Canada’s coercive control bill has a gap on elder abuse, experts say

The bill would create a new Criminal Code offence for coercive control, which is defined as a pattern of behaviour meant to dominate, isolate or intimidate a partner. It is framed as a response to intimate partner violence, applying to current or former romantic partners.

But testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on April 20 suggests that limitation may exclude many older adults experiencing similar patterns of abuse.

“The coercive control offence under Bill C-16 is currently limited to intimate partner relationships that may capture an important part of violence against women, but it does not capture the full reality of abuse experienced by older women,” Rizwan Khan, a legal researcher and analyst at the National Institute on Aging, told the committee.

“Many older women are not being coercively controlled by a spouse or partner. They are being controlled by sons, other relatives and, in some cases, informal caregivers. Yet, if the same pattern of abuse is carried out by a son rather than a spouse, the proposed offence would not apply.”

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