Alain de Souza, the director of the Human Rights Commission of Canada whose mandate it is to monitor progress by governments and individuals in respect of fundamental human rights, said the report is a sobering reminder that Canada remains a place of extraordinary human rights achievements but which must now be improved in line with evolving norms and values, he said.
“What concerns us is there is a large gap between what we believe is good practice and good law, and the reality is that Canada is not a strong place to fight gender-based violence,” De Souza said.
He said in the last five years, the government has made a “marked increase” in the number of prosecutions of sexual assault against women and the fact that the number of women seeking justice and support services (those who would not otherwise) is also increasing.
Yet despite the progress many in Canada are unaware of the ways in which the country has also remained a “very aggressive” proponent of transphobic policies, De Souza said.
The new report is part of an annual study — the first to look specifically at violence against women — by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario on the state of the rights of individuals.
“These women are under threat. No one wants them to be at risk of violence, but no one is taking responsibility,” said Barbara Hall, one of the authors of the report.
The authors were joined by representatives from the Ontario chapter of the federal organization Women’s Law Network, the Ontario Coalition Against Violence Against Women and women who are victims of sexual assault.
The report finds that in the 2013-2014 fiscal year the Criminal Code of Canada (the CFAC) provided inadequate protection against sexual assault and the Criminal Code does not include a number of provisions that, for instance, mandate sexual assault courts as set out in the provincial sexual assault statute.
De Souza said he’s certain the next report will uncover more about how the government is actively encouraging discrimination against women and sexual violence in ways it did not before, including through provincial legislation, the introduction of gender-based violence clauses in the Criminal Code, the requirement that the courts determine sentences for sexual violence, and the government’s promotion of anti-gay laws.
“If the government is really serious about this issue and wants to change this country, we have to take them on,” De Souza said. “We have to find out where the problems are, what kinds of systemic factors