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British Columbia Moves Backwards on Women’s Equality
Submission of the B.C. CEDAW Group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the occasion of the Committee’s review of Canada’s 5th Report   |  January 23, 2003
 
Articles 3, 2(d) and 2(e): Elimination Of The Ministry Of Women’s Equality

52. Immediately upon its election in 2001, the new government of British Columbia eliminated the Ministry of Women’s Equality, replacing it with a junior Minister of State for Women’s Services, under the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services.  The elimination of the Ministry contravenes the obligation to take all appropriate measures to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purposes of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men, as set out in Article 3 of CEDAW.   It further contravenes British Columbia’s obligations to refrain from any act or practice of discrimination against women and to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise, as set out in Articles 2(d) and 2(e).
Government of British Columbia, Press Release “New structure for government and cabinet will ensure openness and accountability” (5 June 2001), online: Government of British Columbia (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 57]

Research Advisory on the Provincial Cuts and Violence Against Women, “Social Assistance and Other Social Programs: Anticipated Impact on Women who Experience Violence” (2002), British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence, online: British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence (last modified: 10 April 2002).  [Tab 40]
53. In its Fifth Report, British Columbia describes the Ministry of Women’s Equality (MWE) as “Canada’s first and only free-standing ministry dedicated to advancing equality for women.  MWE consults, researches, advocates and educates on equality for women, particularly in the areas of economic equality, ending violence against women, and women’s health and social justice.  The Ministry recognizes the diversity of women in British Columbia by ensuring its policies, programs and services are accessible and responsible to the needs of all women.” In contrast, the mandate of the new Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, which replaces the Ministry of Women’s Equality, is: “to support safe, secure and healthy communities by: establishing appropriate legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks; promoting and protecting provincial interests by funding performance-based services for communities; and delivering innovative services through e-government and third party service providers.”
Canada, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Fifth Report of Canada (2002), online: Canadian Heritage   (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 58]

British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, website, online: British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 59]
54. Clearly, gender analysis no longer informs government policy and action. This is evident from the following comments of the junior Minister of State for Women’s Services. She stated that she believed women’s comparative poverty in British Columbia to be solely the result of their own poor choices: “People have choices to make for themselves…[t]he opportunities are exactly equal. A single woman and a single man have exactly the same opportunities, with the same education.” She argued that disparity between men’s and women’s incomes is due to the fact that women choose to work part time: “That’s a choice they have made.”
B. Groeneveld and E. McKay, “Lynn Stephens: Poor choices create inequality” Langley Advance News (19 February 2002), online: Langley Advance News (last modified: 19 February 2002).  [Tab 60]
Article 3: Elimination Of Funding For Women’s Centres

55. One hundred percent of the provincial core funding for the 38 women’s centres in British Columbia will be cut by 2004. The government’s own website describes the role of these centres: “Women’s centres respond to the needs of their communities through a variety of services, such as information and referral, support groups, crisis counseling, job entry programs, child care services and housing registries.” The B.C. Coalition of Women’s Centres reports that in 2001, women’s centres provided these and other services to 300,569 women, or 16% of all women and girls in the province.  The majority of the women served were experiencing violence and/or living in poverty.  In B.C. women’s centres are regionally-based, so that there are women’s centres in remote parts of the province, as well as in the heavily populated south. Some centres are also culture or community-specific. The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre serves women in Canada’s poorest urban neighbourhood which also has a high population of Aboriginal women. The Philippine Women’s Centre serves women who have come to Canada from the Philippines as immigrants or migrant workers, including a significant number of domestic and home care workers. Since the federal government has already eliminated its core funding for women’s centres, after 2004 many of these centres will be forced to close.  Some of the centres may survive on other types of funding – research funding, or fee-for-service funding, for example. But the funding (first federal, and now provincial) that is being removed from women’s centres has been critical in making it possible for women in the province to associate and organize in order to have a voice in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. The withdrawal of the core funding to women’s centres will silence British Columbian women.
British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, Service Plan Summary 2002/03 – 2004/05 at 3, online: British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 61]

British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services, website, online: British Columbia Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 62]

