Saskatchewan expands legal protections against cyberstalking and coercive control

EAGLE STAFF

People will have more ability to stop others from abusing them online after Saskatchewan MLAs passed a bill last week.

The Cyberstalking and Coercive Control Act “expands the definition of interpersonal violence” in the province’s Victims of Interpersonal Violence Act. That legislation now covers cyberstalking and online harassment, “as well as coercive and controlling behaviour,” a statement said. The act is expected to take effect this week.

"This bill makes clear that victims and survivors of these types of abuse are entitled to protections under our laws, while increasing accountability for the perpetrators of such acts,” said Tim McLeod, the justice minister and attorney general.

The legislation allows victims and others “to apply for emergency orders against perpetrators or end leases to help escape circumstances where this form of abuse is occurring,” added Alana Ross, the cabinet’s minister responsible for the status of women.

The Victims of Interpersonal Violence Act already allowed people to get emergency orders that restrict perpetrators from contacting them and had “a process for ending long-term tenancies where a victim is at risk of future violence,” the Justice Department statement said.

“Expanding the definition of interpersonal violence to include cyberstalking” improves Criminal Code provisions “and addresses instances where individuals use or attempt to use tracking devices to monitor an individual without their consent,” the statement explained.

Widening the interpersonal violence definition to include cyberstalking, online harassment, and coercive control “gives the legal system and law enforcement more tools to address this issue," Ross said.

Coercive control is behaviour intended “to take away a person's freedom and strip away their sense of self,” the statement said. “It can include behaviours like strictly controlling someone's finances, depriving them of their basic needs, closely monitoring their activities, and isolating them from family and friends.”

The province designated about $32 million during its current fiscal year toward interpersonal violence programs and services. Community-based organizations, second-stage shelters, and more funding for Victims Services “and other important supports” receive $14.2 million of that, the statement said.