The Virtual Legal Clinic serves women in rural and remote communities of Ontario. Foundation grants and lawyers providing freely of their time have allowed Luke’s Place to continue to offer this unique service to isolated women who have been subjected to abuse in their relationships.
The Virtual Legal Clinic uses video-conferencing to connect women in low population areas to family law lawyers based elsewhere.
Workers in Ontario’s shelters for women and children fleeing abuse have been providing support to women involved with family court for decades. Occasionally funded through short-term grants, sometimes with resources provided by community fund-raising and often just tacked on to an already-lengthy list of responsibilities, this support has made an enormous difference for women who access shelter services.
On November 22, 2018, Luke’s Place testified as a witness before the Standing Committee on Bill C-78, An Act to amend the Divorce Act.
In collaboration with the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), Luke’s Place prepared a Joint Brief and Discussion Paper.
The Bill C-78 hearing
Luke’s Place and NAWL have submitted a Joint Brief on Bill C-78 and will testify as witnesses before the Standing Committee in Ottawa on Wednesday November 22 at 5:30.
Our brief was endorsed by over 40 organizations, some of which will be heard by the Committee today.
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 confront the woman or court decisions that require ongoing contact between the ex-partners.
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 that decisions made reflect the best interests of the children,
Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, talks with Sarah Boesveld, senior writer of Chatelaine, in a podcast about femicide.
There’s been an increasing focus on violence against women in recent years, but that hasn’t resulted in a drop in the number of murders. What factors are at play and why hasn’t all our talk about awareness done anything?
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.
Fifteen women, their mothers and their children have been killed in Ontario by intimate partners or family members since January 2018.
This is more than the yearly average.
Holly Hamilton, 29, Hamilton
Baljit Thandi, 32, Brampton
Avtar Kaur, 60, Brampton
Elaine Bellevue, 61, Mississauga
Jan Singh, 70, Oakville
Barbara Kovic,
To maintain their control, abusers often seek shared custody of the children when the relationship ends.
Today’s Parent interviewed Luke’s Place Legal Director, Pamela Cross, and other Canadian experts on ways to co-parent with an abusive-ex-partner.
These include:
Making a safety plan
Creating a safe child exchange
Avoid contact with the abuser
Don’t take the bait
Focus on self-care
Parent separately
Document everything
