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Understanding Family Violence in Family Court Proceedings

Understanding Family Violence in Family Court Proceedings

Providing Effective Responses for Victims, Children, and Perpetrators

Edited by Nicholas Bala, Peter Jaffe, Katreena Scott and Lisa Heslop

Published by: University of Toronto Press

Imprint: Irwin Law

280 Pages, 152.00 × 229.00 × 20.00 mm

Paperback
9781487567842
Published: August 2025

£28.99

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Description
Contents
Authors

Understanding Family Violence in Family Court Proceedings addresses the growing recognition in Canadian legislation and case law of the need to more effectively address intimate partner violence in family court, with a focus on protecting the safety, well-being, and economic interests of victims and their children post-separation, while also including essential material for professionals working with those who commit family violence.

Written by a team of interdisciplinary experts, the book explores various forms of abuse and coercive control, ongoing harassment and emotional abuse after separation, the use of litigation as a tool of abuse, and family violence issues related to parenting and economic matters in post-separation family court cases. Contributors include leading practitioners, scholars in family law and domestic violence, and retired judges, with a foreword by former Chief Justice of Canada, Beverly McLachlin. Offering invaluable insights and practical guidance, Understanding Family Violence in Family Court Proceedings is essential reading for experienced family lawyers, judges, and other professionals, while also providing foundational knowledge for students entering the family justice field or working with survivors of family violence. The book also offers critical perspectives that will make it a valuable addition to gender or feminist studies courses.

Foreword
Beverley McLachlin

Preface
Nicholas Bala, Peter Jaffe, Katreena Scott, and Lisa Heslop

1. Recognizing the Impact of Family Violence Cases on Parents and Children: Translating Legal Reforms into Practice
Peter G. Bala, Nicholas Bala, Katreena L. Scott, Archana Medhekar, and Casey Oliver

2. Coercive Control and Family Court in an Intersectional Context
Katreena L. Scott, Archana Medhekar, Pamela Cross, and Deepa Mattoo

3. Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Accessing Justice
Emily Murray, Amanda Pierce, Marion Overholt, Brittney Taylor, Phebe Quaye, and Shelly Gilbert

4. Lessons from the Trenches: Representing Survivor Clients
Leighann Burns

5. Understanding Family Violence in Family Court Proceedings: Providing Effective Responses for Victims, Children, and Perpetrators
Rachel Birnbaum and Nicholas Bala

6. Toronto’s Integrated Domestic Violence Court: An Innovative Process to Get Family Violence Cases Out of Silos
Rachel Birnbaum and Nicholas Bala

7. Children’s Rights and Voices: Critical Issues for Family Court Proceedings
Caterina Tempesta, Ellen Murray, and Mary Birdsell

8. Getting Scientific Knowledge about Family Violence into the Family Court Process: Judicial Education, Judicial Notice, and Expert Evidence
Nicholas Bala, Rui Alves, and Brittany Chaput

9. Money and Family Violence
Joanna Radbord

10. Monetary Awards for Family Violence
Mary-Jo Maur

11. Representation without Escalation: A Conceptional Framework for the Client in a Family Law Matter Who Has Used Family Violence
Brian J. Burke and Nicholas Bala

12. Future Directions
Nicholas Bala, Peter Jaffe, Katreena Scott, and Lisa Heslop

Table of Cases and Statutes
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
About the Editors

Nicholas Bala is W.R. Lederman Distinguished University Professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University, specializing in family and children’s law.

Peter Jaffe is a psychologist, professor emeritus, and a founding director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children at Western University.

Katreena Scott is the academic director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children at Western University.

Lisa Heslop is a research partner at the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children at Western University.