Press Release: Supreme Court of Canada delivers breakthrough ruling for survivors of intimate partner violence

Ottawa, ON (unceded Anishinabe Algonquin Territory)—In a breakthrough ruling for survivors, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence (IPV), marking a fundamental shift in how Canada’s legal system responds to abuse. Today’s decision recognizes the gendered nature of IPV and the full scope of its devastating harms.

The purpose of tort law is to provide compensation to people who have been harmed by wrongful conduct. It has historically sought to compensate survivors through a patchwork of torts that were not designed with IPV in mind. The SCC held that these torts do not capture the impacts of coercive and controlling conduct—including patterns of isolation, manipulation, economic abuse, sexual coercion, and/or intimidation—on survivors’ dignity, equality, and autonomy. These harms, which overwhelmingly affect women, “cry out” for a new approach.

West Coast LEAF and Rise Women’s Legal Centre (Rise) intervened in this case to encourage the SCC to address the discriminatory impacts of myths and stereotypes about IPV on survivors’ equality and access to justice. The SCC agreed that recognizing the new tort would help to dispel myths and stereotypes about IPV. Citing West Coast LEAF and Rise, the SCC rejected stereotypes that only physical abuse or egregious psychological attacks are serious enough to warrant compensation, agreeing that this view overlooks the “less spectacular forms of violence that are integral to [IPV]’s grinding nature.” The SCC also cited West Coast LEAF and Rise when recognizing litigation abuse as a form of non-physical IPV, cautioning trial judges against minimizing evidence of non-physical IPV or treating it with heightened skepticism.  

“Today’s decision is a groundbreaking step toward dismantling discrimination against survivors in the legal system,” says Kate Feeney, Director of Litigation at West Coast LEAF. “For decades, survivors have been denied justice because of myths and stereotypes that undermine their credibility, minimize their experiences of harm, and stand in the way of legal protections.”

“The Supreme Court of Canada sent a strong message today: the legal system must better recognize survivors’ experiences of abuse,” says Vicky Law, Executive Director at Rise Women’s Legal Centre. “This includes moving away from pre-existing torts that were not designed to address patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour.” 

West Coast LEAF and Rise are represented by pro bono lawyers Monique Pongracic-Speier, KC, and Gita Keshava from Ethos Law Group, alongside Kate Feeney of West Coast LEAF and Rosanna Adams of Rise. West Coast LEAF and Rise were also supported by a case committee made up of law professors Jennifer Koshan, Deanne Sowter, and Emma Cunliffe.

Read the SCC decision. Learn more about Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia and read Rise and West Coast LEAF’s factum.

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Media contacts:

Kate Feeney, Director of Litigation, West Coast LEAF
media@westcoastleaf.org, 604-684-8772, ext. 226

Vicky Law, Executive Director, Rise Women’s Legal Centre
media@womenslegalcentre.ca, 604-757-5002

About Rise Women’s Legal Centre

Rise Women’s Legal Centre (Rise) is a community legal centre providing accessible legal services to women and gender diverse people in British Columbia who are economically disadvantaged, with a focus on clients experiencing gender-based violence. Rise envisions a future where all women and gender diverse people have access to a safe, just and equal legal system. For more information, visit: womenslegalcentre.ca 

Rise is not an acronym and is title case, and is referred to in the decision as “RWLC” 

About West Coast LEAF 

West Coast LEAF is a non-profit organization formed in 1985, the year the equality guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force. West Coast LEAF’s mandate is to use the law to create an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination in BC. In collaboration with community, we use litigation, law reform, and public legal education to make change. For more information, visit westcoastleaf.org