Aura Freedom was happy to contribute to the study undertaken by the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women for their study on Coercive Behaviour in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) and human trafficking (HT).

In our brief, we lay out out the risks of criminalizing coercive behaviour and the potential negative impacts on survivors, while also recognizing the importance of accountability for abusers and the power of feminist legislation.

We recognize:

• Presently suggested legislation around coercive control does not identify nor integrate the necessary systems, mandates, training, procedures, etc. to prevent survivors of IPV from being accused of and/or charged using the same legislation intended to protect them. Those in the sector continue to see survivors face punishments intended for their abusers through current legislation and its consequences, such as abusers accusing their victims of IPV, mandatory charging, family court procedures, and bogus accusations of ‘parental alienation’. In fact, using the criminal justice system to further abuse, control and entrap victims is a cornerstone tactic of coercive control itself.

• Criminal legislation does not ensure the legislative process (i.e. charges, prosecution, and guilty verdicts) reliably punishes abusers and ignores the 70% of survivors who do not report to police.

• Criminal legislation does little to eradicate gender-based violence by addressing its root causes.

We also recognize:

• While restorative justice alternatives are crucial, some perpetrators are simply too dangerous to have access to people in our communities, as the potential harm, especially to women and children, is simply too great to ignore.

• The importance of listening to all survivors, both those who have been criminalized by the very system in place to protect them, and those who see accountability for their abusers as necessary for their safety and the safety of their children.

• The cruciality of feminist legislation and acknowledging where it has brought us today.

Read our final recommendations below.