Feminist Demand a Better Police Response to Violence Against Women
Since we opened in 1973, Vancouver Rape Relief has put forward significant efforts toward improving police response to women escaping male violence. Despite important formal equality gains, intense advocacy efforts, and more women reporting male violence to their local detachments, many troubling problems with police response persist, problems that remain unchanged since the 1970s. Despite abysmal conviction rates and internationally accepted criticism of the Canadian police system’s response to sexist violence, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter continues to support the small percentage of women who choose to call the police for help when escaping a violent man.
In this section you will find examples of past actions and current efforts to maintain positive pressure for a better police response for women escaping violence. The documents are organized in chronological order.
*If you are looking for information on how to make a police report regarding a specific incident or how to file a police complaint please refer to our website section marked, “Give and Get Help”.
Rape Relief response to police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2011
Feminist response to the prosecution of Battered Woman Nicole Ryan in the Supreme Court of Canada
Feminist response to Commission of Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Women
Published in Canadian Woman Studies: A York University Publication. Volume 28, Number 1
Women Resisting Rape Feminist Law, Practice and Activism. 2010
Guest Edited by Jane Doe, Carol Latchford, Rakhi Ruparelia, Elizabeth Sheehy
Efforts to Improve policing for women click here
