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Infographic: Unite to End Violence against Women

Last modified: December 4, 2015

infographic-violence-against-women-FINAL-EN-2048


Infographic: Unite to End Violence against Women

Infographic: Unite to End Violence against Women

From Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women, to Dec. 10, Human Rights Day, the
16 Days Campaign is a time to inspire action to end violence
against women and girls around the world.

    • 83% of spousal violence victims are women
    • Forms of violence:
      • emotional abuse
      • financial abuse
      • psychological abuse
      • sexual abuse
      • physical abuse
    • Intimate partner abuse can include:
      • Hitting
      • Pushing
      • Insults
      • Slapping
      • Put-downs
      • Repeated phone calls
      • Threats to harm you
      • Unwanted visits to your home
    • At the point of separation or impending separation from her partner, a woman is most at risk of harm, violence or death
    • 35% of women and girls globally
      experience some form of
      physical and/or sexual
      violence in their lifetime
    • 25% of violent crime victims in Canada were victimized by a family member
    • Costs and consequences of violence against women last for generations
    • 3 times more likely for women to report being beaten, choked, sexually assaulted or threatened with a gun or knife by their partner or ex-partner
    • 2 times more likely for women to say they did not want anyone to find out
    • 6 times more likely for women to say the incident was not reported out of fear of their spouse

Need a lawyer? Call Legal Aid Ontario

      • 9,289 Family legal aid certificates issued to domestic violence clients in 2014/15

Legal Aid Ontario offers a variety of legal services and is committed to helping people who are experiencing domestic violence. Call us toll-free at 1-800-668-8258 to find out how we can help.

Legalaid.on.ca/dvs

Legalaid.on.ca/domesticviolence

Sources

 

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Dispelling the myth about gender and domestic violence

Content Warning: This post includes descriptions of violence.
Last modified: November 3, 2015

LAO began developing its Domestic Violence Strategy by looking at our services through the lens of a client who has experienced or is experiencing domestic violence. This is one in a series of posts exploring the legal needs of domestic violence clients.

Late last year, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) started mandatory domestic violence awareness training to provide staff with a baseline understanding of what potential warning signs are and to be careful with legal advice so that clients aren’t put into further danger.

Expanding domestic violence awareness training for our staff

We enlisted the help of Luke’s Place, a centre devoted to improving the safety and experience of abused women and their children as they proceed through the family law process. We brought in Pamela Cross, a respected lawyer known for her expertise on family law issues and how they relate to violence against women, to lead these training sessions.

In training our staff, we were looking to provide them with a baseline understanding of potential warning signs.

A common myth

There were a lot of discussions during our training session between staff about the myths and assumptions that people make about victims and abusers. One of the most common myths is that it’s “easy” to spot what a domestic violence victim looks like.

Too often, some of us would automatically describe a client as being female. We’d also likely think of her as being cisgender—having her gender identification coincide with the sex she was assigned at birth. But the intersections of gender and domestic violence are more complex than this.

While approximately 90 per cent of LAO clients who identify as experiencing domestic violence are women, LAO provides services to people of all genders. It’s clear that people of all genders may be victimized by their partner in a same-sex relationship and that men may also be victimized by women partners. People of all genders can experience domestic violence; and people of all genders can inflict it.

What we need to remember

Domestic violence is a broad term used to describe abuse that happens within a family. Most people automatically associate domestic violence with intimate partner abuse, but other types of domestic violence can include child abuse, elder abuse and abuse in a caregiving relationship. Domestic violence can include physical abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, stalking and domestic murder.

And while there are many types of domestic violence, the fact remains that women are more likely than men to experience the most severe forms of abuse.

In a 1999 Statistics Canada report, it was noted that “…the violence women suffer tends to be more severe in nature (e.g. beaten, choked, sexually assaulted) and repeated [and that] as a result of experiencing spousal abuse, women are three times more likely to be injured, five times more likely to seek medical attention and five times more likely to fear for their lives than men.”

83% of all police-reported domestic assaults are against women – and this pattern is consistent for every province and territory across the country. It’s also important to note that about half of all female murder victims in Canada are killed by a former or current intimate partner. In comparison, 7 per cent of male murder victims were killed by intimate partners.

