Report says protection orders not enough to defend women from abusive partners in BC

A new report released by Battered Women's Support Services has argued that protection orders and peace bonds are not enough to keep victims safe from their abusers."Justice or 'Just' a Piece of Paper?" called on authorities to make changes in the system to ensure such orders are implemented in ways that better deter abusers from continuing to harass, harm, and intimidate victims.Under the Family Law Act of BC, a court can issue an order against a victim's family member, including common-law partners, and relatives of former and current partners. Peace bonds are issued under Section 810 of the Criminal Code, and may be requested for "any person who fears on reasonable grounds that another person (a) will cause personal injury to them or to their intimate partner or child or will damage their property; or (b) will commit an offence under section 162.2."The vast majority of women who took part in the survey, 72%, said they felt "no change" in their safety after obtaining a protection order or peace bond. Only 9% said they felt "somewhat safer," and none said "much safer."Over 35% of respondents said when they reported that their abusive partner had breached of the conditions of their order, "nothing happened." In only 8% of cases, the abusive partner "received legal consequences." Not one of the women who took part in the survey said the protection order "successfully ended all unwanted contact from the abusive partner."When asked whether the order changed the behaviour of their abuser, 46% said they "did not notice a difference." Perhaps more shocking, 18% said it actually "increased abusive behaviour somewhat" and 9% said it had done so "significantly.""Protection Orders do not work," one survivor said. "Ex still harassed, assaulted, stalked, threatened and kidnapped my children. When he was banging on my door and I called police they would not come. They said to call if he entered my home. Even when I told them I would not be able to call again if he got in, they did not come."BWSS offered a number of recommendations to help deal with the issue, first and foremost an immediate coroner's inquest into any femicide wherein the victim had sought or been granted a protection order or peace bond against her abuser prior to being killed. This, the group argued, would "lead to concrete reforms in the legal, social, and institutional frameworks designed to protect women."They called for an extension of family law protection orders and Section 810 peace bonds to two years in cases of intimate partner violence or gender-based violence. Doing so, BWSS claimed, would "better align legal protections with the realities survivors face, providing them with the time and security needed to transition out of abusive relationships safely and begin the process of healing and rebuilding."The group also urged authorities to grant full-length family law protection orders without notice applications, prioritize child safety in FLA protection order applications, and implement a "universal, cross-jurisdictional police response" to breaches of FLA protection orders and peace bonds, including a "mandatory arrest policy."According to BWSS, 20 women have been killed in BC so far this year, which is twice the national average between 2010 and 2015. The group warned that the problem had "reached critical levels" in the province.