(Quebec) In one year, the Court specializing in matters of sexual violence and domestic violence has accompanied no less than 8,000 victims in the ten judicial districts where a pilot project has been launched.
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announced Tuesday the continuation of the deployment of the pilot project in six other judicial districts (Alma, Chicoutimi, Kamouraska, Rimouski, Gaspé and Bonaventure).
The Tribunal will thus be present in 16 of the 36 judicial districts of Quebec. It is to be deployed everywhere by November 2026.
Simon Jolin-Barrette made his announcement in Quebec during a symposium which aims in particular to take stock of the first year of the implementation of the Specialized Court in matters of sexual violence and domestic violence. The latter has been present for a year in the districts of Quebec, Beauharnois, Bedford, Drummond, Saint-Maurice, Laval, Saint-François, Mégantic, Mingan and Montmagny.
This tribunal was created under a law passed in November 2021. It was a recommendation from a committee on the support of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence whose report had been made public a year later. early. Deputies from the four parties represented in the National Assembly were part of it.
The expansion of sexual violence services comes as Quebec experiences a marked increase in reporting.
Rates of sexual offenses are particularly high in certain regions far from major centres, according to data from the Ministère de la Sécurité publique. The North Shore, for example, has a rate three times higher than Montreal or Quebec.
