The number of criminal harassment charges related to domestic violence has more than doubled in Quebec in just five years, an explosive increase driven in part by new technologies that suspects are using to stalk their victims.
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“It’s becoming more and more accessible. “That’s really the big difference from what we could see a few years ago compared to today,” summarizes Thierry Sabourin, the prosecutor in charge of domestic violence cases in Montreal.
We are talking, for example, about GPS and cameras or applications that are secretly installed on a cell phone in order to spy on the target person without their knowledge.
In particular, this could explain that between 2017 and 2022, criminal harassment charges related to domestic violence in the province increased from 1,683 to 3,483, according to data obtained by Le Journal under the Domestic Violence Act. Access to information from the Director of Criminal and Correctional Services (DPCP).
This pace will continue this year, as 2,431 advertisements have already been submitted by the end of August.
Intrusive
If criminal harassment involves the misuse of social networks, the use of various applications and geolocation is now also common, note the speakers interviewed by Le Journal.
“It’s very easy to get a GPS that’s no bigger than a coin online […] at a low cost, that you can put in your car and that you can follow at any time,” explains Me Sabourin, adding that the same also applies to the purchase of cameras.
These “extremely intrusive” behaviors would also be taken into account when determining the sentence against the defendant, emphasizes prosecutor Sabourin.
Coercive control
At the Association of Women’s Shelters, protocol requires staff to scan survivors’ cellphones for security and confidentiality reasons.
“Unfortunately, too many women come with surveillance applications on their phones without knowing it,” argues Élisabeth Viens Brouillard, communications coordinator.
Élisabeth Viens Brouillard, communications coordinator at the Association of Women’s Refuges. Photo provided by Élisabeth Viens Brouillard
Laio Auger-Leduc, head of investigations in the domestic violence department of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), also mentions that victims are not clear to what extent “they are in their device are exposed”.
She gives an example of how food can be geolocated simply by ordering food via an app.
New reality
This growing attention to criminal harassment is due to the diverse training opportunities available in the legal field, but also to new generations of police officers who are more familiar with new technologies.
Whether on the vehicle or the victim’s cell phone, “there are checks that are carried out immediately that were not done before because it was not up to date,” says Detective Lieutenant Auger-Leduc.
At the same time, survivors would be made more aware of the various forms of violence and encouraged to alert and report more to the authorities.
“In recent years, a lot of work has been done to make victims aware that domestic violence is not necessarily just about beatings,” emphasizes Anouk St-Onge, commander at the SPVM and head of the domestic violence department.
IF YOU NEED HELP
SOS domestic violence
• https://www.sosviolenceconjugale.ca/
• 1 800 363-9010 (24/7)
What constitutes criminal harassment?
Four acts are prohibited under the Criminal Code: repeated communication, threatening behavior, stalking the person, and surveillance of the victim’s home.
“The important idea that distinguishes harassment, as we understand it in common sense, from criminal harassment is that the victim must have legitimate reasons to fear his or her safety. [physique et psychologique] after the commission of the crime,” explains prosecutor Thierry Sabourin.
Note that, contrary to certain popular beliefs, the crime does not necessarily have to be “repeated,” points out SPVM Investigator Lieutenant Laio Auger-Leduc.
50 different numbers to contact them
A 32-year-old man who couldn’t accept that his ex-girlfriend had a new partner used dozens of phone numbers to harass her.
Jessey Masson pleaded guilty earlier this year to harassing communications and publishing an intimate image. He later received 150 hours of community service and two years probation.
The relationship between the defendant and the victim ended in October 2020.
When Masson learned at the end of the same month that his ex had a new partner, he began texting his victim using phone numbers generated by a website.
In total, he consumed more than 50 of them over the next three months. The victim blocked them all, one by one.
Masson shared his moods and suicidal thoughts with her through his messages, sent her photos and asked to see her again, which she accepted a few times.
He also imposed himself by showing up at her and her new partner’s house.
Hoping the victim would respond, he once mentioned to her that he had posted an intimate video of her online.
The thirty-year-old also sent fast-paced pictures of it to his new friend.
Jessey Masson was arrested in January 2021 and two months later did not respect his conditions by contacting the victim, specifically wishing her a good week and telling her that he was thinking of her.
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