B.C. Coalition of Women’s Centres, Press Release “Woman’s life not worth $5.65 in British Columbia” (28 May 2002), online: B.C. Coalition of Women’s Centres (date accessed: 8 August 2002).  [Tab 63]
Articles 3 and 2(f): Violence Against Women

52. The government of British Columbia has changed its policies regarding the prosecution of domestic violence and has eliminated programs to support victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.  These changes will increase women’s exposure to violence, and reduce the ability of service and judicial agencies to respond to the needs of women experiencing violence. They also send the message that there is an increased tolerance in the province for women’s inequality, up to and including violence against women.lend symbolic support to social tolerance of violence against women, We submit, that, by failing to take appropriate and effective measures to overcome gender-based violence, the government’s policy and practice with respect to violence against women contravenesin contravention of Article 1 and Article 2, paragraphs (e) and (f), of CEDAW and clearly contravenes the recommendations outlined in the Committee’s General Recommendation  No. 19 (11th session, 1992).

57. On July 31, 2002, the Attorney General of British Columbia released proposed revisions to the province’s spousal assault policy.  In the past, prosecutors have been required to lay charges in virtually all cases of spousal assault where there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction.  Under Tthe new policy, in effect, directs crown counsel to prosecute fewer cases of spousal assault.prosecutorial discretion is expanded, so that prosecutors may decide not to prosecute cases of spousal assault The Vancouver Rape Relief Society states that “[w]ithout the explicit direction of the Attorney General to Crown Counsel to prosecute in all cases, wife assault cases will only be heard in rare cases and we fear they will be heard only after serious injury or death.” Academics from the University of British Columbia state that “[w]e can anticipate that such a shift in policy will leave more women and children isolated and exposed to further violence.”  The changes are also opposed by the Vancouver Police Board, which supports officers who say that the new policy will discourage victims from coming forward.  In a policy report, the police department said the planned move will decriminalize ‘violence when it takes place in the domestic/private sphere’ and the diversion option suggested by the government will increase the risk that women in violent relationships face.
British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations, “Crown Counsel Spousal Assault Policy Discussion Paper” (31 July 2002), online: British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations (date accessed: 12 August 2002).  [Tab 64]

British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations, Press Release 02-26 “Changes to Improve Safety for Assaulted Spouses” (31 July 2002), online: British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations (date accessed: 12 August 2002).  [Tab 65]

Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Press Release “Feminists Warn Against Attorney General’s Proposed Abandonment of B.C. Women to Violent Spouses” (4 June 2002), online: Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter (date accessed: 12 August 2002).  [Tab 66]

Friends of Women and Children in B.C., Report Card, June 15, 2002, Vol. 1 No.3, online: University of British Columbia Centre for Women’s Studies and Gender Relations (date accessed: 12 August 2002).  [Tab 16]

G. Richards, “Police board fears A-G's changes will decriminalize spousal assault” Vancouver Sun (21 October 2002), online: Kootenay Cuts (date accessed: 29 December 2002). [Tab 67]

Vancouver Police Board, Press Release, “Police Board Opposes Spousal Abuse Changes” (17 October 2002), online: Kootenay Cuts (date accessed: 29 December 2002). [Tab 68]
58. As already noted, new rules surrounding the provision of legal aid for family matters now require that “violence” be present and documented in order for legal aid to be provided. With fewer prosecutions of spousal assault, this documentation will be even more difficult to produce, which means that it will also be harder for women to obtain legal representation when trying to deal with family law disputes, even when they have violent spouses and partners.(see paragraphs 33-34 ).

59. Services and programs for both vvictims and perpetrators of domestic violence have also been eliminated or cut.  The Crown Victim Witness Services program, which provided assistance to Crown counsel who were preparing victims of spousal assaultvictims of spousal assault whoassault to testify at trial, has been eliminated. The elimination of these victim support services reduces the likelihood of successful prosecutions in domestic violence cases. TheThe Solicitor General has also announced cuts to 35 of 69 community-based victim services programs, impacting particularly on support services for women and children.  The court-ordered assaultive men’s treatment programs will also be cut by 50%. [TAB 50]  Thus, there will be less support and less opportunity for assaultive men to be taught alternative, non-violent forms of behaviour.
British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations, Service Plan Summary 2002/03 – 2004/05 at 2, online: British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations (last modified: February 2002).  [Tab 25]

