2018-2019 Department of Justice departmental progress report for Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

Department of Justice and Women, Peace and Security

The Department of Justice supports the Minister of Justice in working to ensure that Canada is a just and law-abiding society with an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice; providing legal services to the government and to other federal departments and agencies; and promoting respect for rights and freedoms, the law and the Constitution.

Through its International Legal Programs Section, the department contributes to international development by providing strategic advice on law and development issues to Global Affairs Canada and other departments when so requested; and designing and implementing legal technical assistance projects when funded for that purpose by Global Affairs Canada.

Generally — and in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and related Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolutions, as well as with its internal policy on Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) —the Department is committed to integrating gender equality considerations in every aspect of its development-related work.

Priorities

The Department will, in the provision of strategic advice, make every effort to identify the potential impact of any contemplated initiative on the justice system as a whole and on vulnerable groups, including women and girls.

In project design, it will ensure that:

• gender considerations are taken into account in the assessment of the assistance needs;
• all genders are provided an opportunity to participate in the consultations;
• background information on the situation of women and girls in the target country is gathered;
• possible entry points to promote women's access to justice are identified.

In project implementation, it will ensure that:

• the potential differential impact of the reform options considered under the project is assessed;
• the information related to project activities is, whenever possible, disaggregated by sex;
• gender balance in training and other activities is taken into account;
• gender-related project achievements are reported on.

The exact subjects on which the Department will integrate gender equality considerations will depend largely on the nature and scope of the assistance requested by a partner country, since under the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness assisted countries must remain the master of their priorities.

That said, in both its advice and project work, the Department of Justice will always be mindful of the fact that the various justice matters of particular importance to women include the following:

Domestic violence

Violence within the family is a significant issue in many countries.

In the development of domestic violence policies, the Department is in a position not only to help address the strictly legal aspects of the subject, but also to encourage the development of a comprehensive approach reflecting the complexity of the phenomenon.

Sentencing

Imprisonment is not a gender-neutral measure in terms of impact. A large majority of women in jail are mothers, most of them single mothers and primary caregivers to their children. As a result, a mother's incarceration generally affects children in a way that a father's imprisonment does not.

The Department can, on policy development matters, bring extensive expertise and a gender perspective to any reform effort that involves looking at the use of imprisonment, non-custodial measures, and criminal law more generally. More specifically, and among other things, it can encourage compliance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules).

Juvenile justice

Gender considerations are equally relevant in the field of juvenile justice. The treatment of female offenders under 18 years of age is a matter that generally receives even less attention than the treatment of adult women or juvenile male offenders.

With its in-depth knowledge of matters related to young offenders, the Department can help design a juvenile justice system that is gender-sensitive and complies with international requirements, including:

• the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• the Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules);
• the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules).

Access to justice

Both social and institutional barriers often inhibit women's access to justice.

The Department, through its expertise in areas such as legal aid systems, the treatment of witnesses, support to victims, and relations between the legal system and indigenous populations, can contribute to the design of reforms aimed at removing or reducing these barriers.

Law and poverty       

Offences committed by women are often closely linked to poverty, and frequently a means of survival to support their family. Poverty compounds women's difficulty to access justice.

The Department can contribute usefully to any discussion pertaining to the intersection of law and poverty.

Sexual violence committed as an international crime   

Through its Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Section, the Department supports the investigation and prosecution of acts of sexual violence that are committed as a tool of war or as an act of genocide against girls and women. One individual has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, S.C. 2000, c. 24, for having committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including numerous acts of sexual violence against Tutsi women. [R. c. Munyaneza, 2009 QCCS 4865 - CanLII]

The department recognizes that girls and women are more vulnerable to war crimes: they are more likely to be victims of acts of sexual violence committed as a tool of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Moreover, acts of sexual violence have an enormous impact on women. They may be forcibly impregnated or be infected with different sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Further, some cultures shun women victims of sexual assault and others do not allow them to speak out about their victimization. The Department will continue its support of the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity cases.

Budget

In light of the fact that the Department of Justice only provides technical assistance to foreign countries at the request and with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada, the extent of its involvement in the implementation of Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will be determined by the number and scope of the projects that Global Affairs Canada funds.

Indicators

Strategic advice

• Extent to which the potential impact of the contemplated measures on the whole justice system and on vulnerable groups has been taken into account.

Project design

• Number of criteria used to review gender considerations in the evaluation of assistance needs.
• Extent to which all genders have been provided an opportunity to take part in consultations.
• Number and relevance of sources of information consulted on the situation of women and girls in the target country.
• List of potential obstacles to women's access to justice developed.

Project implementation

• List of matters that may potentially have a differential impact developed.
• Information on project activities disaggregated by sex gathered.
• Gender-related project achievements are reported in the narrative reports submitted to Global Affairs Canada.

Conclusion

The Department of Justice will seek to identify various ways of contributing as fully as possible to the implementation of the WPS agenda. This could include, among other things, developing programs for women in fragile states.

Completed Activities

The Department of Justice's Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Section participated in the work of the International Association of Prosecutors' Prosecution of Conflict-related Sexual Violence Network by providing a recognized expert in the field of prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence to participate in the Network's Advisory Council.

The network provides a forum for sharing experience and expertise on prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence crimes. It aims to improve accountability through a number of undertakings, including facilitating peer-to-peer problem-solving, the development of progressive approaches to sexual violence prosecutions, and providing assistance in training prosecutors for conflict-related sexual violence cases.

The Department of Justice's expert:

• attended three meetings during the reporting period in which the Council set the network's agenda for the next quarter;
• provided feedback on network activities; and
• provided the Network's members with strategic advice and support in on-going and future projects related to conflict-related sexual violence.

During this reporting period, the Deputy Minister of Justice served as a member of the High Level Working Group on Women's Access to Justice, whose work was part of the overall effort of the Task Force on Justice, co-chaired by Ministers from Sierra Leone, the Netherlands, Argentina and a representative from the Elders, and supported by the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies to examine common justice problems for women, and thus inform the 2030 Agenda and international efforts towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 16).

The report (Justice for Women), released at the end of March 2019, examines the justice gap for women, including unique access to justice challenges of women in conflict settings, such as high rates of sexual violence. After identifying gaps, the report examined strategies and tools for increasing access to justice for women and presented a call to action to adopt these strategies.

Results and Progress

Strategic advice

The Department of Justice was not called upon to provide strategic advice in the context of fragile or conflict-affected states during the reporting period.

Therefore, no progress was made toward the following indicator:

• extent to which the potential impact of the contemplated measures on the whole justice system and on vulnerable groups has been taken into account.

Project design

The Department of Justice did not conduct any evaluations of assistance needs or develop any projects or project proposals in the context of fragile or conflict-affected states during the reporting period.

Therefore, no progress was made on the indicators related to project design:

• number of criteria used to review gender considerations in the evaluation of assistance needs; extent to which all genders have been provided an opportunity to take part in consultations; number and relevance of sources of information consulted on the situation of women and girls in the target country; and list of potential obstacles to women's access to justice developed.

Project implementation

In light of the fact that the Department of Justice only provides technical assistance to foreign countries at the request and with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada, the extent of its involvement in the implementation of Canada's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will be determined by the number and scope of the projects that Global Affairs Canada funds. The Department of Justice did not provide technical assistance to any fragile or conflict-affected states during the reporting period.

Therefore, no progress was made toward the following indicators:

• List of matters that may potentially have a differential impact developed.
• Information on project activities disaggregated by sex gathered.