Women's Experiences of laws, policies and practices in response to VAWIR: whose rights are maintained?

This study explores women’s experiences of the criminal justice system in response to experiencing male violence in their intimate relationships, in a northern British Columbia community. Employing qualitative research methodology, this research utilized semi-structured interviews with women who had experienced male violence in their intimate relationships. Study findings revealed that participants were victims of structural violence and covert and overt oppressions. While all participants spoke of system strengths through their positive interactions with RCMP, the majority of women felt their interactions with the criminal justice system were negative. Many women did not feel their specific protection order or more broadly, the criminal justice system process upheld their legal rights to safety.