RNAO welcomes Supreme Court of Canada recognition of new tort of intimate partner violence

TORONTO, May 20, 2026 /CNW/ - The Supreme Court of Canada has taken a major step in bridging the gap between civil remedies and improving access to justice for survivors of intimate partner violence and family violence by recognizing a new tort addressing intimate partner violence and family violence in Canadian law.

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) welcomes Friday's landmark decision from the Supreme Court of Canada in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, in which it had acted as an intervenor.

RNAO's role as interveners

RNAO intervened before the Court to provide the perspective of registered nurses (RN), nurse practitioners (NP) and nursing students who witness firsthand the devastating and long-term impacts of family violence on individuals, children, families and communities.

As intervener, RNAO argued that family violence is a unique and pervasive form of harm that undermines fundamental liberty, health, safety and social wellbeing. RNAO argued that existing legal remedies, including the torts of battery, assault and intentional infliction of mental distress, failed to adequately capture the patterns of coercive control, financial abuse, emotional dependency and psychological harm that characterize intimate partner violence. RNAO is currently updating its best practice guideline (BPG) on intimate partner violence. This update builds on the earlier Woman Abuse: Screening, Identification and Initial Response guideline, first released in 2005 and updated in 2012. The revision will reflect new evidence, emerging best practices and the changing needs of individuals and communities affected by violence, including Canada's groundbreaking Supreme Court new tort ruling.

Intimate partner violence constitutes a qualitatively different wrong because it undermines a victim's autonomy, freedom and equal standing within the relationship.

The Court's decision

In a 6–3 majority decision Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada developed a new civil remedy for survivors of intimate partner violence, holding that existing civil remedies did not adequately address the unique and cumulative harms caused by coercive and controlling abuse within intimate relationships. The majority described intimate partner violence as a "pernicious social ill" extending beyond isolated incidents of physical or psychological harm and including patterns of coercion, control, intimidation, financial abuse, surveillance, humiliation and isolation that deprive victims of their autonomy, dignity and equality within relationships. The Court found that existing civil remedies failed to fully capture the distinct harms caused by coercive control in intimate partnerships.

The newly recognized tort applies where abusive conduct occurs within an intimate partnership, is intentional, and objectively amounts to coercive control that deprives a partner of dignity, autonomy and equality. The Court emphasized that victims should not be required to prove separate consequential harm once the coercive conduct itself is established.

"Health-care settings are often the first point of contact for survivors," said Dr. Doris Grinspun, chief executive officer of RNAO. "By clearly defining intimate partner violence in law, this decision helps nurses recognize abuse, provide trauma-informed care and support access to legal advice and safety."

The perspective of RNs and NPs

RNAO emphasized before the Court that intimate partner violence frequently occurs in private settings, often over extended periods of time, and can leave survivors unable to safely seek help, disclose abuse or pursue legal remedies while the abuse is ongoing. Survivors face many barriers in obtaining contemporaneous medical evidence, including fear of retaliation, systemic health-care pressures, lack of access to services, and the traumatic effects of abuse itself.

Drawing on the clinical expertise and lived experiences of nursing professionals across Ontario, RNAO urged the Court to recognize that family violence is distinct from isolated incidents of physical harm. RNAO submitted that coercive control and financial abuse can trap victims in cycles of dependency and significantly impair autonomy, safety and health and called on the Court to adopt an evidentiary approach informed by trauma and the realities of survivors' experiences.

"This is a significant decision that reflects the lived realities of those experiencing intimate partner violence," said Dr. Michelle Rey, director of RNAO's International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines Centre. "Recognizing coercive control as a distinct civil wrong validates survivors' experiences and strengthens access to justice."

The decision represents an important step toward closing a longstanding gap in the common law and improving access to justice for survivors of intimate partner violence and family violence.

As one of the country's largest professional nursing associations, RNAO continues to advocate for evidence-informed legal, health and social responses that prevent violence, support survivors and promote health equity and human dignity.

The full decision can be read here.

RNAO was represented by Katie Black and Lucie Atangana, with the assistance of Babacar Faye. The intervener's factum can be found here.

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) is the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario. Since 1925, RNAO has advocated for healthy public policy, promoted excellence in nursing practice, increased nurses' contribution to shaping the health system, and influenced decisions that affect nurses and the public we serve. For more information about RNAO, visit RNAO.ca or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

RNAO's Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) Program is funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health. It was envisioned by CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun in 1998 and launched in 1999 to provide the best available evidence for people's care across all health sectors and settings, with more than 50 guidelines developed to date. The Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®) program supports service and academic institutions that have formally agreed to implement multiple RNAO BPGs over a three-year period, and evaluate their impact on patients, organizations and health systems. Launched in 2003, the BPSO program now has more than 1,500 BPSOs in Ontario, Canada and internationally.

SOURCE Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario

For more information, please contact: Marion Zych, Director of Communications, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), 1-800-268-7199 ext. 209, 416-408-5605, 647-406-5605 (cell), [e-mail]; Victoria Alarcon, Communications Officer/Writer, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), 1-800-268-7199 ext. 211, 416-408-5610, [e-mail]