Posts Tagged ‘coercive control’
A panel discussion: Criminalization of coercive control in Canada
The creation of a new coercive control offence in the Canadian Criminal Code is being explored following the tabling of two private member’s bills as well as the consideration of information and testimony shared during the study by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on controlling or coercive conduct…
Read morePolicy brief on the criminalization of coercive control for the Canadian Women’s Foundation
LEAF and Luke’s Place assisted in the preparation of a policy brief for Canadian Women’s Foundation on the criminalization of coercive control. The policy brief discusses the unintended consequences that may flow from criminalization, particularly for women from marginalized communities. Luke’s Place provided input on the impact of criminalization on women in the family law system.
Read moreWritten submission on criminalizing coercive control
Coercive control appeared in the revised Divorce Act as part of the definition of family violence, requiring courts to consider it when making any decisions related to children and parenting. Since then, there have been discussions at the federal level about making coercive control a criminal offence. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and…
Read moreOral submissions on criminalizing coercive control
Luke’s Place has been closely following the issue of criminalizing coercive control in Canada. The federal government, along with its provincial and territorial partners, is currently conducting virtual panel discussions to receive feedback on this important issue. On September 28, 2023, Luke’s Place Legal Director, Emily Murray, participated in one of the virtual panels to…
Read moreLuke’s Place Position – Criminalization of Coercive Control
While our work at Luke’s Place is focused on the family law needs and experiences of women who have left relationships in which they were subjected to abuse, we are well aware that other legal systems intersect with family law. For this reason, we have been paying close attention to the issue of whether or…
Read moreWhat is coercive control?
The complex nuances of violence against women are poorly understood. Other forms of abuse such as psychological, financial and coercive control are often disregarded and seen as less serious. People readily understand that physical violence is a form of intimate partner abuse and is wrong, but other forms of abuse such as psychological, financial and…
Read moreMaking new law: Damages for abuse
I don’t often read a family court decision that makes me jump for joy, but a recent decision by Justice Renu Mandhane of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice did just that. In this case, Justice Mandhane recognizes a new tort of family violence and awards the wife $150,000 in damages for the pattern of physical and…
Read moreCoercive 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 and parenting coordination
Making appropriate parenting arrangements when there has been a history of family violence can be challenging but, for many families, that is just the first step: once an agreement or court order is in place, the parents must then find ways to make it work, sometimes for many years. This is not easy, as many…
Read moreShould Canada criminalize coercive controlling behaviour?
As Crystal Giesbrecht recently wrote in The Lawyer’s Daily, coercive control in situations of intimate partner abuse is often unidentified or misunderstood. While, as she noted, coercive control is not a criminal offence in Canada, that could change if MP Randall Garrison has his way. Last fall, he introduced a private member’s bill – Bill…
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