Over the past year, significant steps have been taken to improve interventions in the area of domestic violence, among other things by implementing an impressive number of recommendations from the report. rebuild trust. Note, for example, the creation of a court specializing in matters of sexual violence and domestic violence, the setting up of rapid intervention cells, as well as access to information and legal advice services. In addition, proposed changes in the area of family law should also allow for better consideration of domestic violence in decisions concerning children. These recent developments demonstrate a real desire on the part of the Government of Quebec to improve interventions intended for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.
However, we do not observe a similar movement in the youth protection sector and, in terms of domestic violence, the DYP seems to be on another planet. Bill 15, which proposes amendments to the Youth Protection Act, makes no mention of this problem. In addition, the schedule of consultations on this bill suggests that very few organizations specializing in domestic violence will participate.
However, changes are needed in this area, as in family law and criminal law, to ensure the safety of women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The report of the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection (Laurent Commission) also devoted a chapter to this issue. In the report rebuild trustsome recommendations specifically targeted youth protection services.
It should be remembered that the exposure of children to domestic violence is still not recognized as a form of ill-treatment in the same way as abuse and neglect, even though 21% of reports accepted by youth protection services are domestic violence situations. The proportion of domestic violence situations has been constantly increasing since 1998. In addition, several studies have highlighted major shortcomings in the detection and assessment of domestic violence situations, as well as in interventions with victims and perpetrators of this violence. Added to this are numerous inconsistencies in the orders issued in the areas of youth protection, family law and criminal law.
In this context, even if certain initiatives are implemented on a regional basis, the absence of consideration for domestic violence in the bill and in the consultations clearly demonstrates that this problem is not a priority for the services of youth care. The current reform would, however, have been an opportunity to give more prominence to this issue in the law and to make certain changes that would ensure the safety of women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
In 1995, the Quebec government adopted its Intervention Policy on Domestic Violence to ensure greater consistency in government actions. The Prime Minister at the time, Jacques Parizeau, emphasized that this was a new milestone in the fight against domestic violence, since it made this issue a concern for the entire government. Nearly three decades later, still little importance is given to conjugal violence in the youth protection sector. In its desire to improve interventions intended for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, the Quebec government must show leadership and consistency and cannot allow the DYP to remain on another planet.