterosexual, transgender and gender diverse people, women living in Northern, rural, and remote communities, and women living with disabilities”.[3]
The federal government has created several initiatives in order to address gender-based violence, including the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (NAP). In 2024, the federal government invested $593 million into NAP, alongside provincial and territorial-level actions and commitments.[4]
The goals of the NAP are to:
- engage all people in Canada in changing the social norms, attitudes, and behaviours that contribute to GBV,
- address the social and economic factors that contribute to GBV,
- set out a framework for anyone facing GBV to have reliable and timely access to culturally appropriate and accessible protection and services, and
- improve the health, social, and economic and justice outcomes of those impacted by GBV.[5]
The NAP has five pillars. Pillar one is support for victims, survivors, and their families; pillar two is prevention; pillar three is responsive justice system; pillar four is implementing Indigenous-led approaches; and pillar five is social infrastructure and enabling environment.[6]
Pillar three focuses on responsive justice systems and is particularly relevant to address access to justice. GBV is a violation of human rights and often a violation of criminal law. Canadian law has addressed GBV through the “enactment of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and various amendments to the Criminal Code provisions related to testimonial aids and victim impact statements, as well as changes to clarify the law surrounding sexual assault”.[7]
Pillar three of the NAP includes opportunities for action include increasing “accessibility and improv[ing] confidence in the Canadian justice system, facilitat[ing] change within the justice system to address GBV and enhanc[ing] the justice system’s support and measures to prevent revictimization and recurring trauma”.[8] The NAP has a high level goal of improving the “health, social, economic, and justice outcomes for those impacted by gender-based violence”.[9]
A responsive justice system works to enhance access to justice in a variety of ways. The first is by adopting trauma-informed practices across the justice system. Experiences of trauma must be accommodated to minimize the risk of a victim’s further harm. The NAP’s guiding principles include being “trauma-and violence-informed” and being “survivor-centric and inclusive of children and families”.[10] Access to justice includes building trust in the justice system. Alongside, legal professionals must be trained on the dynamics of GBV, including the increased risk for women who are Indigenous, Black, living with disabilities, or are newcomers to Canada.[11] The NAP aims to lower bias in courtrooms and in the justice system to improve outcomes for those who experience GBV. This is done through education of legal professionals as well as dedicated legal support services, such as legal aid and clinics, which specialize in gender-based violence.
Alongside this, the NAP aims to improve reporting and data reporting. The NAP has three foundational components which are “(1) leadership, coordination and engagement, (2) data, research and knowledge mobilization and (3) reporting and monitoring.”[12] Improving the reporting mechanics will support survivors in reporting GBV and receiving protection which improves their access to justice. With this, enhanced data collection allows for better monitoring of justice outcomes and identifies gaps. Doing so allows the government to make better, more informed changes to practices and policies involving GBV. In the NAP report, an opportunity for action includes developing “research capacity to address gaps in the evidence and analyses; and enhance data collection and governance to support intersectional populations-based analyses”[13] .
GBV is an access to justice issue. Access to justice plays a key role in the effort to end GBV. A coordinated and comprehensive justice system leads to perpetrators being convicted, while also assisting to the recovery of survivors and preventing re-victimisation. Access to justice is hindered, however, by societial stereotypes and prejudices, lack of awareness about legal rights and protections, and the limited access to legal aid. Alongside, access to justice is limited by the lack of training for judges and prosecutors on GBV and a lack of coordinated response to issues of GBV. These issues increase re-victimization and reduce trust in the justice system.[14]
Increasing access to justice to those who have, or will, experience GBV has three dimensions. The first is improving laws and policies to protect those who are experiencing, and may experience, GBV. The second dimension is strengthening institutional responses. Increasing criminal sanctions and mandating participation in treatment programs is the third dimension needed to increase access to justice.[15] The NAP aims to address all three of these dimensions.
[1] John Humphrey Center for Peace and Human Rights, “Inside Canada’s National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence” (9 July 2024), online: <https://thetyee.ca/Presents/2024/07/09/National-Action-Plan-Gender-Based-Violence/>.
[2] Government of Canada, “What is gender-based violence” (10 June 2024), online: <https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/about-gender-based-violence.html>.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ending Violence Association of Canada, “The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence Must Address Service Gaps for Survivors of Sexual Violence” (April 2024), online: <https://endingviolencecanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EVA-Statement_NAP-SV-Gaps.pdf>.
[5] Government of Canada, “The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence” (31 July 2024), online: <https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/intergovernmental-collaboration/national-action-plan-end-gender-based-violence.html>.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Government of Canada, “In Brief: National Acton Plan to End Gender-Based Violence” (31 July 2024), online: < https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/wage-fegc/documents/gbv/National%20Action%20Plan%20on%20Gender-based%20Violence%20-%20In%20Brief%20-%20English.pdf>.
[8] Supra, note 5.
[9] Supra, note 7.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Supra, note 1.
[12] Supra, note 7.
[13] Ibid.
[14] UNDP Moldova, “Public discussion on access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence” (29 November 2022), online: <https://www.undp.org/moldova/press-releases/public-discussion-access-justice-survivors-gender-based-violence>.
[15] Andrew Morrison et al, “Addressing Gender-Based Violence: A Critical Review of Interventions” (7 May 2007), online: <https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article/22/1/25/1655919>.