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| Heather Campbell Pope |
Justice Minister Sean Fraser’s tabling of the Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16) on Dec. 9 marks an important step toward recognizing coercive control as a serious form of abuse. By proposing a standalone criminal offence, the legislation acknowledges that abuse does not need to be physical to cause profound harm. Manipulation, threats, surveillance and isolation can be just as devastating, eroding autonomy and trapping victims in relationships they cannot safely leave. For women in particular, coercive control by an intimate partner is recognized as a common precursor to murder.
This recognition reflects a broader and more accurate understanding of family violence. It aligns Canadian law more closely with what victims and frontline workers have long known: that control itself can be the weapon. By naming coercive control as a crime, the law would make visible a form of abuse that has too often been minimized or misunderstood.
Yet as advocates for older adults have emphasized, Bill C-16 does not fully reflect the realities faced by many seniors.
As currently drafted, the proposed offence applies only to intimate partners. That limitation leaves out older adults who experience coercive control at the hands of adult children or others in relationships of trust and dependence. In later life, vulnerability is often shaped by reliance on family members for housing, care, transportation and financial management. These are precisely the conditions in which coercive control can take root and remain hidden. For seniors, leaving an abusive situation may mean risking homelessness, loss of care or complete social isolation.
The consequences of this gap are stark. According to 2024 data from the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, when a woman is killed by a family member, more than half the time (55 per cent), the accused is her own son. Under Bill C-16, that relationship would fall outside the scope of the proposed offence, despite the role coercive control can play in escalating violence.
Older men are also increasingly affected. Statistics Canada reports that since 2018, rates of family violence against seniors have risen by 49 per cent, with increases affecting both women and men. Among older male victims, adult children were the most common perpetrators. Frontline services report similar patterns: in 2024/2025, Seniors First B.C.’s Seniors Abuse and Information Line found that nearly two-thirds of alleged abusers were adult children. These data add to a growing body of evidence long emphasized by elder justice advocates: that family violence in later life affects a wider range of victims and perpetrators than is often assumed.
The risks can be even greater for people with dementia. As cognition declines, dependence increases, and abuse may take the form of financial control, restricted access to medication or care, isolation from friends and family, or threats intended to maintain dominance. Because victims may have difficulty articulating what is happening, or may not be believed, the abuse can persist unchecked. In these cases, coercive control can be misinterpreted as caregiving, further obscuring harm.
For these reasons, coercive control in later life must be understood not only as a criminal justice issue, but as a human rights concern. Older adults have the same right to autonomy, safety and freedom from exploitation as anyone else, and those rights are compromised when control replaces care.
International jurisdictions have better reflected these realities. In England and Wales, coercive control laws apply to “personally connected” individuals, including relatives. Queensland, Australia, has taken a similarly inclusive approach. These models recognize that harm is defined by power and control, not by the label attached to a relationship. They offer Canada practical examples of how the law can better align with the realities faced by older victims.
This February, the Elder Justice Coalition — an ad hoc group of 15 organizations from across Canada — will raise these concerns directly with MPs and senators during a lobby day on Parliament Hill. While Bill C-16 represents meaningful progress, it is only a starting point. If Canada is serious about protecting seniors, the law must reflect all contexts in which coercive control occurs, not just those that are easiest to define.
Heather Campbell Pope, LLB, LLM, is founder of Dementia Justice Canada, a small non-profit dedicated to safeguarding the rights and dignity of people with dementia.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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