Uphill battle: Criminal Code must include definition for femicide, advocates say [Video]

As police in Ontario increasingly investigate killings of women and girls as femicides, advocates say a firm definition of the term must be embedded in the Criminal Code.

It’s a change they hope could be on the table soon after Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed cracking down on intimate partner violence in this year’s federal election campaign.

Ottawa police, who have been using the term since August 2024, said last week they were investigating the death of a 54-year-old woman as a femicide. They arrested a 57-year-old man and charged him with second-degree murder.

Last month, Kingston Police logged its first use of the label in a news release.

Police said they determined the death of a 25-year-old woman to be a femicide because it occurred “in the context of intimate partner violence,” and they arrested a 26-year-old man for first-degree murder. They confirmed it was their first time describing …