Grievance-based violence

Grievance-Based Violence (GBV) is a term in security planning that describes violent acts committed by an individual (or a group of individuals), against another individual(s), which are specifically motivated by a grievance. Motivation for GBV incidents stands apart from other types of criminal behavior motives, such as personal gain. The term's importance is in affecting significant change in applied safety and security measures.
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Application
GBV is a practical term that serves security planners in defending people from grievance-based offenders. It does not purport to preemptively prevent an attack by addressing a perpetrator's grievance, nor does it seek to discern a specific cause for the grievance (e.g. religious or political ideology, terrorism, personal grudges against a person, group, or institution, etc.). Rather, it identifies certain elements of society that are more likely to become targets of GBV, and attempts to prepare their protective measures accordingly.
Use in Canada
In 2020 the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling concerning the duty of care owed by the City of Calgary to an individual who was assaulted in or around the city's light rail system. The Alberta Court of Appeal accepted expert testimony that defined the attack as a Grievance-Based Violence incident, and therefore almost impossible to predict in the relevant circumstances. While still holding the city liable for failure to detect the assault and respond to it in a timely manner, the court emphasized that preventing the attack altogether was virtually impossible. The court further determined that traditional CPTED security measures such as lighting and design consideration would have done little to prevent such an occurrence.

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