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Should "femicide" be a separate offence under the Criminal Code? Lawyer Pamela Cross (as well as many other experts on the problem of intimate partner violence) says yes. She says it's important to isolate and differentiate this specific type of killing, "The killing of a woman because of the fact that she's a woman":

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/murder-femicide-anoka-street-ottawa-1.6523681

I get it, I really do. Words are important. Motives are important too. But as a woman and a feminist, I'm still a little uneasy about the idea of making femicide a separate offence.

If we look at a Basil Borutski, a Russell Williams or a Marc Lepine, did they really kill all these women BECAUSE these targets of their anger were women? I would say no. They killed because they're sociopaths. Sociopaths never believe that anything is their own fault. They kill or act violently and justify their behaviour on the grounds that they had a difficult childhood, they're addicts, they have no free will, they are dishing out their own brand of justice. There's always some excuse for not taking responsibility for their own actions.

The women, on the other hand, did not have any choice about having been born female. So I say we should place the responsibility squarely where it belongs - on the shoulders of the killer - and ensure that the killer faces the consequences.

Does creating a separate category for femicide accomplish this? Maybe. I do think that's the intent of people like Pamela Cross, Marlene Ham and Kirsten Mercer. If we separate the deliberate killings of women by men from other forms of homicide (as legally defined), it will certainly highlight the enormity of the problem.

But I worry that it could also end up having precisely the opposite effect to the one that was intended. I mean, the debate over whether or not women are actually "persons" under Canadian law was put to rest less than a century ago. Laws guaranteeing women equal rights in terms of employment, voting, property inheritance (and many other aspects of day-to-day life) tend to be much more recent than that. And even now, there are still plenty of people living quite legally in Canadian society today who retain some very archaic views about women, whether or not they publicly admit to their views.

Would "femicide" come to be considered a lesser offence because after all, the victim is "only" a woman? Would it be viewed as more amenable to extenuating circumstances? As in, "Gosh, she was a total slut. She was dressed provocatively and had the nerve to go out by herself at night! She was just ASKING to be raped and murdered! How DARE she refuse my advances? How dare she leave me? How dare she disobey me, say "no" to me or even disagree with me about anything?"

I would also wonder how the new category might affect something like the battered woman defence, in which a woman murders her abusive partner in his sleep (or while he is otherwise impaired or unable to defend himself).

I'm not sure if I'm a voice in the wilderness or if some of the experts might have similar concerns.

This week's donation goes to Circles of Support and Accountability (Ottawa):

https://cosa-ottawa.ca/

Family dynamics, for better or worse, are inevitably magnified in times of lockdown. In past weeks, some of my donations have been directed to shelters for women fleeing intimate partner violence. And sadly, there will always be a need for such facilities. I have very little confidence that someone like Basil Borutski, Russell Williams or Paul Bernardo can be rehabilitated: where there's no will on the part of the perpetrator, there's no way. Still, if we simply lock these people up and throw away the key, we are not solving the problem. Rather, we are putting out the immediate fire without doing anything that is future-oriented, like fireproofing and practising sensible fire prevention procedures.

Moreover, it raises the question of why it's the innocent victims whose lives should be disrupted. Why should they have to leave the family home, go on social assistance, move to a new neighbourhood, send the kids to a new school and abandon or re-home their pets? Would it not be far better for both perpetrator and victim, as well as for society as a whole, if the abusive partner could learn to live his life and make decisions and choices that do not involve violence?

Four years ago, the film A Better Man was released:

https://abettermanfilm.com/

In it, filmmaker Attiya Khan revisits various locations in Ottawa with Steve, her former partner. The idea behind the project is that if Steve is willing to revisit scenes of his past violence and own up to his behaviour, he will take the first step towards becoming a better man and both of them, though separately, can more easily get on with their lives.

Did it work? Maybe.

If nothing else, the film was widely distributed and sparked some important conversations around the intractable social problem of male violence. There were some high-profile people like Sarah Polley involved in the project. I think it probably convinced many folk that new approaches are needed.

And yet. "Steve" remains anonymous, unless you happen to have encountered him. Attiya STILL celebrates anniversaries of being free of him. I really would have liked to know a little more about what each of them is doing now and what impact the experience all those years ago is having on their day-to-day lives today. And what of their children? Are they being raised in a nonsexist, nonviolent environment but still being sensitized to the problem in an age-appropriate way?

I've read a few reviews of the film and rather liked this one from the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/after-abuse-the-possibility-of-a-better-man

There are others, some of which you can find on the Rotten Tomatoes site.

Today's donation goes to Harmony House, Ottawa's only second-stage women's shelter:

https://www.harmonyhousews.com/

With people cooped up together under a provincial stay-at-home order, conflicts are natural and inevitable. But when conflict escalates to the point of family violence, an abused woman's prospects for escaping and for achieving safety, security and peace of mind for herself, her children and her pets may prove particularly daunting.

In addition to providing safe transitional housing for women in crisis, Harmony House also offers numerous advocacy programs to help them and their dependents access long-term housing and other services and safely re-integrate into society.