Research Publications

NNST L’origine Herstoric (French)

L’origine herstoric du réseau “NNST” – Une approche hertorique rendant hommage aux

Fact Sheet 2026

NNST A Origem Herstoric (Portuguese)

A origem herstoric da rede “NNST” – Uma abordagem herstoric que homenageia as mulheres

Fact Sheet 2026

NNST El Origen Herstoric (Spanish)

El origen herstoric de la red “NNST” – Un enfoque histórico que rinde homenaje a las mujeres

Fact Sheet 2026

NNST Questions Answered

NNST planning and discussion

Fact Sheet 2026

NNST Fact Sheet

Network against Non-State Torture description & goals

Fact Sheet 2026

Non-State Torture Victimization: African Women's Voices who are Migrants or Refugees in Paris, France

African women in Paris report instances of NST, with Adama-Sira Le Blay.

Paper 2026

FEMMES DÉMUSELÉES Nous refusons de baisser les bras devant les tortionnaires-trafiquants

French version of Women Unsilenced. Translation by Ann Leduc. 5.4MB

Women Unsilenced

Book 2025

Infosheet: Amend the Criminal Code to Criminalize Torture by Non-State Actors as Section 269.2 Torture

Canadian criminal code recommendations.

Government Submission 2025

The UNITED Event: "Unifying Nationally to Interrupt Trafficking and Exploitation Demand"

Commemoration of the Ottawa Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA)

Fact Sheet 2025

De Facto and De Jure Discrimination Suppresses Non-State Torture Victimizations of Women and Girls

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls

UN Submission 2025

Enforced Disappearances and the Non-State Torture of Women and Girls: In Canada and Beyond

Submitted on behalf of the National Council of Women of Canada

UN Submission 2025

On Women’s Health: Mental Health

Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health

Government Submission 2024

Non-State Torturers’ Tactic of Coercive Control

Brief to Standing Committee Study of Bill C-332: An ACT to amend the
Criminal Code (coercive control of intimate partner)

Government Submission 2024

Stop Non-State Torture: A Victim Centered Approach

A companion paper to Stop Non-State Torture: Enforcing Human Rights for Everyone. Shares women and girls NST victimizations.

Paper 2024

Beijing+30 Platform for Action

Violence against women is included as 1 of 12 critical areas of concern in the United Nations Platform for Action. We advocate for the global recognition that non-State torture victimization is violence against women.

Fact Sheet 2024

Non-State Torture Victimization is Committed Against Women in Prostitution

Fact Sheet 2024

Strangulation, Suffocation, Choking: Women and Girls Fear, “Will I Die Now?”

Fact Sheet 2024

Brief On Women's Mental Health

Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health

Government Submission 2024

Are There Community Dangers Relating to “Adult Entertainment"?

In response to challenging our town not to let massage parlours and strip clubs in

Fact Sheet 2023

Prostitution and Violence Against Women and Girls that Manifests as Non-State Torture in Canada

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls

UN Submission 2023

Stop Non-state Torture: Enforcing Human Rights for Everyone

A global review of the countries that have not included NST in their criminal codes as a distinct torture crime. Companion paper: Stop Non-State Torture: A Victim-Centred Approach

Paper 2023

Femicide: The Misogynistic Killing of Women and Girls

Fact Sheet 2022

Good Practices in National Criminalization, Investigation, Prosecution and Sentencing for Offences of Torture

A submission to the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

UN Submission 2022

A Feminist Analysis: Transforming an Understanding of Cultural Patriarchy, Misogyny, and Red Flag Warnings of Violent Men’s Non-State Torture of Nova Scotian Women

A submission to Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission concerning the 18- 19 April, 2020 mass casualty violence, specifically addressing intimate partner, gender-based, and family violence to provide meaningful recommendations to keep women and communities safe in the future.

Government Submission 2022

Non-State Actor Torture and Sexualized Human Trafficking Victimizations Perpetrated and Organized by Family and Non-Family Perpetrators Against Women and Women when Children: Canada

A response to Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health Questionnaire: “VIOLENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE RIGHT TO HEALTH”

UN Submission 2022

Non-State Torture Crimes: The Most Underreported Global Human Rights Crime Perpetrated against Women and Girls—A Canadian Perspective

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

UN Submission 2022

The Patriarchal “Non-State Torture War” Against Women and Girls

For FiLiA NGO, UK.

Media Article 2021

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Continuing Need for a Feminist Analysis in the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting Inquiry

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

What is a Feminist Analysis and Why do we need one as Part of the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting Inquiry?

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

A Feminist Analysis: Intersectionalities of the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting Atrocity

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

Femicide and Misogyny: Addressing these Feminist Concerns in the Mass Shooting Public Independent Inquiry

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

Actions of Human Evil – On the Nova Scotia Mass Shooter and Others Like Him

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

We Can Do This! Eliminating Systematic Sexism, Misogyny, Men’s Violence and Femicide

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

What’s a misogynist? It’s the Choice to Be a Hater of Women!

