Victim Services’ Implementation of Mobile Tracking Systems for Victims of High-Risk Gender-Based Violence Cases in Ontario

Abstract

Since 2012, Ontario Victim Services providers have been a leading force in implementing Mobile Tracking Systems, a technological device some victim advocates and law enforcement officials believe will reduce risks in gender-based violence cases. The Mobile Tracking System resembles a small pager-like device that clients carry at all times. When activated in a high-risk gender-based violence emergency, the device aims to facilitate timely law enforcement assistance by emitting a GPS tracking signal and alerting first responders to a ‘Priority 1’ call. Mobile Tracking Systems have undergone a rapid increase in attention by the media, government, service providers, and wider public as the devices are perceived to be a safety-enabling technology for gender-based violence cases. Mounting calls to fund such technologies have emerged in light of pandemic safety measures and during a 2022 Coroner’s Inquest held to investigate a triple femicide in Renfrew County, Ontario. In this Inquest, the Jury recommended that Mobile Tracking System technologies be funded by the Government of Ontario, while recently in Quebec, 41 million dollars was invested into GPS tracking technologies for gender-based violence cases. Despite gaining substantial traction in public and media discourse, Mobile Tracking Systems have been underrepresented in scholarly literature. To respond to this gap, this thesis employs qualitative methods to examine Mobile Tracking Systems in the context of gender-based violence cases in Ontario. In particular, through the examination of 91 textual documents and 10 semi-structured interviews with service providers involved in case referral and the administration of Mobile Tracking Systems, this study traces the history, development, and use of Mobile Tracking System devices in the context of gender-based violence cases in Ontario, and investigates the impact of panic button alarms on criminal justice responses to gender-based violence. To examine Mobile Tracking Systems, this thesis draws on relevant theoretical frameworks in the fields of Science and Technology Studies and critical perspectives on law and criminal justice. By tracing the development of panic button alarms to their current use in Ontario, this thesis reveals a shift toward pro-carceral safety measures that embrace technology as a perceived tool to reduce gender-based violence. As this thesis details, approaching safety work in this manner not only reflects, but also perpetuates particular assumptions about victims that pressure them to align their behaviour with the goals of the criminal legal system. The thesis argues that designing and administering a technological tool for victims of gender-based violence that centers the criminal legal system has direct impacts on victims when seeking support. The findings of this project have implications for Ontario Victim Services providers, police services in Ontario, and other agencies that support victims of gender-based violence cases, as they draw attention to how the implementation of panic button alarms as a perceived safety-enabling technology directly impact victims accessing support services for gender-based violence cases. Finally, the study’s findings can inform policy and practice related to the GPS tracking technologies in the context of mounting calls to fund panic button alarm technologies in Ontario.