Canadian Observatory on the Justice System’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence

1. Canadian Observatory on the Justice System’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence Carmen Gill, Ph.D. Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for family violence research University of New Brunswick Canada

2. Critical Observations • Years of experience in research on violence have not facilitated a national sharing of local community-applied research. • Lack a national conduit between provinces and territories in both official languages. • It is difficult to disseminate research that can benefit the larger society.

3. Statement of the issue • While policy makers across Canada are committed to reducing the devastating impact of domestic violence, their diverse policies and practices must be analyzed and compared to determine best practices.

4. Relevance of a strategic research cluster on the justice system’s response • Why focus on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence? • Criminal law is federal • Enforcement and implementation are typically provincial (courts) or municipal (policing) responsibilities • Result: a variety of policies and programs across Canada.

5. The Alliance of Canadian Research Centres on Violence • FREDA / Simon Fraser University • RESOLVE • University of Manitoba • University of Calgary • University of Regina • CRVAWC / University of Western Ontario • CRI-VIFF • Université de Montréal • Université Laval • MMFC / University of New Brunswick

6. The Alliance of Canadian Research Centres on Violence • Established to strengthen community and academic partnerships; • Conducts research and public education to eliminate family violence and violence against women and children; • Each centre is a cluster in itself and works at the interface of the community and university.

7. Research Cluster Design: Development process • 2004 (SSHRC-LOI) The Justice System’s Response to Family Violence Across Canada: Reflections on Regional Specificity and a National Common Ground; • 2005 (Concept paper) The Justice System’s Response to Intimate Partner Abuse Across Canada: Moving Towards a Canadian Observatory; • 2006 Publicity/dissemination plans (SSHRC) • 2007 Canadian observatory (SSHRC)

8. Strategic Knowledge Clusters • Funding program from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) • build upon and add value to research supported through SSHRC’s other programs by supporting Canadian researchers in their efforts to develop and sustain creative, innovative knowledge mobilization networks that lead to increasing the impact of research on policy and program development.

9. Strategic Knowledge Clusters • Strategic knowledge clusters financially support activities focussing on networking, mobilizing knowledge, and facilitating the impact of research knowledge.

10. Building the Canadian Observatory

11. Who is involved? • Academics from 13 Canadian/international universities • Research Centres • Counselling centres • Foundations • Government departments (federal/provincial)

12. Why an observatory? • Observatories are proactive investigators, providing strong political messages that inform policy making (Hemmings &Wilkinson, 2005).

13. What is the Canadian Observatory? • It is a national network that is taking a leadership role in knowledge mobilization activities • Supporting a continued bilingual dialogue on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence, and; • engaging in dialogue at the international level.

14. Why is the observatory important? • The Canadian observatory will mobilize knowledge by creating and sustaining a synergy among those who are studying intimate partner violence and the justice system response, and by facilitating the sharing and transferring of knowledge across the country and abroad.

15. Priorities of the Observatory • Establish a national research network emphasizing continued bilingual dialogue and in-depth research on the justice system and on the impact of its response to intimate partner violence in all parts of the country. • Develop regional, national and international forums for dissemination of inter-jurisdictional analyses and program/ policy outcomes.

16. Priorities . . . • Lay the ground work for standardized national data sets on the justice system's response to intimate partner violence, with emphasis on: • civil legislation, and • specialized response units (e.g. police, courts, prosecutions).

17. Where are we at now? • Examined diverse practices of data collection through the justice system on domestic violence cases (IPV). • Explored possibilities to develop a pan-canadian system for standardized data collection on the justice system responses.

18. Elements of a national/international tracking system • Collect data at two levels (police / court) • Police level: # of reports (arrest , no arrest, other), gender of accused/victim, outcome of arrest • Court Level: charges, outcome, sentence, conditions • Compare across type of court – specialization (court model: pre-treatment, post treatment, sentencing) versus non-specialization

19. Standardized grid In Canada • Pilot in Calgary in Alberta; in Fredericton in New-Brunswick; in Guelph in Ontario and Winnipeg in Manitoba Other countries (in the future) • Pilot in London in the United Kingdom • Pilot in New York in the United States • Pilot in Canberra and Wagga Wagga in Australia

20. Thank you!