Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security - Department of Justice progress report - 2021-2022

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 Plus) —the Department is committed to integrating gender equality considerations in every aspect of its development-related work.

On this page

• Priorities
• Budget
• Indicators
• Conclusion
• Completed activities
• Results and progress

Priorities

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

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 its advice, policy and program development, 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 and programs, 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 access justice challenges for marginalized and underserved populations, including women.

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 this 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 and policy development

• 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

Justice Canada continues to work closely with networks and organizations to advance women’s issues and promote the realization of SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 16 (Peaceful Just and Inclusive Societies) on the international stage. Over the course of the last fiscal year, Justice Canada has participated in various events to promote gender equality and women’s access to justice, including participating in the Elders & Pathfinders State of Hope High-Level Gathering on Access to Justice for Women and Girls and the first quarterly call on Justice for Women organized by Pathfinders in March 2022.

Justice Canada continues to contribute to, or lead, several domestic initiatives that promote and protect women’s and girls’ human rights and gender equality, including the following:

• Helping Indigenous families navigate the family justice system (Indigenous Family Courtworker Program) and access community-based family mediation services (Indigenous Justice Program)
• Ensuring families of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada have access to all the available information they are seeking about their missing or murdered loved ones through Family Information Liaison Units (FILUs). FILUs assist families overcome the many systemic and structural barriers that impact their ability to access up to date information from government agencies and sectors, and ensure they are connected to all available grief and healing supports.
• Providing funding to support Community Justice Centres (CJC) pilot projects in British Columbia. CJCs bring justice, health and social services together to address the root causes of crime, divert individuals accused of non-violent offences away from incarceration, and connect them with social supports. Through the integration of culturally appropriate services, CJCs can help decrease the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians in the criminal justice system and provide solutions to systemic issues.
• Developing a series of online courses on amendments to the Divorce Act and other federal family law legislation concerning family violence, family dispute resolution and the duties of the parties, parenting, relocation and, interjurisdictional support. These publications include a HELP Toolkit: Identifying and Responding to Family Violence for Family Law Advisors.
• Extended funding to all provinces and territories to support projects that make independent legal advice and independent legal representation available to victims of sexual offences and domestic violence, including legal advice for victims involved in the criminal and family justice systems.
• Provided funding for projects that assist victims of intimate partner violence to access and navigate the family justice system, and that improve justice system responses to this type of violence
• Provided funding to for provinces and territories to provide supervision services for parenting time and transfers to protect the safety and well-being of children and families.
• Hosting knowledge building and awareness raising events to increase knowledge about the experiences of women and girls as victims/survivors of crime, their experiences and their rights within the criminal justice system, and the services available to assist them. These events were hosted virtually, including through the Department’s annual national Victims and Survivors of Crime Week initiative in November 2021.
• In 2021, former Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code enacted provisions to require new judges in provincial superior courts to participate in training on matters related to sexual assault law and social context following their appointment. The social context education is aimed at enhancing awareness and knowledge of the realities of accused persons and victims to ensure that personal or societal biases, myths, and stereotypes do not influence judicial decision-making.
• Justice Canada continues to implement an intersectional GBA Plus (GBA Plus) approach into all its work areas. Applying a GBA Plus lens to Justice-led initiatives supports SDG 16 goals by promoting consideration of gender and diversity impacts to increase inclusive outcomes that are responsive to the needs of diverse groups. The timely and consistent implementation of a GBA Plus approach identifies existing barriers, improves access to justice and contributes to ensuring that all Canadians feel included, supported, and safe.

Results and progress

Strategic advice

Justice Canada provides legal advice to client departments including those who have a mandate that involves assisting fragile or conflict-affected states during the reporting period. Justice Canada’s contribution would be reflected in the context of overall progress indicated by these departments.

A key challenge for advancing Justice Canada’s mandate, including in relation to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, is the lack of justice sector disaggregated data to support evidence-based decision-making. Justice Canada continues to pursue a number of initiatives to collect data that will help us to understand the nature of the problems different people face and the pathways they seek to resolve them. One example is the Canadian Legal Problems Survey (CLPS), which was published in January 2022. The CLPS collected data on the prevalence and nature of serious legal problems across Canada, as well as whether, and how, those problems were resolved. The ability to disaggregate the data provided a clearer picture of how different populations, including women, experience legal problems. As a complement to the quantitative survey, Justice Canada has also conducted a series of qualitative studies to enrich our understanding of the experiences of a number of minority populations, including immigrants, Black Canadians, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

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. As above, progress would be measured against the indicators by client departments more directly involved in assisting fragile and conflict-affected states.

Project implementation

The Department of Justice provides technical assistance to foreign countries at the request and with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada. At the same time, Justice Canada’s broader leadership role, exercised in concert with international partners, has resulted in important research including the Justice for All report, and the creation of key networks, such as the OGP Coalition on Justice, which serve to promote gender equality and inclusion as expressed by the UN 2030 Agenda and in particular Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peaceful Just and Inclusive Societies).

With greater attention being placed on domestic efforts, Justice Canada has similarly worked in concert with many domestic stakeholders such as the National Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters and partners including provinces and territories to advance a people-focused approach to justice that seeks to eradicate discrimination of all types and remove barriers in order to provide greater access to justice.