Be the Peace Institute had the opportunity to present to Justice Canada, during virtual panels with academics, gender-based violence advocates, service providers, police, prosecutors and survivors to discuss the creation of a potential coercive control offence in the context of intimate relationships. We have also submitted a written brief on our position to Justice Canada.
Some of our research has been considered relevant to the work of the Mass Casualty Commission’s Public Inquiry into the mass shooting in April of 2020 and has been submitted into the public record. This research was focused on bystander reluctance to report intimate partner violence (IPV) to police and is available on their website, or here.
On this International Women’s Day we are reflecting on our roots. Be the Peace Institute started as a 3-year project of Second Story Women’s Centre funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada in 2012. Second Story celebrates its 40th anniversary today and we want to honour that legacy of dedication to women’s rights, opportunity and equality over all these years even in the face of much adversity. Keep reading to learn more about SSWC, its origin story and its critical importance in our communities!
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign from November 25 to December 10, is here. An action we have taken and are encouraging others to take: sign and share this Federal Petition from the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent (ANSDPAD) Coalition for a government apology for Canada’s role in the enslavement of African people. Learn more in our blog post.
Be the Peace Institute made a written submission to the pre-budget consultations in advance of the Federal Budget for 2023.
These recommendations outline our identified priorities for spending to help end GBV based on our many years of experience in the field, collaborating with front line, community-based services and support, intersecting government departments, academic researchers and what we have heard from survivours themselves.
The Mass Casualty Commission's public inquiry into the mass shooting from April 18 & 19 2020 in Portapique Nova Scotia included an examination of the role that gender based violence/intimate partner violence and misogyny played in the shooting. Be the Peace Institute, Women's Shelters Canada and Transition House Association NS participated in the inquiry in a coalition. This report is their list of final recommendations to the commission.
The practice of using NDAs at all stages of the complaints process is unnecessary and immoral. Victims should not be permanently gagged from speaking about their experiences or be be forced to agree to protect their offender in exchange for their privacy. This practice only serves to put a further chill on reporting which we know is dramatically lower than other crimes.
Check out our letter advocating for an end to their use in cases of sexual assault and harassment cases and consider writing your own.
To learn more: #Can’tBuyMySilence
We recently wrote a letter advocating that Bill C-233, which includes Keira’s Law on domestic violence education for judges, be passed into law in the House of Commons. This private member’s bill would expand training for judges to include domestic violence and coercive control. Bill C-233, "Keira's Law," would help to ensure the best interests of the child are central to decision making around custody and access in cases of family law.
Check out our letter advocating for this important bill to be passed, or consider writing your own.
To learn more: #ForLittleKeira
The House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women invited the public to submit written briefs for its study on Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence in Canada - Be the Peace Institute contributed to a collaborative brief, shared a few weeks ago but here is our independent brief, submitted on behalf of our organization.
It reflects our key takeaways over 6 years of projects, partnerships, research, interviews and reflection on IPV in Nova Scotia with a particular focus on rural needs, barriers and solutions.
Be the Peace Institute helped craft the attached letter to the Premier from the Women and Children First subcommittee of the Metro Interagency Committee on Family Violence regarding the Child and Youth Commission, the need for an Office of the Child and Youth Advocate and reconsideration on the clawback of the Child Care Benefit when children enter care.
We are so proud to have contributed to this brief on IPV in Canada to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women with our amazing colleagues at the Metro Interagency Committee on Family Violence.
There are some specifically rural NS barriers & needs for those who have experienced IPV/GBV that need to be considered and if addressed, would help some of the most vulnerable victims of this issue.
Many things are and will be written about this time, that I hope will reflect an awakening from this collective “time-out.” We’ve been sent to our proverbial rooms to think long and hard about our life as we knew it — the patterns of human activity on the planet, how we treat one another and the Earth that sustains us, and the governing structures we have created that permit and promote stark and ever-growing social inequities.
Today, I am grappling with grief and the convergence of two pandemics.
Sue Bookchin, ED, and Project Officer Stacey Godsoe recently met with Mark Furey, Minister of Justice, to share ideas about justice system reform to better serve survivors of intimate partner violence. We thank Minister Furey for his comprehensive and thoughtful response, outlining the scope of initiatives our provincial Department of Justice is undertaking.
