Advocates in B.C. are calling for the provincial government to step up and protect victims of intimate partner violence after four deaths were recorded in only three weeks in July.
On July 1, an 80-year-old man in Abbotsford killed his wife before taking his own life.
On July 4, Bailey McCourt was brutally attacked in a Kelowna parking lot, later succumbing to her injuries in the hospital. Her estranged husband is charged with second-degree murder.
On July 7, a woman in her 60s was found dead inside a Surrey home after her partner was shot and killed by police. Initial evidence indicates police were responding to a physical assault in progress stemming from intimate-partner violence.
On July 18, a woman was found suffering from serious injuries in a Richmond home and later died in the hospital. Her partner has been charged with second-degree murder.
Advocates say femicide — the intentional act of killing women or girls due to their gender — should be deemed a specific offence in B.C.
According to the Global Government Forum, which publishes research to help public sector organizations around the world, both Cyprus and Malta integrated femicide into its criminal codes in 2022.
Croatia also adopted a dedicated femicide law in 2024, and 18 of the 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have legislation classifying femicide as a distinct hate crime.
In 2007, Costa Rica was the first country to define femicide as a crime.
B.C.’s attorney general is now asking for two specific changes to the criminal code — tougher sentences for anyone who has been convicted of serious forms of intimate partner violence, like strangulation, and that those convicted be kept in custody until sentencing.
“If they’re out on release, then that’s a time that’s of high risk for the victim,” Nikki Sharma said.
“It’s not enough signing a piece of paper saying they will not get near the woman, saying they will not have a weapon in their possession. There is no way to protect women like this.”
The federal government said it will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes.
Advocates hope these promises and some of the root causes of intimate partner violence are finally addressed, as they say many survivors do not report the crimes against them.
“Women told us that’s exactly why they don’t go to the police because they do not believe that they will be protected and worried (that) men will escalate the violence,” Hilla Kerner with the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter told Global News.
She said they want men released on bail in cases of intimate partner violence to be monitored.
“These men, when they are released, they need to be supervised and carefully monitored,” Kerner added.
“With the changes that I’m asking (for), the criminal justice system should keep the victim safe during that process.”