a specialist gender based violence Is urging an investigation into the Nova Scotia mass shooting to recommend murder-like segregation and intimidation tactics used against women.
According to definitions presented before public scrutiny, the method referred to as “coercive control” occurs over time and often causes abusers to instill fear in their partners, micromanaging their daily lives, taking over finances. And gradually separate the partner from friends and family.
A definition drawn up for the investigation says, “Coercive control effectively entraps victims and takes away their individuality and sense of independence in the relationship.”
The killer’s 22 murders preceded the April 18, 2020 domestic assault against his wife, Lisa Banfield, and the investigation has gathered evidence that he used coercive control tactics against her during their 19-year relationship, with as well as against other women.
During a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Carmen Gill, a professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, told three commissioners that she supports a federal law that prohibits coercive controls, as currently exists in the United Kingdom.
“For me, this kind of violence is a crime. I can’t see anyone terrorizing women for 15 years and that’s okay,” Gill said at the conclusion of a panel discussion.
The Canadian Criminal Code, and most police training, is currently aimed at specific incidents of sexual violence. A similar coercive control law in the United Kingdom may allow witnesses to report a long-term strategy of alienation and degradation similar to what the offender’s spouse experiences.
British law states that coercion is applied if the partner’s behavior is repetitive and has a serious effect on the spouse, and they know or should know that it will have an effect. A guideline by the Prosecution Service outlines several examples of coercion, including isolating a person, monitoring their phone, denying them access to support services, threatening family members, and controlling their finances. Is.
In an interview after the Round Table Conference, Gill stated that he believed the murderer’s wife was the victim of such control. “I really hope the commissioners see the value of criminalizing coercive control,” she said outside the hearing.
The investigation has documented Gabriel Wortman’s gradual assumption of control over most aspects of Banfield’s financial life, his insistence that his vehicle be owned in his name, and incidents where witnesses will see the murderer being pulled away from social gatherings. She was enjoying herself.
“Gabriel controlled everything, including my work, finances, social life, and home life, so that if I didn’t obey, he would take away things to punish and control me. He would take my keys, my phone, even my phone.” That would take my salary too,” Banfield wrote in his summary of the inquiry. “I was completely in control of him. He wanted me to know that without him I have nothing.
The summary also noted that neighbors and family openly witnessed both violence and daily emotional abuse. “They will watch and do nothing about it,” Banfield wrote of neighbors who witnessed her abuse. “I knew no one could help me; They were all afraid of him too.”
Gill said that a criminal law would bring coercive control more prominently in the public consciousness, but added, “It will not be the solution to everything, it is just one piece of the puzzle.”
During the round table conference, he also called for additional training to police officers, courts and other institutions to recognize such abuses.
Nancy Ross, assistant professor at Dalhousie University’s School of Social Work, said during the roundtable that while it is important to recognize the seriousness of coercive control, she is not in favor of turning it into a criminal offence.
She said that most people involved in domestic violence, whether they are perpetrators or survivors of violence, have “experienced prior trauma.”
“The (coercive control) law acknowledges the gravity of these issues, but it does not address the root of the problem,” he said during the panel discussion.
“We need to look for ways we can provide support for families, and we can address the widespread issue of adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma and gender-based violence as social issues.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 20, 2022.
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