Research
Coercive control: Should it be criminalized?
Coercive control is now included in the definition of family violence in both the federal Divorce Act and Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act. This important step makes clear the significance of non-physical abuse in intimate relationships. Many women describe this type of abuse as being worse than physical abuse because it is hard to make people understand how…
Read moreFamily violence HELP for family law legal advisors
Identifying the presence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a new family law file has never been easy for lawyers, but help has arrived in an important new tool recently released by Justice Canada. The HELP Toolkit: Identifying and Responding to Family Violence for Family Law Legal Advisors became available in early January, after several…
Read moreFamily violence screening: What you don’t know can hurt you
Not every survivor of family violence walks into her lawyer’s office with a broken arm or black eye. Even when there is physical abuse, few clients readily open up about this with their lawyer. Identifying the subtler forms of abuse is even more challenging. Coercive controlling behaviours, including emotional and psychological abuse and financial control,…
Read moreOntario Family Court Watch: An invitation to organizations
The problem When a woman leaves an abusive relationship, family court outcomes can play a key role in improving the safety and quality of her life and that of her children. However, the family law system can also increase risk with — as examples — processes that allow abusive individuals to manipulate the system or…
Read moreFamily violence is relevant in family law processes
A new report published by the Department of Justice Canada describes what many of us already know about family violence and family law processes: In a family law context, violence, abuse and neglect within families can have wide ranging, long-term effects. Family and criminal courts may offer contrary rulings that confuse and frustrate matters and…
Read moreWhat you don’t know can hurt you: The importance of family violence screening tools for family law practitioners
Our new report on family violence screening tools for lawyers and other family law practitioners is now available from the Department of Justice Canada. Family law lawyers are often the first point of contact for those entering the family justice system. They need to be aware of any abuse history as early as possible so…
Read moreThe importance of family violence screening tools for family law practitioners
Since 2003, Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee consistently finds that a history of domestic violence and pending or recent separation are the first and second highest risk factors for lethality in domestic homicides. Yet there is no universal family violence screening tool for Canadian family law practitioners. Family law lawyers are often the first…
Read moreFamily violence screening tools for family law practitioners
Update: This report on family violence screening is now available on the Department of Justice website. We are excited to announce that Luke’s Place has recently completed a research project with funding from the federal Department of Justice that looks at family violence screening tools for family law practitioners. Many women are uncomfortable disclosing abuse…
Read morePost Separation Power and Control Wheel
The Power and Control Wheel of domestic violence is a very well-known and used tool developed in Duluth, Minnesota, by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project (DAIP). It reflects the experiences of women who have been battered by their male partners. Now translated into more than 40 languages the Wheel is used around the world by…
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