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On paper, Bill C-16 looks like the system finally catching up to what survivors have been saying for years: abuse is not a one-off event. It tightens the law on coercive and controlling behaviour in intimate relationships, ramps up protections against non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes, and moves some sexual violence and human trafficking killings into the most serious homicide category. It also signals a growing recognition that sexual violence needs a trauma-informed lens - including how we handle restorative justice options, past sexual history, and access to private records - and introduces new rules around "unreasonable delay" and when serious charges can be thrown out for taking too long.
But new wording in the Criminal Code is only the starting point. If these reforms are going to truly help survivors, they must be implemented in a way that is genuinely trauma-informed and fair, not just efficient. Courts, Crowns, police and correctional institutions will need to ensure these changes do not override context or equality, and do not further harm the very people they are supposed to protect - especially marginalized survivors and even some accused who already face the steepest barriers to justice.
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