Local NDP MP Laurel Collins, who represents Victoria in the House of Commons, has developed a bill to have the language changed in the Canadian Criminal Code to include coercion as a form of abuse.
As it stands, coercive behaviour is not considered to be a legal form of abuse which creates difficult situations for people who feel trapped in an abusive relationship.
If someone is withholding car keys so their partner can’t leave or taking away their bank card and cutting them off financially, those things are not considered to be abusive as the current Criminal Code reads.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home, and this bill would provide more legal protections for individuals in harmful and dangerous situations,” Collins said back in May when the bill was first introduced to the House of Commons.
“Coercive control is one of the common early signs before domestic homicide, even when no physical violence has occurred. Countless stories of femicide show aggressors with histories of coercive, controlling behaviour that have gone unnoticed as warning signs or red flags.”
“Criminalizing coercive and controlling behaviour will save lives and send a clear message that abusive behaviour is unacceptable and will not be ignored,” she continued.
Collins points out that a Justice Committee recommended to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in 2021 that the Criminal Code be amended to include coercion as a form of abuse.
This recommendation came after a study found that 95% of domestic abuse survivors were subjected to coercive abuse before their relationships became physically abusive.
Because the Liberals have not done anything with this information after it came to light, Collins has taken it upon herself to draw up her bill which will be given its second reading in the House of Commons on Thursday, November 9th.
If passed through its next steps and given royal assent, those who use coercion as a form of abuse could face up to five years in prison.