While statistics about transgender people and their experiences of domestic violence in Canada are more difficult to come by, transgender people are also victims of domestic violence. Moreover, transgender victims of domestic violence seeking support may be turned away from shelters that serve the gender they identify as, and often face other barriers to accessing gender-appropriate support services.

When it comes to supporting domestic violence clients in the criminal justice system, it was only this year that Ontario made an official policy to recognize gender identity and expression in provincial correctional facilities. This is not yet a reality throughout Canada.

How you can help us enhance our services

In our consultation paper, Development of a Domestic Violence Strategy, we acknowledge that our focus in the paper is on intimate partner violence. But, we make it clear that gender-based analysis is needed to properly identify the different risks that men and women face.

This is why the consultation process is so important: we need the input of survivors and people working on the frontlines to help victims. We want to hear about your experiences so we can develop a strategy to expand and improve legal aid services.

We welcome all questions and feedback. Please write to us at dvs@lao.on.ca.

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Supporting access to justice for Aboriginal women dealing with violence

Last modified: October 5, 2015

By Ann Decter (image source)

YWCA Canada created the VAW Legal Information Resource in 2014 based on a two-year training project called “Building Service Capacity: Supporting Access to Justice for Aboriginal Women Dealing with Violence.” The training project was aimed at providing legal support training for women’s shelter and outreach service staff who were serving a high number of First Nation, Métis or Inuit women dealing with violence.

Legal Aid Ontario reached out to Ann Decter, YWCA Canada’s Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, to learn more about this online resource.

Why did the YWCA decide the Building Service Capacity workshops were necessary?

Our policy research on violence and women’s safety (Life Beyond Shelter, 2009) identified the legal environment as a key area impacting women seeking to leave violence behind and establish safe lives in the community.

Creating Women’s Advocates in shelters – that is, a staff person who supports a woman throughout her entire journey from arriving at the shelter to living safely in community – was also strongly recommended in that research. In the Building Service Capacity project, we aimed to address both issues by improving violence support service workers’ understanding of how the law impacts the women they serve.

When our Member Associations reported that First Nation, Métis and Inuit women in rural and remote areas experienced the most compromised access to justice, we focused Building Service Capacity workshops on 10 communities where the majority of women (65 per cent or more) served by YWCA violence support programs were First Nation, Métis and Inuit women.

Why was it important to include a section on understanding the First Nation, Métis and Inuit context?

With a primary goal of improving access to justice for First Nation, Métis and Inuit women, the workshops needed to be culturally and locally appropriate, and contextualized in colonial histories and continuing legacies.

Although the workshops could not provide full cultural competency training, they were designed to be locally relevant – generally an Elder opened the session, for example, and a local presenter discussed the local context – and to equip participants with a basic understanding of the context in which First Nation, Métis and Inuit women live.

This was the one area of the workshops where participants’ responses were divided. Non-Indigenous participants reported that setting a historical context was very helpful and useful; for First Nation, Métis and Inuit participants it was redundant.

Why was it important to share this information as an online resource?

We wanted the information developed for the workshops to be easily accessible and widely available.

The project confirmed to us that legal information was needed in remote areas, where violence support workers who couldn’t get to the workshops might have access to the Internet.

The website also allowed us to post important workshop materials in easily downloadable and printable PDF format. Vawlawinfo.ca is mobile friendly, and compatible with all major mobile devices, including iPhone, Android and Blackberry platforms, to increase convenience of access.

Online, it was important to ensure that non-Indigenous violence services staff recognize the context in which they are working and the violent systemic forces that First Nation, Métis and Inuit women experience, so we included resources on the historical and present-day context of First Nation, Métis and Inuit women gathered and developed for the workshops.

What has the feedback been like (for either the workshop and/or website)?

Overall, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, both for the workshops and for the website. Post-training evaluation and staff journals showed that participants found the content of the workshop was informed, timely, impactful, and relevant to their work.

Participants reported:

  • Enhanced knowledge of the legal areas that most affect First Nation, Métis and Inuit women dealing with violence
  • Expanded capacity to provide support with legal information
  • Increased knowledge of resources to support their work and when to refer women to legal services and ensure they have legal representation
  • Acquiring information and skills that will also support their work with non-Aboriginal women, their children and families
  • Enhanced partnerships with agencies and practitioners in the community to support access to justice for First Nation, Métis and Inuit women.

