(Quebec) Law to create a specialized tribunal, introduction of anti-reconciliation bracelets and some 500 million in investments. Over 60% of the 190 recommendations in the report Rebuild trust on support for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence are underway, one year after its submission.
“I think it’s a brilliant record with all the actions that have been put in place,” said the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest, a year after the report was tabled. Rebuild trust, in December 2020.
A committee of experts had produced a strong report of 190 recommendations, one of the main proposals of which was the establishment of a specialized tribunal in matters of sexual assault and domestic violence. Bill 92, which provides for the creation of this tribunal, was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly last November.
“It was the most difficult piece to put in place and I think there are a lot of people who saw it coming much further down the line”, explained the minister in an interview, speaking of a “gesture strong “and an important step” in the process of placing the victim at the center of the legal system, concerns and support “.
Quebec also announced earlier this month the introduction of electronic anti-reconciliation bracelets to protect victims of domestic violence from their attackers – another recommendation of the report. These devices will be introduced next spring, first in the Quebec City region, as part of a pre-project, before being rolled out across the province by December 2023.
“We are the only jurisdiction which has both” in the world, underlines Mme Charest about the bracelets and the specialized tribunal. The wave of feminicides that rocked Quebec is not unrelated to government action, she admits. “We really redoubled our efforts, there was also an awareness of the whole of society in relation to the phenomenon,” she said.
Sums of 504 million
Currently, 119 of the 190 recommendations are under construction, the government is assured. A “reflection” has also been initiated for 55 recommendations of the report, and 16 others must be analyzed by March 2022. Sums of 504 million have been invested in a package of measures affecting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence since a year.
Quebec also points out that it has added 184 full-time resources in aid organizations, improved working conditions and increased financial support for accommodation resources by 65%. The AGIR project, developed in Laval, which provides for the establishment of a crisis unit around a victim, will also be extended to the provinces. A call for projects has been launched and funding is due in January.
Isabelle Charest believes in the light of this first assessment that Quebec women are more secure at the present time. “That being said, there is still work to be done. And women are not necessarily safer in all settings because it is a [phénomène] insidious, ”she nuances. “But I think we have more resources, more means to secure women. ”
The decision to set up a committee of experts was taken by the former Minister of Justice Sonia LeBel, in the wake of the #metoo movement in 2019. The initiative was articulated in a transpartisan approach in collaboration with opposition parties in Quebec.