The Women’s Equality Coalition believes that poor understanding and implementation of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA, 2014) is the main cause of inefficiencies in Canada’s efforts to end human trafficking. The Women’s Equality Coalition is encouraging the government to fully implement the Equality Model to protect and support women and girls in prostitution and those who are victims of human trafficking.
"The decision whether to oppose or consent to bail, and on what terms, requires Crown Counsel to consider and weigh the competing interests of the accused, the public, and victims. Crown Counsel cannot predict the future actions of the accused with certainty, and thus cannot eliminate all risks. "
Chilliwack police and crown believed the victim. The perpetrator was charged. Why wasn’t he kept in custody until his trial? Why was he given the freedom to kill the women?
At present, a very small number of sexual assault cases reported to police across the country result in a trial. Men in Canada know that they can beat and rape women and children with impunity. As one of our callers, for whom the Crown has decided not to press charges against her rapist, said to us, “Rape, effectively, is legal in Canada”.
For you, as city council members, who we trust to take seriously the lack of women’s safety in Vancouver and the high number of women and children in Vancouver who are victims of sexual violence, we urge you to demand the following data from the VPD in order to effectively evaluate their work responding to sexual assault:
How many of the sexual assault cases were “cleared by charges?”
How many of the sexual assault cases that were initially “cleared by charges” actually ended up with the case proceeding to trial?
Dealing with the criminal justice system as a victim of sexual assault can be frustrating and even traumatizing. You don’t need to go through it alone.
Even with a feminist advocate on her side, the vast majority of women will be failed by the criminal justice system. In 2019, although sexual assaults reported to police rose from 4,419 in 2018 to 5,553 in 2019 (a 25.7% increase), charges laid actually decreased in that same period from 1,786 to 1,768.
To uphold the principles of transparency and accountability we must have all judgements in sexual assault trials transcribed and posted online so that judges’ decisions in sexual assault cases will be available for public scrutiny
