Proposed law change would give intimate partner violence victims more avenues to justice
CBC
The province is looking to eliminate time limits for victims of intimate partner violence seeking civil justice.
A bill tabled Wednesday would reopen the door for victims to take civil action — even if they previously missed the window.
In 2010, the province removed a two-year time limit to file civil court claims for offences including, trespass to the person, assault and battery of a sexual nature.
But victims who were harmed in their relationships before 2010, or those harmed in a non-sexual way, were still subject to the two-year limit.
But the bill tabled in the legislature on Wednesday looks to remove those limits for people harmed by someone in a personal or dependent relationship.
Justice Minister Rob McKee said a dependent relationship would refer to any case where someone was financially, physically or emotionally dependent on the person.
In an interview, McKee said he hopes the update to legislation will allow more victims the chance to find a sense of justice.
“Sometimes they need time to heal,” McKee said.
“Allowing those same individuals the time to heal, and come forward when they are ready to share their story and make that claim — the law, if passed, would allow them to do that.”
McKee said the changes would be retroactive, allowing victims to file civil claims related to historical incidents.
Mary Ann Campbell, director of the Centre for Policing and Criminal Justice Research, said civil court can be an important avenue for some victims.
While the criminal system requires proof that someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, civil court decisions are made on a balance of probabilities.
“It allows someone to still get a sense that independent parties have heard the information … agreed this did happen and that someone did wrong, and should be held accountable for that in not necessarily [a] criminal way, but in some kind of financial [way] usually or other sanctions,” Campbell said.
“It may, for some people, be viewed as an avenue to facilitate having that accountability piece.”
The B.C. government has raised the ceiling to $75,000 for potential damages over intimate-image abuse.
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