N.L. initiative to change reporting abuse laws could have a national impact
Senator was inspired by abuse survivor to work on a domestic violence framework
The last time Georgina McGrath was beaten was the night of Sept. 25, 2014.
"That night there were paramedics at my house, there were police at my house, because of the phone call that my sister had made to 911 from Ontario," McGrath told the St. John's Morning Show on Wednesday.
Her sister told the paramedics that the situation involved domestic assault, but the paramedics didn't relay that information to the police.
I think one of the reasons I lived is to do what I'm doing.- Georgina McGrath
Later in the emergency room, McGrath saw her family doctor — the same one she'd seen for the first time a few months earlier, when she had a cracked-off tooth, a black eye and a concussion.
Still, the clear signs that she was experiencing domestic abuse weren't reported because it's not mandatory anywhere in Canada that doctors or first responders do so for adults.
Now recovered and safe, McGrath is working with Sen. Fabian Manning to change that. The final draft of his bill, titled "The National Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act," was presented April 24 and its second reading in the Senate is expected later this month.
"When I woke in the hospital and I saw my two children at the end of my bed … I think one of the reasons I lived is to do what I'm doing," she said.
'The numbers are staggering'
Manning's involvement began when McGrath phoned the Newfoundland and Labrador senator to share her experience and discuss the country's alarming statistics on violence against women and domestic abuse.
"When I called Senator Manning that day I'd put a lot of thought into different ways that we can change — or actually even implement — laws and legislation, not just provincially but federally as well," she said.
That phone call really opened his eyes to the scope of the problem in Canada, Manning said.
"On any given night in Canada, 4,600 women and their 3,600 children are forced to sleep in emergency shelters as a result of domestic violence. On any single day, 379 women and 215 children were turned away from shelters in Canada, usually because they were so full," he said.
"The numbers are staggering."
One way to tackle the problem would be to report suspected abuse when victims come in contact with first responders like police, paramedics and physicians.
But there is currently no federal or provincial legislation that obliges those first responders to report cases of domestic violence involving adults to relevant third parties, Manning said.
Newfoundland and Labrador does have a law that requires a physician to contact the police when they see a patient who has been stabbed or shot, but McGrath said that if she came to an ER having been choked, or beaten with a fist, the same regulations don't apply.
Creating a federal framework
Passing such a law federally is complicated because health care is under provincial jurisdiction.
"Federally, the issue becomes a bit tangly," Manning said.
Putting a federal law in place would require criminalizing a failure to disclose suspected domestic abuse.
Individual provinces could put laws in place, but so far there is no mandatory reporting of suspected domestic violence when it involves adults. Several provinces have codes of conduct that address third-party reporting for first responders, but those aren't enforceable by law.
- Change to definition of violence not enough to protect victims, says advocate
- Diagnosing domestic violence: N.L. surgeons learn how to spot the signs
- Happy Valley-Goose Bay has 6th-highest rate of violence against women in the country
- How the RNC deals with intimate partner violence
Bill S-249 is an attempt to put a framework in place for federal and provincial changes.
The bill will require consultation with federal, provincial and territorial government representatives on the development of a national strategy, and an assessment of existing programs and strategies.
I have 21 years left here and if I do nothing else, we'll get this done.- Fabian Manning
The process is a long one — after its second reading, the bill will go to a Senate committee for study and hear from witnesses who may have suggestions or improvements.
After reporting back to the Senate there will be a third reading of the bill, and then it will go to the House of Commons for a similar process.
"This is a very slow process, to have a piece of legislation brought into law," Manning said.
"But as I said to Georgina, I have 21 years left here and if I do nothing else, we'll get this done."