Supreme Court Case Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia Could Transform Legal Protections for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence – BWSS Granted Leave to Intervene

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) has been granted leave to intervene in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia (SCC File No. 41061). This case has the potential to reshape legal responses to family violence by recognizing a dedicated tort of family violence, an essential step toward addressing the systemic, long-term harms caused by intimate partner violence (IPV).

“Recognizing family violence as a distinct legal harm is crucial for justice,” said Angela Marie MacDougall, BWSS Executive Director. “BWSS receives upward of 52,000 service requests annually, with 80% involving legal issues. Survivors face systemic barriers to justice and accountability, and this case is a rare opportunity to bring their voices to Canada’s highest court. Legal protections must reflect the full scope of harm endured. BWSS is deeply honoured to appear before the Supreme Court, advocating for the rights and dignity of survivors.”

This Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) case considers whether tort law should recognize a new tort of family violence. Historically, tort law has often failed to adequately compensate survivors of IPV, particularly women. Developed from a male perspective at a time when the legal system was controlled by men and interspousal immunity prevented women from suing their husbands in tort, the law was not structured to capture the gendered harms of IPV, including the violation of survivors’ rights to security, substantive equality, dignity, and autonomy.

In practice, few survivors bring tort claims against their abusive partners. For those who do, proving both the abuse and its harms remains challenging. Even when successful, IPV-related tort claims tend to result in significantly lower compensation compared to cases involving violence by strangers. In this case, Ms. Ahluwalia, a survivor of abuse and coercive control by her ex-husband, sought tort compensation as part of her divorce claim.

The trial judge determined that existing torts—such as battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress—failed to address the patterns of abuse and the harm inflicted. Consequently, the judge created a new tort of family violence, making legal remedies more accessible and effective for survivors. Ms. Ahluwalia was awarded $150,000 in damages. On appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected the new tort, applying existing torts instead and reducing her damages to $100,000. The case is now before the Supreme Court of Canada to determine whether a tort of family violence is necessary and appropriate.

BWSS has been granted leave to intervene in the Supreme Court proceedings to advocate for the explicit recognition of family violence as a distinct tort. Their submission will urge the Court to:

• Provide survivors with a clear and direct legal avenue for redress.
• Recognize the intersectional dimensions of violence, particularly its disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous, and racialized women.
• Address systemic barriers and historical inequities within legal proceedings.

“We are honoured to represent Battered Women’s Support Services as an intervener in this critical case before the Supreme Court of Canada.” Said Caitlin Ohama-Darcus, lawyer with Lawson Lundell LLP “Regardless of its outcome, Ahluwalia will have significant implications for survivors of intimate partner violence and the essential work that BWSS provides in our communities. We are beyond proud to support this work and bring BWSS’s voice to our highest court: asking the Supreme Court of Canada to acknowledge the unique and disproportionate impact of intimate partner violence on Black, Indigenous, and racialized women in Canada.”

BWSS joins Canadian and BC attorneys general and a coalition of leading advocacy organizations in intervening in this case:

Interveners:

• Attorney General of Canada
• Attorney General of British Columbia
• Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
• South Asian Legal Clinic of ON, South Asian Legal Clinic of BC, and South Asian Bar Association of Toronto (as a coalition)
• DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN Canada)
• Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS)
• Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund Inc.
• Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
• Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario
• Justice for Children and Youth
• Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre for Women and Children
• Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes
• Sandgate Women’s Shelter of York Region
• National Association of Women and the Law
• West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund Association and Rise Women’s Legal Centre
• Battered Women’s Support Services Association
• Tort Law and Social Equality Project

The hearing will be broadcast live on the Supreme Court of Canada’s website at the following link: https://scc-csc.ca/cases-dossiers/hearings-audiences/scheduled-prevues/

The schedule is as follows:

• Day 1 (11 February): The appellant and the respondent will each have 60 minutes to make their submissions, totalling 2 hours.
• Day 2 (12 February): The Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of British Columbia will each have 10 minutes to make their submissions. This will be followed by each intervener, including BWSS, speaking for 5 minutes each. BWSS is scheduled as the second-to-last intervener. After the interveners, the respondent will have 5 minutes to reply, for a total of 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Each day will begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia will have profound implications for survivors of IPV and the legal landscape in Canada. Recognizing a tort of family violence would mark a transformative step toward acknowledging the systemic nature of IPV and ensuring survivors have access to justice beyond the limitations of existing legal claims.

“Black, Indigenous, and racialized survivors of intimate partner violence face deeply entrenched barriers within the Canadian legal system,” said Summer Rain, Manager of the Justice Centre at BWSS. “This system was not designed to address the compounded realities of racial and gender-based violence, leaving many without real avenues for accountability or justice. The failure to recognize the structural inequities survivors experience perpetuates cycles of harm and exclusion. By engaging with this case, we seek to advance legal recognition that fully acknowledges the intersecting oppressions and systemic barriers that prevent marginalized survivors from accessing the justice they deserve.”

For 45 years, BWSS has been at the forefront of action against gender-based violence, leveraging legal advocacy, law reform, and strategic litigation to advance justice for survivors. Through frontline support, education, and systemic change efforts, BWSS remains committed providing support to victims and survivors of gender-based violence and to dismantling barriers within the legal system toward ensuring meaningful accountability for all women victims and survivors.