Toronto, May 15, 2025 – LEAF is thrilled by the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to create a new tort of intimate partner violence.
“We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has recognized the unique harms and financial burdens faced by survivors of intimate partner violence,” says Kat Owens, LEAF Legal Director. “The new tort of intimate partner violence says that yes, these harms are real, and yes, they merit compensation.”
Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia required the Supreme Court to determine how survivors of intimate partner violence can seek financial compensation from their former partners for the harms that they experienced. Historically, survivors would have to try and combine separate individual torts, such as assault, battery, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Ms. Ahluwalia asked the Court to create a new tort of family violence, to allow survivors to go to court and ask for compensation specifically for the pattern of violence they experienced.
“We know that survivors of intimate partner violence following this case will be feeling heartened by the Supreme Court’s decision,” says Owens. “For far too many survivors, getting justice through the legal system is incredibly difficult, to the point that many won’t even try. This decision will help open the door for more survivors who want to seek redress through the courts.”
The Supreme Court’s majority decision demonstrates a feminist and intersectional understanding of intimate partner violence. It consistently recognizes intimate partner violence as directly related to interference with dignity, autonomy, and equality within an intimate partner relationship, and notes that efforts to combat it must “begin by recognizing that women are overwhelmingly those most often harmed by their partners.” It goes further by stating that the experience of gendered violence can depend on the social location and identity of the survivor.
The majority specifically cited LEAF’s argument that access to justice matters when deciding whether to create a new tort. They agreed that recognizing a new tort of intimate partner violence aligns with the values underlying section 7 of the Charter because intimate partner violence interferes with a person’s liberty, physical, and psychological safety.
LEAF was grateful to be represented pro bono by co-counsel Pam Hrick (Lerners LLP), Maneesha Mehra (Mehra Sample LLP), and Surinder Multani (Niman Mamo LLP) in this case.
LEAF’s interventions are guided, informed, and supported by a case committee with expertise in the relevant issues. We are grateful to this intervention’s case committee members (in alphabetical order): Natasha Bakht, Coline Bellefleur, Erika Chamberlain, Frances Chapman, and Sheila Gibb.
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About the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)
The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit and charity that works to advance the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education. Since 1985, LEAF has intervened in more than 145 cases that have helped shape the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To find out more, visit www.leaf.ca.
