Seeking Justice for Battered Women Who Defend Themselves

Increasingly, our Battered Women's Defence Project is involving significant effort. CAEFS continues to call on the government of Canada to undertake a review of the cases of women currently serving federal sentences of up to life imprisonment for having defended themselves and/or their children against abusive partners. Although CAEFS believes that existing processes of review are inadequate to provide relief for the women with whom we are working, the Minister of Justice has indicated a desire to provide relief to the women involved. Indeed, Justice staff are currently striving to generate viable review options.

CAEFS and other national women's groups remain of the view that longer term change is more likely to be achieved by a broad-based examination of all of the cases together. We want any review to consider the systemic barriers typified by the inability of women to avail themselves of legal protection when they are experiencing, responding to and defending against abuse.

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