Bridging Justices
We conducted a one-year study to examine the perspectives of Ontario staff and volunteers within the gender-based violence (GBV) sector about access to restorative justice for sexual harm. This study builds on the 2023 Avenues to Justice Report that concluded provincial and territorial policies limiting or prohibiting diversion under s.717 of
the Criminal Code should be reevaluated. Ontario Crown policy D.4 prohibits the use of s.717 for all sexual offences, which includes restorative justice. The key finding of this research is that there is support among the GBV sector in Ontario to revise the Crown policy. We call on the Province of Ontario to also allocate additional funding to restorative justice options for sexual harm. Ensuring survivors of sexual harm has an array of options that will enhance survivor-centered justice and contribute to overall community safety.
Read the report: https://cjiwr.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Bridging-Justices-Final-Report.pdf