British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence, Media Release “B.C. Government Cuts Hurt Victims of Violence Against Women” (24 June 2002), online: British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence (date accessed: 12 August 2002).  [Tab 68]

Research Advisory on the Provincial Cuts and Violence Against Women, “Criminal Law: Anticipated Impact on Women who Experience Violence” (2002), British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence, online: British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence (last modified: 10 April 2002).  [Tab 70]
60. Aboriginal women are concerned with the provincial government’s movement towards community-based restorative justice models, which divert accused persons away from the courts and into alternative processes. These models are being used particularly to deal with Aboriginal offenders. Though most commentators agree that restorative justice models should not be used in cases where there was violence against women and children, sometimes they are being used in such cases. Aboriginal women need to be centrally involved in the designing of restorative justice models for their communities. Otherwise these models risk exposing women and children, who are the victims of crime, to further harm as victims within the criminal justice system.
W. Stewart, A. Huntley and F. Blaney, “The Implications of Restorative Justice for Aboriginal Women and Children Survivors of Violence: A Comparative Overview of Five Communities in British Columbia,” Prepared for Aboriginal Women’s Action Network, July 2001.  [Tab 71]
Article 3: Police Protection For Women

61. Anecdotal evidence from front-line workers in rape crisis shelters and anti-violence counseling services reveals that women who are victims of assault and domestic violence cannot rely on rapid and effective protection from police. This is especially true for Aboriginal women living in rural and remote areas (on reserve). Police sometimes fail to respond to women’s calls for help and are often insensitive and ineffective when they do respond. The result is that police in British Columbia have failed to provide women with adequate protection from violence.  This reflects a continuing acceptance by state officials of violence against women, despite policy statements to the contrary.

62. The issue of inadequate police protection is virtually unchanged from 1994, when Mr. Justice Wallace T. Oppal was appointed as a Commissioner of Inquiry into Policing in British Columbia. In his report, he stated:
Women’s groups, multicultural associations, native people and gay/lesbians have expressed concern about the manner in which police often treat women and minorities. Of the approximately 1,100 submissions received by this inquiry 26 per cent related to violence against women as an issue. Three full days of hearings were held solely to hear women’s concerns;…I also attended women’s shelters in Vancouver, Victoria and Burnaby to hear the concerns of women who are the subject of wife assault, sexual assault, and stalking. Some of the complaints that we continue to hear involve police attitudes, reluctance to become involved or recommend charges, failure to take complaints seriously and failure to understand the dynamics of the problem.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Wallace T. Oppal, Closing the Gap: Policing and the Community, Commission of Inquiry (Victoria, British Columbia, 1994) at xv.  [Tab 72]
63. Racism and poverty deepen the problem of lack of police protection. Since 1983, more than 63 women have gone missing from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, which is Canada’s poorest urban neighbourhood. There is evidence that, for many years, these disappearances were not adequately acknowledged or investigated by the police and government. Police discounted concerns expressed by women’s organizations and by relatives of the missing women that a serial killer was at work, though women continued to disappear. In 2002, a Vancouver area man was charged with 15 counts of first degree murder. More charges are expected. The families of the missing women allege that the disappearances were not dealt with by the police because many of the missing women are prostitutes and drug addicts, and the majority are Aboriginal and poor.  The lack of protection available to the most vulnerable women shows the lack of social value accorded to these women, particularly poor Aboriginal women. These women are deprived of adequate social supports, and then left without adequate police protection. They are overpoliced, and criminalized for infringements of the law that are poverty-related, and underpoliced when they need protection from racism, sexual exploitation and violence.
K. Bolan and L. Kines, “Police review missing-women investigation” The Vancouver Sun (27 July 2002), online: MissingPeople.net (date accessed: 13 August 2002).  [Tab 73]

P. Saunders, “The Missing Women of Vancouver” CBC News Online (23 May 2002), online: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (last modified: July 2002).  [Tab 74]

MissingPeople.Net, website, online: MissingPeople.Net (date accessed: 13 August 2002).  [Tab 75]

Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Press Release “Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter in Solidarity with Native Women on Call for Inquiry into Missing Women” (12 April 2002), online: Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter (date accessed: 13 August 2002).  [Tab 76]
Article 3: Criminalization of teenage girls in lieu of social programs/services

64.    Canada imprisons young people at four times the rate that it imprisons adults and 10-15 times the rate of European countries.  Aboriginal girls are grossly over-represented in youth prisons. In the absence of adequate social services British Columbia imprisons teenage girls as a response to poverty, male violence, and addiction.  Even before drastic cuts to social services in British Columbia, Canadian criminologists found that a paucity of social services for youth in British Columbia has led to the over-incarceration of teenage girls.  Not only are girls incarcerated for poverty-related offences but they are jailed on the sexist premise that girls should have their liberty removed in order to protect them from male violence. According to criminologist Raymond Corrado, who interviewed both incarcerated young women and juvenile justice officials in British Columbia, the primary rationale for sentencing young women to custody, particularly on inconsequential offences such as breach of a probation order, is paternalistic in nature.  In other words, young women are incarcerated to protect them from violence, poverty, and addiction on the street. That report states:
…it appears as though the primary rationale for sentencing these females to custody is protective in nature…sentencing recommendations made by youth justice personnel are primarily based on the desire to protect female youth from high risk environments and street-entrenched lifestyles.

Elizabeth Fry Societies, Submission of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies to The Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs Regarding Bill C-37: An Act to Amend the Young Offenders Act, online: Elizabeth Fry Societies (date accessed: 29 December 2002).  [Tab 77]

R. Corrado et. al, “The incarceration of female young offenders: Protection for whom?”  (2000) 42 Canadian Journal of Criminology 2 at 189.  [Tab 78]
65.    Youth prisons in British Columbia are co-educational. Young women are sometimes imprisoned with boys who have assaulted or pimped them. Young women are “patted down” and supervised by male guards. The presence of males within these prisons often makes young women feel unsafe and puts them at risk of violence, especially sexual violence. This results in many incidents of sexual harassment and rape, most of which go unreported.  Too many young women explained their reluctance to report sexual and non-sexual assaults as a consequence of their fear that there would be repercussions, such as being held in more isolated conditions. This fear has been reinforced by experience. When a young woman reports a rape or has suddenly ended up impregnated while in custody, the institutional response is rarely to address the issues. Instead, what generally happens is that the young women are subjected to more restrictive and isolated conditions of confinement. Excessively punitive security measures--shackling, solitary confinement, restriction from programs—are used against teenage girls who are jailed for poverty-related offences, such as theft or mischief.
Elizabeth Fry Societies, “Labelling Young Women as Violent: Vilification of the Most Vulnerable, online: Elizabeth Fry Societies (date accessed: 29 December 2002). [Tab 79]
Article 3: Sexual Exploitation and the Secure Care Act

66.     Despite a rampant child sex trade in British Columbia, Section 212.4 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which prohibits men from paying money to sexually abuse and exploit children in prostitution, is rarely enforced.
J. Rabinovitch, “Considerations on the Age of Consent to Sexual Activity,” Discussion Paper written for the Honourable Landon Pearson, Senator, online: Parliament of Canada (date accessed: 29 December 2002). [Tab 80]
67.     Instead of prosecuting men who sexually abuse girls through prostitution, the B.C. government has created a law that will allow them to incarcerate/confine teenage girls who are victimized or “at risk” of victimization. The Secure Care Act is inherently discriminatory despite its appearance of gender and race neutrality. Youth apprehended under similar legislation in Alberta were almost exclusively girls. Aboriginal groups argue the law is reminiscent of past racist/colonial measures that authorized wide-scale state apprehension and abuse of Aboriginal children. Under the B.C. Secure Care Act , girls can be confined for extended periods (up to 100 days) with no criminal charges.  Though the B.C. Government has made amendments to the legislation based on the criticisms of social justice organizations including Aboriginal groups, it remains an extremely punitive and discriminatory law.
Justice for Girls, Statement of Opposition to the Secure Care Act, online: Justice for Girls (date accessed: 29 December 2002).  [Tab 81]
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