Heather Wright/The Independent

Sarnia-Lambton-Bkjewanong MP Marilyn Gladu is hopeful the federal government will soon make coercive control part of the Canada’s Criminal Code to help curb intimate partner violence.

Gladu is the chair of the Committee of the Status of Women. She and the MPs on the committee released a report Nov. 25, asking the federal government to reintroduce a bill to criminalize coercive control.

Coercive control, Gladu says, is gaslighting; where a partner subjects another including close relatives and spouses to a sustained pattern of controlling, threatening, or humiliating behavior. That includes cutting the person off from their family, controlling what they wear or taking financial control of their affairs. It’s often seen as a precursor to intimate partner violence.

“It escalates,” says Gladu “and the problem that I see is that if you don’t know or have a remedy for the situation, you’re going to see more escalation into violence against women and we’re at a national crisis level right now.”

The report calls for coercive control to become criminal behaviour as a way of protecting people against intimate partner violence. It also calls for education for police and judges to understand what it is and what to look for when they first come upon the issues. 

“This is a federal responsibility and federal dollars that can help with the training of understanding and raising public awareness about coercive control because some women that are in the situation aren’t aware that was being done to them is actually very abusive,” she told The Independent. 

“The federal government has a role to play, but also the provincial government has a role to play in enforcing and taking that training as well to police officers and to the court system…It’s a cooperative effort that needs to happen.”

Gladu says the federal Justice Minister has already indicated support for action. The MP is hopeful Bill 332 which criminalizes the behavior, will be returned to the house and moved through quickly. Gladu says it could pass in a matter of weeks. Gladu believes the Liberals will introduce the legislation by February.