Comments from workshop participants:

“What we really liked about this training was that you constantly made sure that you brought it back to what we as front line workers can do.  Often we do training and we don’t really know why we’re here or what to do with the information.”

– Sudbury, ON

“Through their attendance in court, the participants were able to see quite clearly where the gaps exist in terms of provision of legal services and supports. At the same time they were able to see where opportunities exist for potential interventions. In particular, the family court judge who presided over child welfare chambers was emphatic that she would receive written evidence of a less than formal nature, and she gave an invitation to self represented litigants and their lay advocates to seek court appointed counsel. This was extremely useful and appreciated.”

– Saskatoon, SK

“The training was incredibly important for the women from the small communities.  I can’t tell you how many times they said things like, ‘we didn’t know any of this’, including the information about Emergency Protection Orders, the availability of funding for women in crisis (from the NWT Emergency Victim Fund – even if a crime isn’t reported) and the fact that they are entitled to legal counsel in the child welfare context. The participants also commented on how useful it was to meet each other and to learn about and build (human/personal) relationships with lawyers and service providers.”

– Yellowknife, NT

Comments from website survey respondents:

After posting the website, we invited workshop participants to complete an evaluation of the online resource. 90 per cent of the respondents found the online resource clear and easy to use, well written, easy to understand, and helpful.

  • “Information was repeatedly linked throughout the text which makes it easy to find and access information you need or want.”
  • “I found this an excellent resource, well laid out and very useful.”
  • “Very well laid out. Like that we can access both the resources from our local workshop and from those around the country!”
  • “Due to the educational barriers and lack of resources in remote communities it is vital for frontline workers to have access to general knowledge of the legal system to learn and better support clients.”
  • “Many of the women who come to the shelter are victims of intergenerational abuse and trauma. To support them it is important to know the political and historical context of Aboriginal people.”

Ann Decter is the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at YWCA Canada.

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The unique challenges of immigrants who are domestic violence victims

Last modified: September 14, 2015

LAO began developing its Domestic Violence Strategy by looking at our services through the lens of a client who has experienced or is experiencing domestic violence.

This is one in a series of posts exploring the legal needs of domestic violence clients.

Bisma* and Farhan, 38, had an arranged marriage in their native Pakistan four years ago, when Bisma was only 18. Farhan is a Canadian citizen, and sponsored Bisma to come here.

Right from the start, when they moved to Brampton, Ontario, away from both their families in Pakistan, Farhan is very controlling. He tells Bisma what she can and can’t wear; when she is allowed to leave the house and who she can see; and how much money she can have and what she can spend it on. He also began beating Bisma, often in front of their two young daughters.

Because Bisma doesn’t know a lot of English and doesn’t know anyone in Canada, she doesn’t know who she can turn to or what she can do. She knows she can’t stay with Farhan, but going back to Pakistan isn’t an option, either. Her parents wouldn’t understand. Bisma often saw her father beating her mother.

Bisma would like her daughters to grow up in Canada, free from violence and with access to more opportunities such as schooling for girls—an opportunity denied to Bisma.

A sense of isolation

Isolated and alone, Bisma faces the same problems that many new immigrants experiencing domestic violence face:

  • They don’t know the language.
  • They don’t know where they can turn.
  • They don’t know their rights.

And like a lot of domestic violence survivors, her lack of legal status makes her reluctant to ask for help, or even to leave her abuser—a huge roadblock to leaving her abusive partner. When Farhan tells Bisma that he can have her deported and be separated from her children, she fully believes him.

Conditional permanent residence

The tragedy for many refugee claimants in Canada who, like Bisma, know no one in Canada and speak very little English, is that Canada does have measures in place to protect them.

In October 2012, the Canadian government introduced a conditional permanent residence period for sponsored spouses and partners. For most people, this means that you have to live with your sponsor for a conditional period—at least two years—or risk losing your permanent status and be deported.

But there’s an exception to this rule: if your partner is abusing you, and you can show that the abuse happened and that it led to the breakdown of your relationship, you may be able to stay in Canada even if you don’t live with your sponsor.

Looking for solutions

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is taking steps to ensure that people in Bisma’s situation get the justice they deserve. That’s why, as part of LAO’s major expansion of legal services, refugee claimants experiencing domestic violence are eligible for Humanitarian and Compassionate application certificates.