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

Warning Signs Dismissed–From Misogyny to Femicide

Op-Ed relating to the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission

The Nova Scotia Advocate

Media Article 2020

Having Non-State Torture Recognized by the UN and Member States as an Infringement of Women’s Human Rights Is Imperative

Canadian Woman Studies
Volume 33, Numbers 1,2 pp.143-155

Journal Article 2020

Our Canadian Experience in Relationship with our Government

Submission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on “effective methods to foster cooperation between local government and local stakeholders for the effective promotion and protection of human rights”

UN Submission 2019

Suicidal-Femicide Conditioning: A Tactic of Family-Based Non-State Torturers and Traffickers of A Daughter

Exposing family-based torturers’ method of forced conditioning of daughters to practice committing suicide if ever they disclose.

Femicide
Volume X

Journal Article 2018

Non-State Torture (NST) Wheel

Developed by Persons Against Non-State Torture in conjunction with the London Abused Women's Centre.

Fact Sheet 2018

Gender Perspectives on Torture: Law and Practice

We have co-authored with Jackie Jones a chapter in this book entitled, How Non-State Torture is Gendered and Invisibilized: Canada's Non-Compliance with the Committee Against Torture's Recommendations, which starts on page 33.

American University Washington College of Law
Gender Perspectives of Torture: Law and Practice

Book 2018

No Longer Invisible: Families that Torture, Traffic, and Exploit their Girl Child

This paper discusses non-State torture (NST) families that organize the sexualized trafficking and exploitation of their gril child to their network of like-minded individuals and groups. Also includes a brief testimony of Elizabeth's "My Story", who survived NST.

Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Vol. 8, No. 1

Journal Article 2018

Non-State Torture & Sustainable Development Goals

Fact Sheet 2017

No Longer Invisible: Families that Torture, Traffic, and Exploit their Girl Child

This paper discusses non-State torture (NST) families that organize the sexualized trafficking and exploitation of their girl child to a network of like-minded individuals and groups. It includes a brief testimony Elizabeth's 'My Story' by a woman who has survived NST.

SSRN

Journal Article 2017

Non-State torture: A response to Ibrahim Kira's "a critical outlook at torture ..."

The Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict & Violence

Journal Article 2017

Non-State Torture & Sustainable Development Goals

Gender equality by 2030 in UN Sustainable Development Goals

Fact Sheet 2017

Non-State Torture Wheel Fact Sheet (NST)

Fact Sheet 2016

Seeking equality—Justice and women’s and girls’ human right not to be subjected to non-state torture

You can purchase chapters separately at the link above.

Palgrave MacMillan
Women, law and culture Conformity, contradiction and conflict
263-281

Book 2016

Fact sheet: Torture in the Private Sphere

Fact Sheet 2016

Feminist Statement on the CSW

On the CSW, UN Women, Human Rights & Non-state Torture (NST) of women & girls

UN Submission 2015

Non-State Torture Inflicted in Prostitution

Pamphlet 2015

Torture Victimization—Child to Adult: Flashbacks and Connection with First Responders

Family and Intimate Partner Violence
Vol 06, Num 03, Winter 2014, pp.47-56(10)

Journal Article 2014

Sexualized Torture & Human Trafficking

Pamphlet 2013

Fact Sheet: Torture in the Home

Fact Sheet 2012

Spillover Torture from the Military/Warring Sphere: Making Visible a Silenced Human Rights Violation and Victimized Persons' 'body talk'

Paper presented at the Canadian Peace Research Assoc. (CPRA) Conference, St Thomas University, Fredericton, NB. Canada.

Paper 2011

Sexualized Torture in the Domestic/Private Sphere and 'Body Talk': A Human Rights and Relational Feminist Paradigm.

Paper presented at Middlesex University Hendon campus at the Sexual Violence Conference. A focus on "body talk" explained how the body remembers victimization ordeals.

Paper 2011

Non-State Torture — Specifically Sexualized Non-State Torture — Inflicted in the Private/Domestic Sphere against Girls / Women: An Emerging “Harmful Practice”

We called upon the Joint CEDAW and CRC Committee to take action in their proposed development of a Joint General Recommendation/Comment by addressing that non-State torture perpetrated in the domestic or private sphere is a harmful practice inflicted against women and girls.

UN Submission 2011

Canada: Non-State Torture (NST) girls and guns

Article on guns and other weapons used by non-State torturers.

IANSA Women's Network Bulletin
No. 26, page 3

Journal Article 2011

Due Diligence Obligations:

Non-State Torture of Women/Girls in the Private Sphere—A Canadian and Multi-Country Perspective. UN report submission.

UN Submission 2011

Defining Torture by Non-State Actors in the Canadian Private Sphere

Includes a brief woman's story about organized captivity, torture, trafficking and prostitution by her husband and his three friends.

Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture
First Light
Winter, 29-33

Journal Article 2009

Torturing by Non-State Actors Invisibilized, A Patriarchal Divide and Spillover Violence from the Military Sphere into the Domestic Sphere

Introducing our model of how patriarchy divides the human right of all persons not to be subjected to torture.

Peace Studies Journal
2(2), pp.16-38

Journal Article 2009

Our knowledge is that non-State torture family operators engage in complex criminal activities. Forced drugging, forced pornographic exploitation, human trafficking to like-minded perpetrators, and forced mental and physical conditioning.