45 Feminist Demands to End Male Violence against Women (short version)

March 8, 2021

Demand 1: Funding for independent of the state, women-controlled, women-only feminist rape crisis centres, transition houses, comprehensive prostitution exiting services and women’s centre in every community in the country [urban, rural, and remote]. Additional funds must be provided to ensure access across language and disability.

Demand 2: Women victims of male violence must be allowed (even encouraged) to have a support person of their choice (including workers from rape crisis centres or transition houses) while they provide their statement to the police. The policy on this must be clear, explicit and easily available to women victims of male violence, advocates, and the general public.

Demand 3: Police officers (preferably female) interviewing women victims of sexual assault should be trained on trauma-informed policing that is consistent with the Department of Justice’s recommendations. They must also inform women of what to expect at each stage of the process.

Demand 4: Police must investigate sexual assault reports diligently and collect all possible evidence in a timely manner, including: statements, footage, and forensics.

Demand 5: Police must update women victims of sexual assault about the stages of investigation in timely and respectful manner.

Demand 6: Establish a transparent civilian oversight process for police investigations of sexual assault cases. The oversight mechanism should include front line feminist advocates, who will conduct an on-going review to ensure police carry out thorough investigations that result in appropriate charges.

Demand 7: Set a standard threshold of “reasonable likelihood of conviction” for charge approval in cases of sexual assault across Canada.

Demand 8: Enact due diligence in the prosecution of offences of male violence against women, as it is in the utmost interest of the public.

Demand 9: Crown Counsel decisions to stay, or to not prosecute, cases of male violence against women must be articulated beyond the evasive jargon of “not enough evidence” or “threshold of conviction” and be made transparent to victims, advocates, and the general public.

Demand 10: All provinces must ensure that all judgements in sexual assault trials, oral and written, are transcribed and posted online so that judges’ decisions in sexual assault cases will be available for public scrutiny.

Demand 11: Funding for legal representation for victims of rape so that they can use civil lawsuits to obtain justice and hold the rapist accountable through court.

Demand 12: The Criminal Justice System must enforce the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. Police, Crown and Judges must uphold the law and criminalize men who buy, sell, and profit from the sexual exploitation of women in prostitution.

Demand 13: The Criminal Justice System must enforce the laws that criminalize men who rape, batter, harass, and rob women in prostitution.

Demand 14: Male violence against women and children must be a deciding factor in court orders on access to and custody of children.

Demand 15: Funding for women (regardless of their immigration status) to have adequate legal representation in family court.

Demand 16: Sponsored women must be provided with information (in her own language) regarding her rights in Canada and local anti-violence women’s organizations.

Demand 17: Translation and interpretation must be available for women victims of male violence in all of their interactions with police and crown counsel.

Demand 18: Permanent Resident status must be granted on entry for all migrant domestic and care workers. This will allow women workers to leave an exploitative job and make a complaint without fear of reprisal.

Demand 19: Funding for legal representation for women who’ve been directly victimized by pornography, so that they can use civil lawsuits to sue the producers, promoters, and distributors of that pornography.

Demand 20: Owners and executives of companies hosting pornographic content such as rape videos and “revenge porn” be held criminally responsible.

Demand 21: Companies hosting pornographic content such as rape videos and “revenge porn” to immediately release information about the individuals uploading this content, such as their IP addresses to the police, so that they can be held criminally responsible.

Demand 22: Funding for educational initiatives about the negative impacts of pornography, to be introduced via age-appropriate methods in primary and secondary schools. As well, implement sex education curriculum that is comprehensive and emphasizes mutually respectful sexual relationships.

Demand 23: Funding for feminist educational initiatives that discourage men from purchasing women and girls in prostitution.

Demand 24: Provision of a Guaranteed Livable Income that meets adequate standards of living and allow for discretionary spending to enhance full participation in community life. It must be provided unconditionally (i.e. without a means test, without a job search requirement, without limitations on expenditures, without claw backs, without wait times or any other conditions). It must be given to all individual adults in a household regardless of marital status and provide for each child that is in the care of that adult. It must be easily accessible regardless of location (i.e. urban, rural, remote). It must be available to all who reside in Canada regardless of their immigration status (including temporary foreign workers).

