Canada criminalizes coercive control. Can the system deliver? 

Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act, became law on June 18. It creates a new criminal offence for coercive control and expands protections against intimate partner violence, online sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse.

Among its most significant changes, Bill C-16 creates a new criminal offence for exerting coercive control in intimate relationships. 

It targets controlling behaviour such as isolation, monitoring, threats and financial control. The maximum penalty is 10 years’ imprisonment.

“Many people endure years of intimidation, manipulation, isolation, financial control, and ongoing fear before anyone recognizes what is happening,” the spokesperson for the victim support centre said.

The legislation also expands the circumstances in which an intimate partner killing can be classified as first-degree murder. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. 

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