A bill that calls for increased training for judges to include violence and the recording of their decisions is a “glow of hope” for Jennifer Dunn, the head of London Abused Women’s Center.
“It’s great for women and girls who are experiencing these kinds of terrorist attacks to know that there is hope that our government is moving in the right direction,” she said.
The member’s own bill C-233, known as “Keira’s Law,” passed its third reading in the Senate on Tuesday. It is named after four-year-old Keira Kagan, who was found dead with her father at the bottom of a cliff in Milton, Ont., in February 2020.
The bill would require law enforcement officers to receive training and education about domestic violence and how to deal with it, so they can recognize the signs of abuse and escalate. rather than physical violence.
Coercive power is defined as patterns of harm that include threats, intimidation, and isolation, designed to intimidate the victim to get them to comply with demands and The abuser exercises power every day of their lives, Dunn said.
“Domestic abuse is not about the abuser,” she said. “A woman who is a victim of domestic violence is not just a black eye or a broken bone, there are many different parts of being abused that contribute to this.”
The bill’s passage was a victory for Keira’s mother, Jennifer Kagan, who said it was a long process of hard work. The law could save the lives of others from violence in Canada, Kagan told CBC London.
“Private member’s bills are not binding, they are very difficult to implement,” he said. “It’s important to us to be able to make these changes to our daughter’s name, Keira.”
After leaving an abusive marriage with ex-husband Robin Brown, Kagan said she sought protection for Keira through the courts, and expressed concerns about abuse. and Brown’s oppression, but he said he encountered difficulties.
A Milton judge cut her off as she presented evidence of Brown’s abuse, telling her that domestic violence does not apply to parenting, Kagan said.
“I looked at the judge and thought to myself ‘You are as much a problem for our daughter as her father.’ I was afraid of the judge because of his power and his misguided and dangerous attitude,” he recalled.
Kagan believes Keira’s death was a homicide, and after losing her daughter, Kagan made it her mission to make sure no other parent had to go through that ordeal, she said.
All politicians are in the same group
Statistics Canada data shows that between 2011 and 2021 two-thirds of gender-related homicides in the country were committed by an intimate partner, and 28 per cent by family members.
Between 2020 and 2021, there was a 14 percent increase in gender-related homicides, marking the highest number recorded since 2017.
In February 2022, the bill was introduced in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Anju Dhillon and received unanimous support from politicians across all political lines.
“Leaving immediately is not about negotiation or debate. This is one of the things that House leaders have said ‘This has to be done,'” said Karen Vecchio. , Conservative MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, who was instrumental in bringing the bill forward.
“There are 338 members in one group. That’s what we need to do and that’s how we change women.”
Vecchio believes that the legal system failed Kagan and Keira when custody of the child was given to his father, despite his tragic nature, which is why it is important to understand the identity of the survivors, he said.
The bill is awaiting Royal Assent before it becomes law and can be implemented, but there is no specific timeline for this, Vecchio said.
Kagan said she and her husband, Phillip Viater, will strengthen their work in local corrections efforts by providing in-house training to district judges, crown attorneys, and aid workers. child.