By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer
Content warning: mentions of sexual violence, femicide, and child sexual abuse.
On June 19, the Department of Justice announced “one of the most consequential updates to Canada’s Criminal Code in generations to better protect victims and survivors.” Bill C-16, also referred to as the Protecting Victims Act, was codified into law and aims to strengthen protections for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. This comes in addition to bills C-14 (Bail and Sentencing Reform Act) and C-225 (Bailey’s Law), passed on June 15 and 17 respectively. The trio of laws “will help address repeat offending, better protect victims, and put public safety first,” commented Kelowna mayor Tom Dyas in a national press release.
Most notably, Bill C-16 classifies femicide, often understood as “the killings of women or girls because of their sex or gender,” as first-degree murder. Canadian law defines first-degree murder as “planned and deliberate,” and automatically carries a “life sentence with no parole eligibility for 25 years.” Second-degree murder is deemed deliberate, but unplanned, while homicide denotes a killing that was not intentional, though may include negligence or intent to harm. Certain categories of murder, such as those involving kidnapping and hijacking, are automatically deemed first-degree murder.
The Protecting Victims Act defines femicide as murder “against an intimate partner in the context of a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct,” in the context of sexual violence or human trafficking, or “motivated by hate.”
The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability notes that femicide is most commonly committed by a current or former intimate partner, with the second highest perpetrator being family members. According to their #CallItFemicide report, 187 women and girls were killed by femicide in Canada in 2024, with 49.5% of the perpetrators being current or former intimate partners, and 28% a family member. Racialized and Indigenous women and girls also face disproportionately higher rates of femicide. Indigenous women are six times more likely to be murdered than any other demographic in Canada. As stated by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, “These statistics do not give a name or a face to these daughters, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, mothers, grandmothers and friends – human beings – who have experienced this ultimate victimization of ongoing colonialism.”
Bill C-16 expands the definitions of three existing sexual offences pertaining to sexual touching and exploitation “to include inviting, counselling, or inciting the victim to expose their own sexual organs.” The act also seeks to protect children by reinstating mandatory minimum sentencing for child sexual offenses, among other crimes. At the same time, it creates “a new offence that prohibits threatening to distribute child sexual abuse and exploitation material,” while also expanding the definion of current child luring and sexual offenses, to include extortion via telecommunications for child sexual exploitation.
“This is a major step in prioritizing the rights and safety of Canadian children,” Lianna McDonald, executive director at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection commented in the press release. “The risks of online sexual violence against children continue to rise in frequency and intensity and we need legislation now more than ever to help protect our most vulnerable population.”
Additional amendments to the criminal code aim to combat the non-consensual distribution of AI deepfakes by redefining “intimate image.” The definition will now include visual representations “made by electronic or mechanical means, that shows an identifiable person who is depicted as nude, as exposing their sexual organs, or as engaged in explicit sexual activity, if the depiction is likely to be mistaken for a visual recording of that person.”
The Peak corresponded with Kelly Lozinski, co-director of the Rosalind Project, for more information on the effects of the bill.
The organization works to improve “the health, safety, and wellness of underrepresented women and individuals facing sex and gender-based oppression” by creating health literacy resources, and advocating for policy reform. The project owes its name to the late Rosalind Franklin. Franklin contributed significantly to the discovery of the structure of DNA, though her work was “not fully appreciated during her lifetime” and men “took credit for her discoveries.” The project aims to “liberate women from systemic exclusion and constraints and to empower their mental, physical, reproductive, and community health through self-determination.”
“Bill C-16’s greatest win is its recognition and definition of terms such as femicide, coercion, counselling, and harassment, which disproportionately affect vulnerable populations at the intersection of sex, disability, and age.”
— Kelly Lozinski, co-director, Rosalind Project
“We cannot confront violence that we refuse to name. Naming these acts is necessary toward recognizing them, condemning them, and preventing them,” Lozinski said. “Bill C-16’s greatest win is its recognition and definition of terms such as, coercion, counselling, and harassment, which disproportionately affect vulnerable populations at the intersection of sex, disability, and age.”
For Lozinski, the new acts “represent meaningful progress; however, these measures are ultimately a delayed response to violence rooted in millennia of social and cultural norms.
“The effectiveness of any law depends not only on its existence, but also on public understanding, cultural attitude, and consistent condemnation,” she added. “The legal salinity within Canada also depends on its medical and emergency infrastructure in order to support victims in accessing justice the law is meant to maintain. Even when aware of their legal rights, women still underreport sexual violence because the social, economic, and personal consequences of reporting often outweigh the perceived likelihood of justice. Moreover, among the few sexual offence convictions, many offenders do not serve their full sentence, undermining public confidence in the legal system’s response to sexual violence.
“Lasting change must begin with society’s living understanding of violence itself. Sexual violence should be regarded with the same unequivocal moral condemnation reserved for other grave crimes, including murder and aggravated assault,” Lozinski noted.
SFU students can access Sexual Violence Support & Prevention Office, which offers a 24/7 support helpline, virtual and in-person appointments with case managers for accessing support, and resources on supporting survivors.
