Dr. Kim Stanton Independent Review

The BC Government established an independent systemic review of how BC’s legal system responds to sexual violence and intimate partner violence.

Dr. Stanton’s report endorsed many of Rise’s recommendations.

Background:

Despite efforts to improve legal system access and outcomes for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, issues remain widespread and underreported.

The BC Government appointed Dr. Kim Stanton to review how the legal system treats victims and survivors, and to recommend actions to address persistent challenges.

Some Key Recommendations:

1. The implementation of physical infrastructure improvements to BC courthouses.

   Recommendation 20A references our report, Creating Safety in BC Courts: Key Challenges and Recommendations (2022), as well as recommendations from Canadian Bar Association of BC.

2. Collaboration between legal system actors.

   We highlighted this need in our report Protection Orders in BC and the Urgent Need for a Specialized Process and Coordinated Reform (2024), and in our report Building Inclusive and Accessible Family Justice: Practical Approaches to Innovate Family Law Systems in BC’s Rural and Remote Communities (2024). Dr. Stanton calls for the creation of a gender-based violence family law working group as a next step for Recommendation 12.

3. Providing stable and core funding to services that support survivors.

   Recommendation 5B asserts that while there are services that are crucial points of access for survivors, they remain underfunded. We echo this in our report Building Inclusive and Accessible Family Justice: Practical Approaches to Innovate Family Law Systems in BC’s Rural and Remote Communities (2024).

4. Changes to protection orders and peace bonds.

   Dr. Stanton writes that recommendations in our report Protection Orders in BC and the Urgent Need for a Specialized Process and Coordinated Reform (2024), as well as recommendations from a 2024 report on protection orders by Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS), should be considered and addressed “as a matter of urgency.”

“Equality-defeating myths and stereotypes continue to flourish in BC courts, and that these myths and stereotypes often go unchallenged by judges”

— Page 139

Myths and Stereotypes

We know that these myths and stereotypes prevent survivors from receiving fair treatment, contribute to systemic discrimination, and can lead to dangerous outcomes that put both survivors and their children at risk. Rise has advocated against harmful myths and stereotypes in the BC family legal system in many of our published research reports, in our two Supreme Court of Canada interventions, and in our BC Court of Appeal case KMN v SZN, which was cited by Dr. Stanton several times in the report.

A Path Forward

Dr. Stanton’s report has provided the province with a path forward to make BC safer, and we are very grateful she has included many of the recommendations Rise has advocated for in our research. 

“The report proposed a path forward to address the systemic barriers that cause ongoing harm to survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence. It is up to the government and legal system actors to take that path”

— Page 26

You can read the full report here.