In order to prepare the ground for the early entry into force of the new criminal offense of “coercive control”, two representatives of the Regroupement des shelters pour femmes victims de violence conjugal and a Quebec police chief went, at the end of May, on mission in Scotland and England. Their goal was to bring back everything necessary for the criminal justice system to be ready for it — and for the offense to be fully effective and have enough bite. The duty met them on their return.
The bill to add the offence of coercive control to the Criminal Code was passed unanimously in June by the House of Commons and is now before the Senate. It is expected to become law.
Coercive control refers to all the strategies put in place by the aggressor to violate, manipulate and dominate his victim. It is an insidious and progressive takeover that does not necessarily require blows to be exercised.
Although many victims’ organizations have spoken out in favour of criminalizing coercive control in Canada, fears remain: that the offence will backfire on victims, for example, or that the justice system is not ready or that police are unsure what to do with this new crime.
The trio therefore went on a mission to England and Scotland – where coercive control has been criminalized since 2015 and 2019 respectively – in order to avoid the pitfalls they encountered. A first mission made it possible to import ways to improve the Canadian bill, while the second aimed to optimize the implementation of this future crime on Canadian soil, summarized Me Karine Barrette on her return from Europe.
She went there with her colleague Marie-Jeanne Gratton, but also with the director of the Régie intermunicipale de police Thérèse-De Blainville, Francis Lanouette, who represented the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
There, they met with police, prosecutors, researchers and victim support organizations. The message from two nations is the same: if they encountered difficulties, “they would not go back,” reports Me Barrette. Because “each year, there has been an increase in cases which are brought to justice and an increase in cases where there has been a person convicted”, notes Mme Graton.
Implement a new criminal offense
Obviously, “we are asking questions about the implementation of a new offence,” the police chief emphasizes. He believes that we must first ensure that police officers have a good grasp of the concept so that they are able to recognize this crime in the field and highlight the elements of coercive control in their reports.
The key to success is training, he continues, adding that “in Quebec, we are already well advanced.” The Regroupement des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale has already trained many people on the concept of coercive control — 6,200 actors in the justice system since 2021 — including thousands of police officers.
Training should not only focus on the wording of the offence, Mr.e Barrette, because “everyone also needs to know how this is embodied in the victims’ reality.” Thus, the training must also focus on “interpersonal skills,” that is, how to act with victims and put aside any biases that one may have, recalls Chief Lanouette.
Scotland attributes its success in particular to the fact that everyone was trained “in advance”, a year before the offense came into force. “Everyone was ready,” emphasized the chef. England did not, and “they have been playing catch-up ever since”.
Several suggestions made by these two nations of the United Kingdom have already been in place in Quebec since Rebuilding trustthe extensive report from the Quebec Committee of Experts on Support for Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, indicates Mme Graton. Like having the same prosecutor throughout the case and meetings with the victim at different stages of the legal process, she illustrates.
It has also been suggested by Scotland to create specialist police teams. This is not realistic in Quebec, believes Mr. Lanouette, given the size of the territory and the number of police forces. But there are other possible models, such as that of the Sûreté du Québec, which has its coordination team for violence between intimate partners, which acts as a support unit for patrol officers.
The use of body cameras for police officers has been named a “super important” tool, explains Me Barrette. And this, on two fronts: first, for training – this makes it possible to show the wide range of victims’ reactions – but also to provide evidence of coercive control before the courts.
Fears and shortcomings
One of the fears verbalized everywhere here is that the new offense risks “turning against the victim”, in short, that the aggressor will use it to accuse her by claiming that she is the one “in control”. An effective strategy to prevent her from filing a complaint, denounces M.e Barrette.
The mission to Europe allowed them to address this concern and to note that it has proven to be unfounded there, since prosecutors must carry out an analysis to determine who is the “main aggressor”, which avoids “cross-complaints”. It is therefore necessary for judicial actors to be trained to recognize this tactic, insists the police chief.
Another element that is problematic, here as there, is the lack of connection between family law and criminal law, noted Me Barrette. This is the case when a criminal judge prohibits an author of violence from communicating with his ex-spouse, but the Family Court orders communications between the two for child custody.
The mission report which brings together all the good practices from Scotland and England will be given to those working on the bill and to political decision-makers in Quebec and Ottawa.
If the judicial system of certain provinces is less ready for easy implementation, “in Quebec, we have winning conditions already in place. I think we can do better with what has been done elsewhere,” says Chef Lanouette with optimism.