Court recognizes intimate partner violence as legal basis for damages

The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized intimate partner violence as a distinct legal basis for pursuing civil damages. The top court's ruling comes in the case of a woman who suffered years of physical and emotional abuse by her husband during a 16-year marriage. The court says intimate partner violence is a pernicious social ill deserving the full attention of the law, and that existing torts of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress fail to remedy the specific wrong to dignity, autonomy and equality.