Demand 25: All policy and plans to eliminate child poverty and food insecurity must address women’s economic position as they are the primary caregivers for the vast majority of children.

Demand 26: Ensure that everyone has nutritious and sustainably-produced food, regardless of income and geographic location.

Demand 27: Canada’s universal healthcare system must include pharmacare, dental and optical care

Demand 28: Eliminate post-secondary tuition fees to ensure that everyone can access higher education, regardless of their income level or immigration status.

Demand 29: Provide women with the means to have safe, affordable, and permanent housing.

Demand 30: Ensure that safe, adequate, and affordable childcare is available to all women.

Demand 31: Institute free public transportation in every community to allow women’s freedom of movement. Women in rural and remote communities must have the ability to leave their communities through frequent and safe public transportation.

Demand 32: Provide women with women-only detox and recovery services that are available on demand, have an understanding of women’s particular experience of addiction and its connection to male violence, and that enable mothers to continue their parenting responsibilities to their children.

Demand 33: Ensure that all women in prison have access to independent women’s organizations and advocates in the community.

Demand 34: Remove male staff from all frontline positions in women’s prisons.

Demand 35: Conduct an external and thorough review of the impact on women of transferring male-bodied prisoners into prisons for women.

Demand 36: End solitary confinement/administrative segregation.

Demand 37: Provide women with women-only detox and recovery services that are available on demand, have an understanding of women’s particular experience of addiction and its connection to male violence, and that enable mothers to continue their parenting responsibilities to their children.

Demand 38: Abolish prisons for women.

Demand 39: Funding for grassroots Indigenous women’s initiatives independent of the state and band, to organize and challenge misogyny and men who commit violence against women in their communities.

Demand 40: Funding for Indigenous women designed and controlled anti-violence services [rape crisis centres and transition houses] independent of the state and band,

Demand 41: Funding for on-demand addiction treatment facilities that are delivered by and for Indigenous women-only, and provide women the ability to continue to care for their children.

Demand 42: Funding for grassroots Indigenous women’s initiatives independent of the state, bands and Indigenous men led organizations, to strategize, organize and challenge misogyny and racism in Canadian society.

Demand 43: Provide Indigenous women with a Guaranteed Livable Income; the means to have safe, affordable, permanent housing; adequate childcare; on-demand addiction treatment facilities that are delivered by and for Indigenous women-only, and provide women the ability to continue to care for their children; and women-only, comprehensive, feminist exiting services that are available on request.

Demand 44: Release all Indigenous women from prison. Utilize and financially invest in existing legislation under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to de-carcerate Indigenous women.

Demand 45: Collect, analyze and publish data about the prevalence and severity of male violence against women and girls, contributing factors to women’s and girls’ inequality and their vulnerability to male violence against women, criminal justice system and other institutional responses to male violence against women and girls, the direct impact on women and girls victims of male violence and the overall impact of male violence on women’s equality and liberty.

Data collection must distinguish between offenders’ biological sex and offenders’ self-identified gender.

Data collection must distinguish between victims’ biological sex and victims’ self-identified gender.

Data collection must include but not limited to the following:

Rape

Prevalence of sexual assault
Victims’ age
Victims’ race
Offenders’ relation to the victims

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Wife Battery

Prevalence of wife battery
Victims’ race
Women’s income before and after separation
Women’s access to employment before and after separation
Women’s access to education before and after separation
Women’s access to childcare before and after separation
Women’s access to housing before and after separation
Women’s food security status before and after separation

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Prostitution

Prevalence of prostitution
Age of entry into prostitution
History of victimization to male violence before entry into prostitution
Race of women and girls in prostitution
Women and girls’ economic position before entering prostitution, while in prostitution, and after exiting prostitution
History of involvement in child welfare system of women and girls in prostitution
History of mental health struggles and addictions of women and girls in prostitution
Coercive relationships (pimp) that led to entry into prostitution and while in prostitution
Experiences of male violence (johns, pimps) while in prostitution

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Sexual Harassment