As indicated in some of our recent posts, violence against women continues to be a serious problem in Canada. On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner; one in five Canadian women experience some form of emotional or economic abuse in her intimate relationship; and over 400,000 cases of sexual assault are reported each year.[1] Significant efforts have been made to reduce and respond to the prevalence of violence against women in Canada, such as implementing Domestic Violence Court Programs; yet further endeavours are still necessary. Violence against women is not unique to Canada- many countries around the world report the same, if not higher, statistics as Canada’s. Some counties have responded to this problem by implementing special courts for cases involving violence against women. Most recently, in 2016, El Salvador approved the creation of a special court specifically to hear cases of violent crimes committed against women.
Specialized courts are defined as “tribunals of narrowly focused jurisdiction to which all cases that fall within that jurisdiction are routed; judges who serve on a specialized court are considered specialists even experts, in the fields of the law that fall within the court’s jurisdiction.”[2] Accordingly, specialized courts for women are created in some countries in response to high numbers of crimes against women - including femicide, sexual assault, and domestic abuse. These specialized courts allow for the integration of a variety of legal processes including criminal, civil, and family law issues.[3] El Salvador is not the only country with this type of distinct court system. Specialized domestic violence courts have been established with positive results in countries around the world including Brazil, Nepal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and several states in the USA.[4]
Between 2000 and 2011, the number of cases of domestic violence in El Salvador skyrocketed from 200 per year to 600, and continued to increase each year thereafter.[5] Freedom House stated that violence against women in El Salvador was a “serious problem.” Similarly, Al Jazeera reported that El Salvador was “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women because of the endemic levels of sexual abuse and gender-based violence.”[6] Further, in an article on violence against women in El Salvador, a UN Special Rapporteur pointed out that “impunity for crimes, socio-economic disparities and the machista [machismo] culture continue to foster a generalized state of violence, subjecting women to a continuum of multiple violent acts.”[7] Amnesty International also stated that “high rates of violence, low reporting, and impunity are factors that impede progress in addressing violence against women in El Salvador.”[8] Further, according to the Advocates for Human Rights:
[T]he experience of individuals interviewed by [t]he Advocates corroborate the ineffectiveness of the police and judicial system in dealing with violence against women in El Salvador. Of the women who suffered sexual assault and did report it to the police, many described to [t]he Advocates how the police did not follow up on the investigation… Moreover, an ineffective court system puts the victim in more danger since the perpetrator is aware the victim went to the police and the perpetrator is free to extract revenge.[9]
These inefficiencies prompted El Salvador to create a special court specifically to try violent crimes against women. The Salvadoran Congress approved the Jurisdiction and Specialized Courts for a Life Free of Violence and Discrimination Act on February 8, 2016. A member of the Great Alliance for National Unity party said to TeleSur TV, “with this ruling, the rights of women are safeguarded when they are injured or discriminated against, so that through a specialized judge, who must be trained on the subject, will follow the specific cases of violence.”[10] Not only will there be a specialized judge adjudicating these cases, but they will also be prosecuted by lawyers who are trained to deal with violence against women. These courts aim to combat the obstacles that women encounter when reporting violent crimes.
It is evident that countries around the world are implementing unique measures to rectify the injustices that women face. Currently in Canada, some provinces have introduced specialized court systems to deal with issues, such as drugs and domestic violence. In light of recent cases such as the Ghomeshi trial, it may be beneficial for Canada to create specialized courts for different types of violent crimes against women, despite concerns that accompany any type of court specialization such as lack of resources, or that “having a concentrated number of judges focused on this issue means that the entire caseload rests in the hands of a few.”[11] Nonetheless, this is an idea which could facilitate the reduction of violence against women in Canada, which provincial governments should consider investigating.
Let us know what you think- should provinces in Canada consider creating specialized courts for violent crimes against women?
[1] “The Facts on Violence Against Women” (2016), online: <http://www.bwss.org/resources/information-on-abuse/numbers-are-people-too/>.
[2] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_court>.
[3] “Specialized Courts Tribunals for Violence Against Women” (2016), online: <http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/144-specialized-courts-tribunals-for-violence-against-women.html>. [Endvawnow]
[4] Ibid.
[5] Adam Lidgett, “El Salvador Creates Court for Violent Crimes Against Women Amid Surge in Violence” (23 February 2016), online: <http://www.ibtimes.com/el-salvador-creates-court-violent-crimes-against-women-amid-surge-violence-2319890> [Lidgett].
[6] Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, “El Salvador: Violence against women, including non-domestic sexual violence, legislation, state protection and support services” (15 September 2015) SLV105266.E, online: <http://www.refworld.org/docid/560b8b294.html>.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Lidgett, supra note 5.
[11] Endvawnow, supra note 3.
