Family violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) are serious public health issues and can have immediate and long-term consequences for victims and their families, including physical, mental, cognitive and financial harms. In addition, seeking justice can be difficult and re-traumatizing for those affected by IPV and family violence. Improving the accessibility and equitability of our legal system is critical in supporting victims and their families.

“Canadians should have the confidence that the justice system works well and that cases are decided fairly and respectfully. Continuing judicial education on IPV will help improve the family justice system by ensuring that judges have access to training that is relevant to contemporary research and the social context of IPV and family violence.”

The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., K.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“The National Judicial Institute is the principal national body dedicated to continuing education for federal, provincial and territorial judges in Canada. We are appreciative of this opportunity to develop French and English training for Canadian judges on intimate partner violence in the family justice system. The NJI has a long history of supporting the judiciary with education on the core skills, essential competencies, and the range of substantive and social context knowledge required to serve the public and support the administration of justice.

Justice Tom Crabtree
Chief Judicial Officer
National Judicial Institute

• Intimate partner violence (IPV), also known as spousal or domestic violence, refers to multiple forms of harm caused by a current or former intimate partner or spouse. IPV can happen in any community, in any type of intimate relationship, including within a marriage, common-law or dating relationship, in a heterosexual or a 2SLGBTQI+ relationship. It can happen at any time during a relationship and even after it has ended, whether or not partners live together or are sexually intimate with one another.

• Family violence is considered to be any form of abuse, mistreatment or neglect that a child or adult experiences from a family member, or from someone with whom they have an intimate relationship.

• Family violence can also have a profound effect on children. Children who are exposed to violence are at risk for emotional and behavioural problems throughout their lifespan, and these impacts are similar to those of direct abuse. Some of these consequences include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, low educational achievement, difficulties regulating emotions and chronic physical diseases.

• Women represent the majority of victims of intimate partner homicides in Canada, accounting for 80% of people killed by an intimate partner between 2014 and 2020. In 2020, 160 women were violently killed in Canada. 40% of women report experiencing some form of IPV in their lifetime and 30% of all women 15 years of age and older report having been the victim of sexual assault.

• While Indigenous women account for about 5% of all women in Canada, they accounted for 22% of all women killed by an intimate partner between 2014 and 2020.

• While overall rates of family violence may not differ greatly between men and women, there are significant gender differences in the severity of the violence. In 2014, women were twice as likely as men to report being sexually assaulted, beaten, choked or threatened with a gun or knife. In contrast, men were three and a half times more likely to report being kicked, bitten or hit with something.

• Justice Canada’s Justice Partnership and Innovation Program (JPIP) provides contribution funding for projects that support a fair, relevant and accessible Canadian justice system. JPIP supports activities that respond effectively to the changing conditions affecting Canadian justice policy. Priorities include access to justice, family violence, and emerging justice issues. The long-term goal of JPIP is to contribute to increasing access to the Canadian justice system and strengthening the Canadian legal framework.

Associated links

• National Judicial Institute
• Government of Canada’s Gender-Based Violence Strategy
• National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence
• HELP Toolkit: Identifying and Responding to Family Violence for Family Law Legal Advisers
• Justice Partnership and Innovation Program

For more information, media may contact:

Chantalle Aubertin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-6568

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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