Open letter by rape crisis centre calls on B.C. leaders to protect victims of intimate partner violence

Mourners hold a vigil in downtown Vancouver for 14 women who died in suspected acts of intimate partner violence across B.C. in 2023.

A rape crisis centre in Vancouver is calling on B.C.'s leaders to drastically change how the judicial system handles threats of violence against women, pointing to a recent murder as a consequence of the province’s inaction.

In an open letter to Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma, the collective of Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter describes the killing of 30-year-old Tori Dunn in Surrey last month as tragic and preventable.

“Alas, the same is true in other cases of femicide in British Columbia,” reads the letter, which was sent out on Wednesday.

It lists seven cases of femicide reported in B.C. over the past two years, many of which involved men with histories of violence against women and victims of domestic abuse.

In the case of Dunn’s death, the man charged in her murder, Adam Mann, was a stranger. However, he did have an extensive violent criminal history and had just been released from custody weeks before the murder.

As noted in the open letter, Eby has publically acknowledged that Mann should not have been released back into the community and that the new federal bail rules failed Dunn’s family and loved ones.

“This is exactly why we went to Ottawa, with the premiers, to demand the changes that were made ” Eby said during a news conference in Whistler on Monday, referring to pressure on the federal government to reform its bail system.

Bill C-48 was enacted earlier this year as a response to that pressure. The goal of the law is to make it harder for repeat violent offenders –including ones accused of intimate partner violence and crimes involving weapons – to be granted bail.

During Monday’s news conference, Eby said he and the rest of Canada’s premiers have written to Ottawa, requesting a country-wide review of how the changes are being applied.

“It’s not supporting Canadians in the way we want it to,” explained Eby. “The Criminal Code is (Ottawa’s) law, we count on them to do this work.”

Hilla Kerner of Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter says the province shouldn’t be relying on federal help.

“We do not need Justin Trudeau for this,” Kerner told CTV News. “The province is not helpless in responding to women and victims of male violence.”

In a statement provided to CTV News responding to the open letter, the Attorney General's office clarified that Eby was talking about the Dunn case specifically, and not femicide in general, when he made his comments Monday.

The office agreed that the province has "an important role to play" and touted actions it has taken through its "Gender-Based Violence Action Plan."

Those efforts have included 75 new sex assault programs, including five sex assault centres, as well as the construction of new "safe spaces and housing" for women and children fleeing violence.

The office also touted new crisis lines and new policing standards, but acknowledged "there is much more to do."

Last month, B.C. appointed an independent expert to review the treatment of survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence in the legal system, according to the statement, which said the reviewer's recommendations could be presented as early as this fall.

Kerner says it’s appropriate for people to be angry, shaken and devastated over Dunn’s murder.

“This should be the response when women are killed by their male partner,” she said. “We’re finally seeing calls for change because of this recent tragedy, but there are so many cases that could have been prevented.”

Vancouver Rape Relief is demanding more transparency from the province when it comes to public information around victims of intimate partner violence.

That includes their names, relationship with their accused killers, and what provincial systems they interacted with, such as the family court or criminal justice system.

“We need to know more about them so we can push for changes.”

The latest report by BC Coroners Service found an average of 12 people die every year from intimate partner violence.