#CallItFemicide Understanding gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada 2019 https://femicideincanada.ca CAN_Femicide CAN.Femicide [email protected] femicideincanada.ca Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................... 4 Why is it important to identify gender-related motives and indicators in femicide? ......................................... 43 Foreword ......................................................................... 5 What is a gender-related motive or indicator for Dedication ....................................................................... 6 femicide? ..................................................................... 45 Executive Summary .......................................................... 7 GRMI #1: Committed previous physical, psychological, Introduction ..................................................................... 9 and/or sexual violence ................................................ 47 The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and GRMI #2: Coercive-controlling behaviours .................. 47 Accountability .............................................................. 11 GRMI #3: Separation (or in the process of separation) 48 Structure of this report ................................................ 12 GRMI #4: Victim declined to establish or re-establish a Section I: The Growing Global Fem[in]icide Movement .... 15 relationship .................................................................. 50 Latin America ............................................................... 15 GRMI #5: Committed along with Organizations and movements .............................. 15 oppression/domination over women/girls’ life decisions or sexuality .................................................................. 50 Policies and Legislation .......................................... 19 Broader efforts ...................................................... 19 GRMI #6: Prior threats to hurt or kill the woman or girl ..................................................................................... 51 Europe and United Kingdom ....................................... 20 GRMI #7: The woman or girl was pregnant ................. 52 Africa ........................................................................... 21 GRMI #8: Sexual violence ............................................ 52 North America ............................................................. 22 GRMI #9: Mutilation .................................................... 53 International progress ................................................. 23 GRMI #10: Use of excessive violence .......................... 54 Section II: Patterns in Women & Girls Killed by Violence in GRMI #11: Forcible confinement................................. 55 Canada .......................................................................... 24 GRMI #12: Enforced disappearance ............................ 56 All Women and Girls Killed by Violence in Canada ...... 26 Women and Girls Killed by Violence Involving Male GRMI #13: Disposal or abandonment of the woman or girl ................................................................................ 56 Accused ....................................................................... 28 GRMI #14: Connected to human trafficking, group or Intimate Partner Femicide ..................................... 32 cultural practices ......................................................... 57 Familial Femicide ................................................... 35 GRMI #15: Misogyny ................................................... 58 Non-Intimate Femicide .......................................... 36 Section IV: Current and Emerging Research and Data All Women & Girls Killed Involving Male Priorities for Femicide Prevention .................................. 59 Accused/Offenders (2016-2019) ................................. 37 Femicide and the ‘intimacy discount’ .......................... 59 Section III: Identifying Gender-Related Motives & Femicide in non-urban areas ....................................... 60 Indicators for Femicide ................................................... 43 2 | #Callitfemicide: Understanding gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada 2019 CAN_Femicide CAN.Femicide [email protected] femicideincanada.ca Femicide, non-urban areas, and firearms ................... 61 International context ................................................... 77 Femicide of Indigenous women and girls .................... 63 Canadian context ......................................................... 78 Older women and risk of femicide .............................. 64 Defining the CFOJA research parameters .................... 82 Data Priorities and Challenges..................................... 66 Appendix B .................................................................... 83 Conclusion ................................................................... 72 Data sources ................................................................ 83 Section V: Remembering Women and Girls Killed by References .................................................................... 85 Violence 2019 ................................................................ 74 Academic and grey literature .......................................85 APPENDIX A ................................................................... 77 Newspaper/web sources ...........................................93 The History and Evolution of the Term ‘Femicide” ..... 77 3 | #Callitfemicide: Understanding gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada 2019 CAN_Femicide CAN.Femicide [email protected] femicideincanada.ca Acknowledgements Report prepared by: Myrna Dawson, Danielle Sutton, Michelle Carrigan, Valérie Grand'Maison, Danielle Bader, Angelika Zecha and Ciara Boyd This report would not be possible without the ongoing expertise and support of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability (CFOJA) Expert Advisory Panel (https://www.femicideincanada.ca/home/who). We are also grateful for the ongoing support provided by the research team at the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence (CSSLRV; https://violenceresearch.ca/who), University of Guelph. A special thank you to Anna Johnson and Ana Nizharadze for their work in preparing the #RememberMe social media campaign. A debt of gratitude to Valérie Grand'Maison for ensuring that the CFOJA remains a bilingual initiative, including the hard work of translating our annual reports. The CFOJA would also like to thank Kristen Gilchrist-Salles for coming up with the hashtag #CallItFemicide during her work placement at the CSSLRV in the spring/summer of 2018 as well as Dr. Holly Johnson, Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa, for her contributions to this report. We would also like to thank our CFOJA partners (listed alphabetically): • Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services • Canadian Council of Muslim Women • Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse • Coalition of Provincial and Territorial Advisory Councils on the Status of Women • Ending Violence Association of British Columbia • Ending Violence Association of Canada • Ending Violence Manitoba • Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women • Ontario Native Women’s Association • Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women • Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women Newfoundland and Labrador • Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan • Silent Witness New Brunswick • Silent Witness Nova Scotia • Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories It is our work together that will make a difference and ensure that these women and girls are not forgotten and that fewer women and girls need to be remembered in the future. 4 | #Callitfemicide: Understanding gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada 2019 CAN_Femicide CAN.Femicide [email protected] femicideincanada.ca Foreword I was wounded on December 6, 1989, at Polytechnique, during the tragic evening when my female classmates lost their lives. When I talk about it, even today, I may say: “the night he killed us.” I think I died a little that night. I let a part of my innocence die, as well as a large part of my confidence in the world. Fallen to the ground, I remember thinking where in the world I could safely go without danger… Nowhere. No place in the world appeared to be peaceful anymore… Not even Quebec. The killer of the Polytechnique told us why he was there in front of us. Femicides have always been evident in my mind. However, we must still make their importance known today. To remember December 6, 1989, is to remember that our society creates monsters and that we must confront them. To remember December 6 is to recognize that the veneer of civilization is very thin, that it can crumble and that we can lose our ability to live together, our openness to difference, our compassion in the face of human suffering. To remember December 6 is to remember that women are often the first victims of a world in disarray. The #CallItFemicide report of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability paints a disturbing picture of a reality that is ours but that we often want to ignore. However, for 30 years, confronting and understanding my reality seemed necessary and salutary in my life. At the individual level, doing so was the first step towards healing and resilience. The same