Judicial education on intimate partner violence
Bill C-233 is moving to Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday, April 29, 2022. A central component of this Bill involves judicial education on the issue of intimate partner violence. Known as Keira’s Law, this aspect of the Bill honours Keira Kagan, a four-year old girl killed by her father in an apparent murder-suicide in February 2020. Keira’s mother and father had been involved in the family court system where her mother raised issues of intimate partner violence. Despite these allegations, Keira’s father was awarded extensive parenting time with her.
There have been some positive steps forward in the family law system related to issues of intimate partner violence. Changes to the Divorce Act in March 2021 included the addition of a comprehensive and detailed definition of “family violence” and a requirement for this violence to be considered when making decisions in the best interests of the child (learn more via a recent webinar by Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross). This expansive definition requires courts to consider violence that goes beyond physical to include patterns of coercive control when deciding what parenting arrangements will be best for a child post-separation. Coercive control is a serious form of intimate partner violence that is often overlooked and misunderstood in the legal system, despite being incredibly harmful for women and children.
Despite these positive changes to the legislation, we are continuing to see legal decisions that show a lack of understanding for the issue of intimate partner violence and, in the result, are placing women and children at risk of further harm. Changes to legislation are only as good as their judicial application and interpretation. Education is needed for all judges across Canada who are tasked with making decisions in family law proceedings. This education must include detailed information on the nature of intimate partner violence and the serious risk of harm both before and after separation to women and children. Without this education, we can expect to continue seeing legal decisions that put women and children at risk of harm.
Luke’s Place is calling on all Members of Parliament to support Bill C-233 at the Second Reading on Friday. If passed, we welcome the opportunity to make more formal submissions at the Committee stage about the importance of Keira’s Law and suggest ways to make the wording of this Bill even stronger.