Women in the context of Canadian criminal offences

This paper explores the role and place held by women in the context of Canadian criminal offences. The offences that will be examined involve women either as victims (sexual assault, voyeurism and domestic violence), as offenders (infanticide and abortion), or both (prostitution). While this paper solely constitutes an overview of this immense topic, the author brings a critical, social and historical perspective to some of the issues raised by these criminal offences.
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Women in the context of Canadian criminal offences VNU Journal of Science: Legal Studies, Vol. 36, No. 4 (2020) 39-48 Review Article Women in the Context of Canadian Criminal Offences Sébastien Lafrance* Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Harbour Street, Toronto, Canada M5J 0C3 Received 28 October 2020 Revised 10 December 2020; Accepted 18 December 2020 Abstract: This paper explores the role and place held by women in the context of Canadian criminal offences. The offences that will be examined involve women either as victims (sexual assault, voyeurism and domestic violence), as offenders (infanticide and abortion), or both (prostitution). While this paper solely constitutes an overview of this immense topic, the author brings a critical, social and historical perspective to some of the issues raised by these criminal offences. Keywords: Women, criminal law, Canada.1. Introduction * respect for rights without access to inclusion and no access to inclusion without compassion. The recent passing, on September 18, 2020, Through her, the public saw how fragile theof Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a judge of the United safety of their rights could be” [1]. ThisStates Supreme Court and a women’s rights obviously includes women. What also makesicon makes, unfortunately, the topic of women this topic relevant is that on October 1, 2020in criminal law quite relevant. Rosalie Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka stated regardingSilberman Abella wrote about her, a few days women’s rights, “All in all, progress, but notafter her passing: for Justice Ginsburg, “there yet enough, and too slow” [2].was no justice without respect for rights, no “But first, what is a woman?” [3], asked_______ Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex.* Corresponding author. Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of E-mail address: seblafrance1975@gmail.com Canada - the first woman to hold that position https://doi.org/10.25073/2588-1167/vnuls.4331 and the longest-serving chief justice in This work was prepared separately from this author’s Canadian history, recalled in a speech given inemployment responsibilities at the Public Prosecution 2003 titled The Civilization of Difference: “YetService of Canada. The views, opinions and conclusions for much of Canadian history, women haveexpressed herein are personal to this author and should not been relegated to an inferior status in society.be construed as those of the Public Prosecution Service ofCanada or the Canadian federal Crown. Why? Again the familiar premise - women are different” [4]. Nevertheless, Simone de 3940 S. Lafrance / VNU Journal of Science: Legal Studies, Vol. 36, No. 4 (2020) 39-48Beauvoir wrote, “woman like man is a human myths when informing their decisions, or makebeing; but such an assertion is abstract; the fact significant mistakes on issues of consent” [9].is that every concrete human being is always These stereotypes and rape myths could stemuniquely situated” [5]. Justice McLachlin, as from the objectification of women; as Simoneshe then was, also addressed more specifically de Beauvoir wrote, “She becomes an object”in a different paper what she described as [10]. This is illustrated, for example, in R. v.“feminine crimes”, i.e. “those committed Alakoozi where the accused in this sexualmainly if not exclusively by women, like assault case saw “women strictly as sexualinfanticide, abortion and prostitution” [6]. objects” [11]. These last criminal offences but also “Sexual assault” is currently provided byadditional ones, all being mainly related to section 271 of the Criminal Code [12]. Now,women, either as victims or offenders or both, “the sexual assault provisions in the Criminalwill be discuss ...