After assault charges against her ex were dropped, woman wants Ontario to be among provinces declaring domestic violence an epidemic

Warning: This story contains references to intimate partner violence.

Billie Jo Barrett says it’s hard to talk about her experiences with domestic violence, but it’s harder to know that court cases for other victims of domestic violence have been put on hold due to challenges facing the justice system.

That’s part of the reason why Barrett, who lives in Thunder Bay with her Boston terrier, Bruce, is calling on Ontario to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, as it has already done in dozens of Ontario municipalities and several other provinces and territories.

Barrett said her former partner faced charges after he was accused of trying to choke her during three separate incidents. CBC obtained court documents showing he was charged in October 2021 with assault with a weapon or imitation weapon. Between November 2022 and January 2023, he was also charged with assault on a spouse, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm – strangulation, strangulation, two counts of forcible confinement, causing damage under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.

However, due to lack of evidence, the court case was stayed, meaning all charges were effectively dropped.

The justice system does not treat women’s safety as if it were public safety.– Gwen O’Reilly, Northwest Ontario Women’s Center

Barrett believes a lack of court staff also had an impact on the outcome of the case.

“The day I was supposed to appear in court, the court was overcrowded. There were not enough judges. There were power outages, so I felt like my case wasn’t prioritized,” Barrett said.

She is also concerned about the growing number of criminal cases that do not go to trial due to court backlogs, and what that means for survivors seeking justice.

CBC News recently learned that 56 per cent of all criminal cases in Ontario in 2022-2023 resulted in charges. withdrawn, suspended, discharged or discharged before a hearing is decided.

“In my case, knowing how difficult it was to report it, I worry that other women will be afraid to report it as well, knowing that in most cases these situations usually don’t end up in court for whatever reason,” Barrett said.

Police-reported incidents of intimate partner violence in Thunder Bay include: the highest in Canada: 551 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022.

Supporters say that declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic not only symbolizes the importance of the issue, but would result in more resources being allocated to frontline service providers such as women’s centers, victim services and courts.

“I do not believe that the responsibility for change should rest with the victims, survivors or families impacted by this situation,” Barrett said. “I think the government and our lawmakers need to look at this very seriously.”

Federally, The Senate is expected to pass S-249known as Georgina’s Law, this week. It would require Canada to create a national intimate partner violence prevention strategy within two years and require the government to report to all houses of Parliament on actions taken every two years.

“Evidence of this violence is disappearing.”

The city of Thunder Bay is among Ontario’s 95 municipalities recognizing intimate partner violence as an epidemic. Additionally, six provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan) and the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon have adopted detailed regulations on domestic violence.

Gwen O’Reilly, executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Center, said not much has changed since last year’s Thunder Bay declaration.

“I didn’t expect things to get worse, but that’s what we’re seeing,” O’Reilly said. “We see that the justice system does not treat women’s safety as if it were public safety.”

With the goal of getting cases to trial within reasonable timescales, a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada ruling, known as the Jordan decision, stated that trials must be heard within 18 months of the charges being laid.

However, staff shortages in the courts contributed to this hundreds of criminal cases exceeding this schedule.

When criminal cases involving domestic violence are put on hold, “evidence supporting that violence disappears,” O’Reilly said.

“We see this pattern of lack of sanction, and therefore lack of accountability, and therefore invisibility – so when women are dealing with the child welfare system or in family court… from what the records show, nothing didn’t happen.”

Ontario is working to process cases faster

In a statement emailed to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said Ontario spent $29 million this year to “appoint at least 25 new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, as well as 190 more Crown prosecutors and hundreds of victim support and court staff “

“Recruitment is underway to ensure faster case processing and reduce the backlog in the criminal justice system,” said press secretary Jack Fazzari.

CBC asked for a breakdown of the number of workers assigned to northwestern Ontario but had not received a response by press time.

Some An Ontario-wide bill declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic it passed second reading on April 10, after which it was referred to the standing committee on justice policy. – says the New Democratic Party the motion to adopt the bill was rejected on the first day of the fall session this year.

“Ontario should be passing Bill 173 instead of studying it,” O’Reilly said. “There is no reason to investigate this issue. We have all the evidence we need to understand that this is a problem.”

Both Thunder Bay – Conservative MPP Kevin Holland and Thunder Bay – Superior North NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois told CBC they support the bill.

Michael Parsa, Ontario’s minister for children, social and community services, said the government supported the bill but was continuing to review the issue and hear from experts.

“We are committed to providing (service providers) with support and resources to continue to provide them to families,” Parsa said.

He said the government is investing $1.4 billion a year to ensure Ontario families have access to supports and services, and is working with the federal government to National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

“I would like to see the entire system overhauled, and I know it won’t happen overnight, but Ontario recognizing intimate partner violence as an epidemic is a good start,” Barrett said.

“Forgiveness is not a cure for injustice”

Thunder Bay and Area Victim Services (TBAVS) receives at least 10 calls a week from new people seeking intimate partner violence services.

“That’s a lot for a city the size of Thunder Bay,” said TBAVS Executive Director Penny Radford.

This was reported by the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS). 2,300 cases of intimate partner violence in 2022 in a city of approximately 111,000 inhabitants, with 703 charges brought against 267 people. CBC News has contacted police for the latest statistics and will update this story as information becomes available.

Barrett wants Ontario to pass what’s known as Clare’s Law in the U.K., which allows police to disclose to a potential victim whether their partner has been violent in the past. Ontario version, Bill 274, failed to pass second reading.

“I feel like I wasn’t given the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether I wanted to continue a relationship with this person, knowing about his violent past,” she said.

A positive trend Radford has seen in Thunder Bay is the increasing number of men seeking support for intimate partner violence – something they may have felt too stigmatized to access in the past.

There are also more programs in the city for men vulnerable to violence, such as Caring Dads Group by Faye Peterson’s house.

But Radford said it’s important to first look at the broader stressors that contribute to violence, such as the rising cost of living, mental health and addiction – concerns she hears in many of her calls with TBAVS.

“When you have nowhere to go and you can’t go to detox, or you have nowhere to go and there are no beds available… then the violence comes home, right?”

Barrett and Bruce wore purple during their interview with CBC News in recognition of November Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

He hopes that by sharing his story, other survivors will know they are not alone and that those in power will be reminded of the urgent need for change.

“First of all, it was very difficult for me to perform. I was full of shame, and if the justice system doesn’t support me, who does? Who supports women who also experience the same thing? Who supports women who have been murdered?” Barrett said.

“I believe in forgiveness, but forgiveness is not a cure for injustice. Justice is it.”

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Victims of domestic violence are not alone. There are in the Thunder Bay area several support programs available for survivors and their families. The the federal government also has a website where you can find provincial and territorial aid resources. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.