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Research Activities

2007-11 Update of Projects

The Canadian observatory is comprised of various teams responsible for specific activities of the network. Sub-teams are comprised of the director, project coordinator, co-investigators, collaborators and partners from different regions.

For 2007-11 teams are:

• Developing a multi-country program of research to examine the impact of justice system responses on the issue of intimate partner violence;
• Developing and piloting a standardized grid for data collection on offenders entering in the justice system in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States;
• Establishing research agreements with provincial/territorial governments for data collection on offenders entering in the justice system in Canada;
• Developing an instrument to collect information on victims entering in the justice system;
• Engaging dialogue with provincial, territorial, and federal governments;
• Preparing an annotated bibliography of existing research in the field of justice responses to intimate partner violence;
• Compiling existing government policies in terms of justice responses to intimate partner violence; and
• Contributing to a think tank on domestic homicide in Canada.

Descriptions of these activities appear below.

Developing and piloting a standardized grid for data collection on offenders entering in the justice system in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States

The team developed a grid to gather information from Crown prosecutor’s file on offenders in Canada. Such an instrument will allow the establishment of a data set to facilitate interjurisdictional comparison on the justice system response in IPV cases. In 2007-08 the team piloted a methodological grid for data collection in five sites: one site where specialized domestic violence courts have been in place for a substantial period of time (Winnipeg, led by Jane Ursel); three sites where specialized domestic violence courts are relatively recent (Guelph and Toronto, led by Myrna Dawson and in Calgary, led by Leslie Tutty); and one site where specialized processes are not currently in place (Fredericton, led by Carmen Gill and Elizabeth Blaney). These five sites were selected for the research because the sample reflects the variation in size of populations (low to medium to high densities) across Canada. In each site, 25 sets of Crown prosecutors’ case files (22 provincial court files and 3 – Queen’s Bench files) for the years 2005 and 2006 were obtained by written consent of key stakeholders. All files were closed files. The type of cases selected for inclusion were 8 guilty pleas, 2 guilty verdicts and 8 stays of proceedings, 2 acquittals, 2 dismissed for want of prosecution, female victim and male perpetrator, and single victim, single accused dynamic.

The objective of this pilot will enable the team to develop a national data warehouse for storing and sharing research data on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence.

In 2008, the Canadian observatory received $71,000 from SSHRC through the International Opportunities Fund. This funding provides the Canadian observatory with resources to establish a research project with our team researchers in Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. This specific project allows the Canadian observatory to create standardized international data sets of justice data on courts, including specialized domestic violence courts, coordinated domestic violence service delivery, and police and prosecutors’ policies and procedures. This one year research project will enable us to obtain a clearer international picture of intimate partner violence and how intimate partner violence cases are processed through criminal justice systems. The standardized grid for data collection developed in 2007-08 is piloted in Canberra and Wagga Wagga in Australia, led by Paul Mazerolle and Robyn Holder; in Exeter, England, led by Liz Kelly and Linda Regan; and in Syracuse, New York, led by Michael Rempel and Liberty Aldrich.

Establishing research agreements with provincial/territorial governments for data collection for data collection on offenders entering in the justice system in Canada

While a standardized grid was piloted in 2007-08 in different cities across Canada, in 2008-09 the team began to establish research agreements with provincial/territorial governments for data collection on offenders entering in the justice system in Canada. This activity is on-going throughout the Canadian observatory work. This component is led by Elizabeth Blaney and Carmen Gill in Fredericton and Moncton; Myrna Dawson in Guelph and Toronto; Joseph Hornick in Whitehorse; Leslie Tutty in Calgary; and Jane Ursel in Winnipeg. It is understood that all domestic violence cases in the different locations are to be compiled; year for collection of data is to be determined by the team.

2008-9 was the first year of data collection for the establishment of a national data warehouse storing and sharing research data on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence.

Developing an instrument to collect information on victims entering in the justice system

During the year 2007-08, the team developed an instrument for data collection from crown prosecutor’s files focusing on information about offenders entering in the justice system. In 2008-09 the Canadian observatory members focused on developing a data collection instrument with a specific focus on victims who are entering the justice system. There is limited information on victims in Criminal Justice System (CJS) files and thus this activity is challenging. To address this problem, the team looked first for information collected by Victims Services across the country. The team also explored what kind of information about victims would be useful and how best to conduct research using quantitative instruments to capture victim experiences.

This component is led by Dominique Damant and Sonia Gauthier in Quebec, Margaret Jackson in British Columbia, Myrna Dawson and Holly Johnson in Ontario, Carmen Gill and Elizabeth Blaney in New Brunswick, and Robyn Holder in Canberra, Australia.

