The messages on Chloe’s phone* started to multiply shortly after the breakup. Hundreds a day.
“It was pure violence.” In 2019, she filed a criminal harassment complaint against her ex-partner.
Violent, he did not accept that she had ended their relationship and let her know it. “It was threats, insults, threats, insults… endlessly,” she says.
Behind her screen, her tormentor harassed her on every possible social network. Hundreds of times a day.
“Text, Messenger, Instagram… He even tagged me in the comments on Facebook,” she lists.
Her nightmare lasted for weeks. The day two policewomen showed up at her house to take her complaint, he flooded her with messages.
While they were there, he started sending me 300 text messages in the space of half an hour.
Chloe
Cases of criminal harassment like Chloe’s are becoming more and more frequent in Quebec. Charges have increased by 55% over the past five years, according to figures obtained by The Press.
In 2023, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) filed 6,217 criminal harassment proceedings, compared to 3,994 in 2019. In half of the cases, the offence was committed in the context of domestic violence.
“It’s huge,” observes M.e Isabelle Dorion, prosecutor and provincial coordinator for domestic violence at the DPCP.
Stalking a person by following their movements, repeatedly communicating with them or monitoring their location can lead to criminal harassment charges.
The courts are calling it a serious offence, punishable by up to ten years in prison.
“We have seen for years in the courts that criminal harassment can lead to more,” emphasizes Isabelle Dorion, citing “threats, assault, break-ins, and even the ultimate femicide.”
“No need to be a computer whiz”
According to the stakeholders interviewed, the observed increase is partly explained by the fact that criminal harassment is better known to victims, who report it more.
But it is also facilitated by technology. Surveillance software, geolocation devices, social networks: it has never been easier to harass.
“You don’t need to be a computer whiz,” illustrates Claudine Thibodeau, spokesperson for SOS violence conjugale.
She gives the example of the AirTag, a coin-sized geolocation device that sells for $39 each.
Apple says its product is designed to prevent malicious use, including by sending an alert when an unknown AirTag is nearby.
However, men have been caught hiding them in their ex-partners’ personal belongings in order to track their movements.
“Yes, we have seen it. And we will certainly continue to see it,” confirms Isabelle Dorion.
The prosecutor has observed an increase in the use of technology in criminal harassment cases over the past five years.
I’ve seen some terrible ways to monitor the victim. Little, little microphones surreptitiously installed in an ex-partner’s house. Anyone can get them on Amazon.
Me Isabelle Dorion, prosecutor and provincial coordinator for domestic violence at the DPCP
These new tools also pose challenges in terms of identifying their owner. They can be registered “in a coffee shop, under any account.”
Frequent harassing behaviors
“It’s amazing how much harm repeated communications can cause someone. It creates a feeling of total invasion,” observes Justine Fortin, director of services for victims and survivors at Juripop.
She speaks from experience: harassment is “intrinsic” to all of the organization’s domestic violence cases.
Harassing behavior has been found in 100% of our cases since 2020.
Justine Fortin, Director of Victim and Survivor Services at Juripop
Please note: this does not constitute harassment within the meaning of the Criminal Code. The organization offers civil law services to victims of domestic violence (divorce, child custody, alimony).
“When a person comes to us, we will ask them questions to find out what forms of violence they have experienced,” explains Justine Fortin.
It is during these meetings that victims will detail – sometimes without realizing it – harassing behavior.
Getting “40, 50, 60 texts” from their ex in one day. Running into him “at yoga class in the afternoon, every time they go to the grocery store.”
“We have had more than one case where people after separation discovered a GPS under their car,” says Justine Fortin.
The feeling of being followed is common among victims of stalking. The challenge: proving it in court.
“A woman moved four times in one year because she felt like he had found her. Each time, the man would put a coffee on her porch. It was exactly how she took it. It’s extremely trying, but how can you prove it’s him?” says Claudine Thibodeau.
SOS domestic violence published in the last year a “technological self-defense guide” intended in particular for victims of harassment.
She lists a series of precautions to take, such as purchasing a Faraday cage to block electromagnetic waves emitted by cell phones.
“You can also do it yourself. You have to wrap the object in four or five layers of aluminum foil and put it in a container with a tight-fitting lid,” explains M.me Thibodeau.
More training
The director of the Federation of Women’s Shelters, Manon Monastesse, sees a positive side to the increase in charges of criminal harassment.
For her, it means that the crime is better understood, both by the victims and by the justice system.
“For several years, there has been training on what criminal harassment is,” she notes. “We see police officers using the article more and more. That’s what makes a big difference.”
*Fictitious name. We are not publishing the name of her harasser in order to protect the identity of the victim.