The B.C. government announced Thursday that it has launched a systemic review of the legal system’s treatment of sexual violence and intimate partner violence.
B.C.’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, says the province commissioned the independent review to better help respond to the violence and support victims.
“This review is an important step towards taking what we know about how to improve the ways in which our legal systems treat intimate partner and sexual violence and those who are affected by it and create a plan for action towards meaningful change,” said an introduction to the review.
Sharma tells CityNews that public outcry was a major factor in deciding to launch the review.
“Anytime, as attorney general, there was a story that was about a decision related to sexual violence or something that was upsetting to survivors, I would get a flood of emails from people talking about their experience in the justice system and why they felt like changes were needed. And that’s part of my job is to make sure that our justice system is working in a fairer and just way,” said Sharma.
The province has appointed Dr. Kim Stanton to conduct the review. Stanton served as the legal director of the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund from 2013 to 2017, and as a commissioner on the federal Mass Casualty Commission from 2020 to 2023. She has also served on the federal Minister of the Status of Women’s Advisory Council, working on the Federal Strategy Against Gender-Based Violence.
“Only 6 per cent of people report sexualized violence to the police. And since becoming Attorney General, I’ve heard stories of what it’s like for people once they step forward and go through that process, and that can be retraumatizing and very difficult. So I want us to make that better, and Dr. Stanton is going to go around and talk to all actors in the justice system to figure out what the issues are, so we can work on making that better for people,” said Sharma.
Sharma says Stanton will act independently, but will receive support and resources from her office, as well as access to Crown Counsel and various other actors within the judicial system.
British Columbia holds the highest provincial percentage of both men and women reporting being sexually assaulted since the age of 15. The most recent self-reported data provided by Statistics Canada shows that women were five times more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault.
“It’s devastating. It’s devastating to me to think about that. And I think there’s no woman in the province that doesn’t know somebody that has experienced this. That’s how far reaching it is, and that’s how serious it is. And I want our justice system to take it just as seriously,” said Sharma.
Statistics Canada says that from 2014 to 2022, intimate partner violence among adults aged 25 to 64 years increased by 32 per cent, and by 42 per cent among seniors aged 65 years and older. It says in 2022, there were 117,093 victims of police-reported intimate partner violence, a higher rate of which were women and girls.
Sharma says that increase was part of the reason for launching the review. She said the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to people’s reluctance to reporting sexual assault and violence, and she’d like that reluctance to shift.
“The thing that stays with me is the idea that if somebody doesn’t report to the police and they don’t pursue it, they’re living their lives with the perpetrator of that violence out and no consequences, and living that life of fear knowing that that person’s out there without having a process, a criminal justice process, or any kind of process for accountability. That’s not acceptable. I think that we need to figure out why that is, and make the system better.”
Another report shows that Indigenous women are disproportionately affected. 46 per cent of Indigenous women have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime, as compared to 33 per cent of non-Indigenous women. The introduction to the review says, “At both the police and court stages, homicides involving Indigenous women and girls result in less serious homicide charges, such as manslaughter.”
The province says a final report is expected in May of 2025.
—With files from Michael Williams.