VICTORIA – New Democrat Women’s Issues Critic Claire Trevena has introduced a motion to the B.C. Legislature calling on the government to establish a pilot project for domestic violence courts in B.C.



“The justice system is failing to deal adequately with cases of domestic violence, and many of these cases do not get settled,” said Trevena, the MLA for North Island . “Governments in Ontario , New Brunswick , Alberta , Manitoba , Saskatchewan and Yukon have set up domestic violence courts to deal with these complex and difficult cases.



“The evidence strongly suggests that domestic violence courts have led to resolution of more cases of domestic violence than the regular court system. Dealing with these cases not only involves court machinery but also bringing the resources to bear to support victims of domestic violence.”



In formal courts, victims are often reluctant to appear, and these courts are often not well organized to deal with the complexities of domestic violence cases, she explained. While domestic violence courts work in different ways in different jurisdictions their main focus is to tackle domestic violence issues quickly in the courts and supportively and sympathetically outside.



“It’s time for the B.C. Liberals to back up their talk about domestic violence, and take a step that other provinces have taken to deal with this issue,” Trevena said. “A number of legal groups, womens’ organizations and others have endorsed the idea. We just need to get them going.”



Trevena’s motion reads: “Be it resolved that this House agrees to the principles of domestic violence courts. Be it further resolved that by so doing this House urges the Ministry of the Attorney General to set up a pilot project to establish such a court,”