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From Awareness to Action
There have been repeated calls for greater public awareness on family violence, as well as better professional training, more resources, and enhanced collaboration between the justice system and community service providers. While considerable work has been done to help family law professionals identify family violence and assess risk, this awareness has not yet been matched with a high level of training on how to go from identifying family violence to understanding its’ impact on survivors and their children and creating and supporting appropriate parenting plans in the context of family violence.
This project, funded by the Department of Justice Canada, supports the continuation of five regional Communities of Practice through the Alliance of Canadian Research Centres on Gender-Based Violence. These Communities of Practice are comprised of survivors of family violence and representatives from the gender-based violence (GBV), health, and family law sectors, and work together to:
- Enhance training opportunities for GBV specialists and Family law specialists to support trauma-informed practice.
- Promote standardized screening tools to enhance the substantive and procedural decision- and recommendation-making by multidisciplinary family law professionals involved in family violence-related child custody matters (including judges, lawyers, and assessors).
- To create a standardized guide for parenting plans where there has been family violence.
The work of Awareness to Action builds on the PHAC grant Supporting the Health of Survivors of Family Violence in Family Law Proceedings.
RESOURCES & WEBINARS
Criminalizing Coercive Control: Recent Developments
Sep. 26, 2024 | 12:00pm - 1:00 pm EST
Domestic violence is a scourge well known to legal circles, but the challenges in tackling it remain numerous. Recently, the concept of coercive control has been used in several countries to try to improve the scope of criminal law in this area. Canada is part of this trend, with a bill relating to coercive control currently under study. The presentation will focus on this criminalization effort by addressing four aspects: 1) the definition of coercive control, 2) international criminalization, 3) Canadian Bill C-322, 4) issues relating to criminalization and the preliminary fallout from the United Kingdom.
Navigating Safety and Risk: Intersectional Considerations in Family Law Cases Involving Gender-Based Violence and International Connections
Nov. 7, 2024 - 2024 | 1:00 PM EST
Family law cases involving international connections are increasingly complex, especially when gender-based violence is a factor. This webinar will address the unique challenges faced by families with ties abroad and the impact on parenting arrangements and custody decisions. We will explore how gender-based violence intersects with international family law issues, including Hague and non-Hague Convention cases, and discuss strategies for creating safe and inclusive parenting plans.
