A/HRC/41/42/Add.1 initiative for the establishment of a “Femicide watch” worldwide (A/71/398). She also welcomes the establishment, in 2017, by the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence at the University of Guelph, of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability in Ontario, which tracks femicides and documents social and State responses, somewhat in line with the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur. 14 41. While domestic violence death review committees are also important mechanisms, they do not apply in their work the human rights framework necessary for the prevention of femicides. 42. Comprehensive data collection and analysis of cases of femicide and gender-based violence, in line with the modalities recommended by the Special Rapporteur, will allow for international and cross-jurisdictional comparisons and the determination of shortcomings as a basis for the prevention violence against women. 1. Provision of shelters and adequate housing 43. There are a significant number of women’s shelters in Canada. According to 2017– 2018 data, there were 552 residential facilities for victims of abuse nationwide. 15 Most have a long history, such as the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, created in 1977, the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale in Quebec and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. In 2012, those associations created the Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters and Transition Houses, a provincial and territorial organization also known as Women’s Shelters Canada.16 44. The operations of shelters are linked for the most part to provincial policies and governments. Although the current number of shelters may appear impressive, Canada is a vast country and a significant percentage of shelters often lack capacity and services, resulting in hundreds of women being turned away on a daily basis with no other place to go, a situation that is made worse owing to the housing crisis affecting the country, which has made houses unavailable or unaffordable. Owing to the lack of adequate services to welcome women victims of violence with their children, women, especially indigenous women, are also concerned about losing custody of their children when seeking protection. Of the 215 shelters that responded to the 2018 “Shelter voices” survey, 17 47 per cent declared that they had no space available, which resulted in 75 per cent of requests for residential services not being accommodated. The service providers unanimously denounced the dire shortage of shelters and a general lack of funding and affordable public housing, including transitional housing and second-stage accommodation and rehabilitation services, such as employment opportunities. The extent of services available in urban areas is much greater than in rural areas, notwithstanding the fact that, in rural areas, the rates of violence against women are among the highest in Canada, and too often the services provided are limited to safe space without specific programmes aimed at empowering women. Public funds are often distributed on a per capita basis, which greatly disadvantages rural and isolated communities. There are only three women’s shelters in the Yukon and five residential facilities for victims of abuse each in the Northwest Territories and in Nunavut, further exacerbating the geographical isolation of women from indigenous communities. Many of these shelters are small and accessible only by air or ice roads, and the lack and cost of transportation increases the cost of services. 45. Of the 552 shelters for victims of abuse operating in Canada in 2017–2018, just 6 per cent served women and children in indigenous communities. The high rates of violence and the small size of communities make community-based shelters extremely important for 14 15 16 17 8 See https://femicideincanada.ca/sites/default/files/2018-09/CFOJA%20FINAL%20REPORT %20ENG%20V3.pdf. See www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00007-eng.htm. See also Government of Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, “Shelter Capacity Report 2016”. See Margo Goodhand, Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists (Fernwood Publihsing, 2017). See also www.sheltersafe.ca. See https://endvaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/shelterVoices_ENG_2018_WEB.pdf.