From a public-policy perspective, violence against women will not be solved through a single targeted policy on violence. Public policies shape and create social conditions. Policies can create social conditions that reinforce gender inequality and produce violence against women. Policies can also negatively impact women experiencing violence by limiting women’s access to determinants of safety such as housing and income security.
This literature review presents an overview of the impacts of selected federal and provincial policies on violence against women. The literature review finds that women are regularly required to prove or verify their abuse in order to obtain support or services; that policies do not always reflect the gendered experience of immigration, poverty and homelessness; and that policies often reproduce conditions of women’s economic insecurity and financial dependence.
As cases of COVID-19 surge across the province, several regions have been placed in lockdown and Ontarians are being told to stay home in order to stay safe. Residential tenants cannot follow this advice if they are being evicted from their homes. Not all tenants face the same risk of eviction. Low-income and racialized women, survivors of domestic violence, and women-led households are disproportionately affected by evictions.
We are pleased to see Ontario MPPs vote unanimously in support of a motion for a residential evictions moratorium.
We are now calling on Premier Ford to immediately sign an emergency order that will reinstate the ban on evictions.
The Canadian MARAC, Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference, project is coordinating a multi-agency response to high-risk domestic violence in three communities.
The Canadian MARAC is a multi-agency meeting that brings together community agencies to share information on high-risk domestic violence cases. Based on the risks and needs identified by the survivor and professionals around the table, a safety plan is developed for the survivor that includes actions by community agencies to increase the survivor’s safety.
The Canadian MARAC is an adaptation of the MARAC that was developed in Wales in 2003 and is now in place in more than 250 communities across the United Kingdom. The model has shown to reduce repeat victimization, increase survivor safety and connect survivors with the support and services they need.
WomanACT is leading the pilot implementation of the Canadian MARAC in communities across Ontario.
Related:
Issue Brief: Information Sharing and Intimate Partner Violence in Canada