The London Police Services Board (LPSB) wants to hear feedback from the community after several motions on femicide and hate crimes against women were passed last month.
During the June 16 meeting of the board, three motions were passed in an effort to address male violence against women, something LPSB Chair Susan Toth says is a priority of the board.
"One woman or girl is murdered in Canada every 36 hours. A disproportionate number of these women and girls are Indigenous," Toth said in a release from the board. "The Board is committed to addressing these issues and as a first step would like femicide, commonly understood as the killing of women and girls, defined in the Criminal Code of Canada. The goal in defining femicide is to see it labelled and addressed as a hate motivated crime."
All three motions are specific to femicide and hate crime, however the board noted they do not speak to every aspect of addressing male violence against women.
The motions include the following actions:
• The Board advocate that the Government of Canada define femicide in the Criminal Code of Canada.
• The Board direct the Chief of Police to include a requirement in his related procedures that officers investigating any incident in which a victim is from an identifiable group as outlined in section 318 (4) of the Criminal Code, consider the motivation of the action and if the motivation reflects hate, that it be investigated as such.
• The Chief of Police include in the LPS Annual Report to the Board the demographic information of known perpetrators of hate/bias motivated crimes, and the demographic information of victims of homicide* specifically to reflect the sex of the victims. (*noting this section will be updated upon a Criminal Code definition of femicide).
Toth and the police services board are now asking for input from the community, including from women's advocacy groups and organizations.
"We value your expertise, experience and commitment to addressing male violence against women, and commitment to your community," Toth said.
The Board will then prepare its final draft letter and revised draft policies with the community.
Those willing to share their stories and experiences are encouraged to submit letters via email to lpsb@londonpolice.ca by July 31, 2022.