How the System Fails Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Narcissistic Abuse & Coercive Control
The Criminal Code of Canada
A Fight for Justice & Changes with Canada’s Criminal Code
Saskatchewan has the highest number of cases of intimate partner violence which remains a safety issue for many women in our province, but also worldwide. Did you know that our current justice system including police are significantly failing women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in particular coercive control stemming from narcissistic abuse?
Why? Because our current policing and justice system primarily focus on physical incidents; physical injuries instead of behaviours and patterns of the abuser and the narcissist. Often, police will only lay criminal charges if they are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt there is a criminal offence that has occurred. More often then not, police primarily rely on the physical evidence only. The challenge with relying on physical evidence only is we know that intimate partner violence doesn’t always include physical bruises, physical injuries or physical damages. We know that emotional, mental, psychological and financial abuse are often one of the many forms of intimate partner violence and are not easily seen which is what makes these forms of violence even more dangerous. With these types of violence, in particular coercive control, the burden weighs solely on the victim and survivor to not only prove these forms of abuse are happening, but there needs to be substantial evidence to prove these types of abuse are happening which is often challenging because narcissists are highly skilled at hiding behind their mask and keeping these abuse hidden and behind closed doors. Narcissistic abusers are difficult to spot because they can appear as calm, credible and highly articulate when in public, which makes it challenging for the victim and survivor to prove the abuse is happening.
Another reason that our criminal justice system fails survivors of intimate partner violence and in particular those who experience narcissistic abuse and coercive control is because these types of abuse are generally not captured under the criminal code of Canada. This means that even if there is evidence to indicate these forms of violence are happening, often time the Crown Prosecutor will only pursue charges IF they have a high chance of conviction. So not only did the victim and survivor have to endure the abuse from their abuser, but now when they finally have proof to show this is indeed actually happening, they are retraumatized by the prosecutors and justice system and basically told their experience may not be worth pursuing in court. This, essentially, is the ultimate “injustice” by our justice system. When this happens, survivors lose faith and trust in the justice system. This sends the message to survivors that they don’t matter and that their abuse is not “worth” pursing in court if there is less likelihood of getting a conviction and often leads to further trauma.
Despite this current failure of our justice system, there is advocacy and a call to action to make changes to our criminal code. The Criminal Code of Canada is looking at amending Bill C332 which would mean that coercive control would now be considered a criminal charge. This would be a significant step in the right direction to addressing intimate partner violence and coercive control along with narcissistic abuse.
For further information on intimate partner violence including narcissistic abuse or coercive control, please check out our other blogs or our Instagram healing_with_mallery.
To book a counselling session or seek support, you can email directly at Mallery@serenityandsoulhealing.com.
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