The team involved in data collection on offenders from crown prosecutor’s files (Elizabeth Blaney and Carmen Gill, Myrna Dawson, Joseph Hornick, Leslie Tutty and Jane Ursel) will also be involved in this component to provide information and share knowledge about their experience. It is our hope that the victim-based instrument will supplement the offender-based instrument developed during the first year and this will help us to obtain a better picture of IPV cases entering in the justice system.

Engaging dialogue with provincial, territorial, and federal governments

The purpose of this component is to better understand the obstacles facing researchers and to raise awareness about the importance of sharing data on intimate partner violence. Documenting the outcomes of this component of the research will enable the team to better understand the obstacles facing researchers in seeking to access data on the justice system. With the support of the co-investigators, the team contacted those provincial and territorial justice system agencies responding to intimate partner violence that do not currently share data with researchers. Specifically, the focus of this component is in British Columbia, led by Margaret Jackson; in Quebec, led by Dominique Damant; in Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Saskatchewan, led by Mary Hampton; in Yukon, led by Joseph Hornick; in the Atlantic region, led by Elizabeth Blaney and Carmen Gill; and in Ottawa, led by Holly Johnson.

The work on this component of the Canadian observatory has been very exciting. Some team members feel their efforts were highly successful in establishing substantive dialogue with provincial/territorial/federal governments and feel confident about the relationship. A few examples tell this story well. Hornick prepared a template of the research agreement for sharing data between provincial/territorial governments and the Canadian Observatory and has been able to reach an agreement between the Canadian observatory and the Yukon government. Jackson has developed a very strong working relationship with provincial government in British Columbia. Johnson led a one day symposium on the intersection of intimate partner violence, criminal justice system, and other stressors or vulnerabilities with members of the federal government departments and other outside experts. Proceedings are available on the Canadian observatory website. However, team members feel that more work is required on the part of the Canadian observatory in order to establish effective relationships with stakeholders on the issue of the justice system response to intimate partner violence.

Preparing an annotated bibliography of existing research in the field of justice responses to intimate partner violence

The team prepared an annotated bibliography comprised of selected literature from Canadian, Québec, and international sources pertaining to the justice system response to intimate partner violence. The annotation benefits from a literature review entitled The Healing Journey, developed by RESOLVE, and led by Jane Ursel. The purpose of the current document is to assemble an annotated bibliography which contains relevant pieces from The Healing Journey and incorporates new literature in the field written in English (led by Jane Ursel), literature written in French and published in Québec (led by Dominique Damant & Sonia Gauthier), literature related to the justice system response to immigrant and refugee communities (led by Helene Berman), and relevant literature from international sources, with a particular focus on Australia, United Kingdom, and United States. The annotated bibliography is covering the period of 2000 to 2009 and is posted on the Canadian observatory website.

Compiling existing government policies justice responses to intimate partner violence

By documenting government policies the Canadian observatory will be able to make deeper connections among parts of the policy cycle, that is, from policy development and intent to policy implementation in practice and procedure, in order to speak to policy impacts. The team is compiling existing government policies to see what is happening in Canada (similarities and differences); to identify gaps in the policies or those places where policies are not being implemented or if they went in different directions; to analyze procedures and identify problematic reactions that may not be based on good policy; and to inform our research directions. Initially, the work was done by exploring government websites. The team also collaborates with government officials to access government documentation not available on websites.

Beginning from the perspective that all provinces and territories and federal government departments hold various policy documents, in 2008 the team developed a template for collecting information. Team members, with the help of research assistants, conducted a web-based search of those specific policies related to the intimate partner violence and the justice system in Canada. Margaret Jackson leads the work covering British Columbia and Yukon. Mary Hampton is responsible for the work involving Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Dominique Damant and Sonia Gauthier are responsible for Québec, Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick and they also began work on the federal government policy piece. Myrna Dawson is responsible for Ontario and Manitoba. Helene Berman focuses on immigrant and refugee women in existing government policies across Canada. This information will be posted on the Canadian observatory website.

Contributing to a think tank on domestic homicides in Canada

Members of the Canadian observatory participated to the think tank held in October 2008. Peter Jaffe and Myrna Dawson, members of the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, and the first committee of its kind in Canada, have initiated a workshop in response to national interest in the development of these committees in other provinces and the identified need for a policy position paper on how such an initiative might be implemented. The goal of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for the development of a national resource centre that can provide assistance to provinces and/or communities who wish to implement a domestic violence death review initiative at the provincial, regional, or local level.

 

 

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