|
|
|
Family Violence Initiative
Policy Development
Strengthening the family violence network
Family violence is a complex and ever-evolving policy issue. When developing
policy, Justice Canada conducts diversity and gender equality analyses so that
the impact of family violence-related initiatives on groups can be assessed.
These groups include:
- women
- children
- Aboriginal people
- others who may be at a disadvantage in their dealings with
the justice system
Two major areas of focus
In the area of family violence policy development, Justice Canada works on
two major aspects of criminal justice:
- What is the substance of the criminal law –that
is, are existing criminal laws addressing family violence adequately or
are new laws needed? The Family Violence Initiative's work on legislative
reform has resulted in various changes to Canadian criminal law. For more
information, see Laws.
- How the law is implemented –that is, how
the law is actually enforced on a case-by-case basis. Efforts to strengthen
and sensitize the criminal justice system in cases of spousal abuse include
working on policies related to:
- mandatory charging and prosecution
- domestic courts that deal only with domestic violence
- protective measures for victims
- abusive partner treatment programs
Although some improvements have been made, Justice Canada is continuing its
work to strengthen the response of the criminal justice system to family
violence issues. Many issues have been–and continue to be–explored by Justice
Canada with its provincial and territorial partners, such as:
- implementation and status of mandatory charging policies
- effectiveness of legislative reforms
- exercise of police and prosecutor discretion
- high attrition of spousal abuse cases in court
- role and experiences of victims in prosecutions
- collection of additional forms of evidence
- pressures on courts
- under-reporting of spousal assault
- criminal justice system's response to women in abusive situations
- training of criminal justice personnel
- use of restorative justice practices, such as circle sentencing and family
group conferencing
- risk assessment in bail hearings
- dual or cross charging
- impact on children of exposure to spousal abuse
- use of conditional sentencing and victim impact statements
- victim notification
The Family Violence Initiative also deals with the physical and sexual abuse
of children, and their neglect. Children are most vulnerable to being exploited
sexually within the family. In some cases, they may be sexually abused by a
family member or person close to them. In other cases, a child may see or hear
a family member sexually abusing another family member.
Justice Canada also works with other jurisdictions and other national organizations
to help prevent children being used for sexual purposes. This includes prevention
and prosecutions related to the sale and trafficking of children and exploitation
of children through prostitution and pornography. Physical and sexual abuse
of children can reach across provincial, territorial and international boundaries
and requires cooperation with other jurisdictions.
Federal, provincial and territorial cooperation at work
Responsibility for the criminal law and the administration of justice is shared
between the federal, provincial and territorial governments. Accordingly, Justice
Canada collaborates closely with its provincial and territorial partners in
developing and implementing criminal policy and legislative reforms. Some of
these reforms are:
Child abuse
The Children as Victims Project was a wide-ranging, multi-sector
review of criminal law and procedural protections of children. Justice Canada
worked on this project with federal, provincial and territorial officials and
other experts. The review resulted in a comprehensive package of legislative
reforms that provide more protection to children from abuse, neglect and sexual
exploitation. It also made the criminal justice system respond better to the
needs of children and other vulnerable victims and witnesses. More information
on Bill C-2, which came into force (except section 28) on
January 2, 2006, is available in Laws.
Spousal abuse
In the area of spousal abuse, Justice Canada :
- developed, together with its federal, provincial and territorial
partners, guidelines for police, Crown prosecutors and other criminal justice
personnel. The guidelines cover the investigation, charging and prosecution
of criminal harassment cases - usually called "stalking." The Handbook
for Police and Crown Prosecutors on Criminal Harassment was published
in March 2004. It was distributed to police, Crown Attorneys, victim services,
corrections services, judges and other criminal justice personnel across Canada. An earlier version of these guidelines was published in December 1999.
- co-chaired, with the Department of Justice Nova Scotia, the
Ad Hoc Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group Reviewing Spousal Abuse
Policies and Legislation. They reviewed the current status and implementation
of mandatory charging and prosecutorial policies in Canada since 1983.
The Working Group also reviewed related proposed criminal law reforms. It
released its report, Spousal
Abuse Policies and Legislation: Final Report of the Ad Hoc Federal-Provincial-Territorial
Working Group Reviewing Spousal Abuse Policies and Legislation (PDF
 ),
in April 2003.
- hosted the Second
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Forum on Spousal Abuse in March 2001.
Senior officials from policing, prosecutions, victims' services, corrections
and policy sectors across Canada identified new and emerging issues and
trends. They also exchanged information about best practices in investigating,
charging and prosecuting spousal assault cases and implementing measures
to protect victims. The first Federal/Provincial/Territorial Forum on Spousal
Abuse was held in March 1998.
- co-sponsored with the Policy Centre for Victims Issues, a
Northern Roundtable for departmental officials in April 2000. Its purpose
was to examine federal prosecutorial services relating to spousal abuse and
sexual assault cases in Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories. Federal
prosecutions in the three territories often differ from those in the rest
of Canada. This is because the North's geographic, cultural and socio-economic
conditions are often unique to that area of the country.
- participated in the federal-provincial-territorial review
of the Divorce Act. The aim of the review was to identify the impact
of family violence and spousal abuse on custody and access decisions and
to develop reforms related to children's issues.
Justice Canada also takes part in international
efforts to advance work on family violence that affects women and children.
|