While this measure is a step towards enhancing services, the real battle is reaching out to immigrants who are experiencing domestic violence so they know that help is available.

During our consultation to develop Legal Aid Ontario’s domestic violence strategy, we’ll be looking to advocates of immigrant/refugee women in the justice system, including decision-makers, on what their recommendations are to help this group.

What are the partnerships that need to be developed between the social service and justice circles that will enable all of us to more effectively help?

We really want to hear from you. If you can’t make it out to an in-person session, you can read our discussion paper, Development of a Domestic Violence Strategy, and email us at dvs@lao.on.ca with your thoughts and feedback.

*Not their real names. All personal examples in this post are based on composites of client experiences. LAO prioritizes client confidentiality, and only publishes client names and experiences when the client has provided consent, in writing.

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Finding support for domestic violence clients in the criminal system

Last modified: September 3, 2015

LAO began developing its Domestic Violence Strategy by looking at our services through the lens of a client who has experienced or is experiencing domestic violence.

This is one in a series of posts exploring the legal needs of domestic violence clients.

Curtis’ story

Curtis* plans to leave an abusive three-year relationship with Amy within the month. He has wanted to leave for years, but stayed for their son, three-year-old Ben.

Amy is the primary breadwinner. She is financially controlling and constantly belittling Curtis, who hasn’t been able to work for several months because of an injury from a construction job. He keeps quiet because he’s afraid of what people will think of him when they learn his wife beats him.

When Curtis decides to take Ben and leave, Amy calls 911 and accuses Curtis of abusing both her and their son.

If he’s convicted— and even if he doesn’t go to jail — he could lose custody of Ben, who would then live with his abusive mother. Curtis could also have problems with access to housing and he might even lose his job.

Until recently, he might not have been able to get a criminal legal aid certificate because he wouldn’t have been eligible. Before June 2015, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), like many other legal aid plans, applied a “loss of liberty” test to determine legal eligibility for representation by a criminal lawyer. “Loss of liberty” means you are facing jail time if convicted.

The impact of a criminal charge

Fortunately for Curtis, in early June 2015, LAO expanded legal services for the first time in 25 years. LAO made this change after consultations with our justice partners, who told us about the need to move beyond the “loss of liberty test” because the impact of a criminal conviction is much greater than in the past.

For someone like Curtis, who is a first-time accused, a conviction can change everything and prevent him from leading a full and productive life. More and more, employers ask for a criminal record check, and a conviction could prevent Curtis from either keeping his job or finding a new job to support himself and his son.

Even if Curtis isn’t convicted, his problems don’t end.

Because police services collect and retain information about some of the people they come in contact with, Curtis would now have a non-conviction record that may appear in more detailed police record checks. This could hurt his ability to enrol in certain educational programs, get a certain professional or non-professional licenses or even a job.

What LAO is doing

Under LAO’s expanded criminal law services, someone with no previous criminal record who is experiencing domestic violence may be eligible for representation by a lawyer. That person can also get a legal aid certificate for the following issues:

  • the immediate loss of either existing livelihood, professional accreditation, educational opportunity
  • loss of access to family and child custody
  • risk of deportation
  • immediate loss of public housing, social assistance, or other public benefits/social services
  • risk of being added to sexual offenders registry

Feedback can lead to changes

Change comes about through the input, feedback and suggestions of justice partners. As with all of our new programs and services, our expanded criminal law services were developed through extensive consultations. Vulnerable client groups—such as those who have experienced domestic violence—were flagged as particularly important for LAO to focus on because the additional barriers that these clients face in accessing justice.

Developing a domestic violence strategy means taking a similar route.

Let’s talk.

Tell us about your experiences with the criminal justice system. What works? What doesn’t? What are things we need to consider?

We’ll be holding in-person consultation sessions throughout the next several months. Please attend. If you can’t, you can read our discussion paper, Development of a Domestic Violence Strategy, and email us at dvs@lao.on.ca with your thoughts and feedback.

*Not their real names. All personal examples in this post are based on composites of client experiences. LAO prioritizes client confidentiality, and only publishes client names and experiences when the client has provided consent, in writing.

 

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Domestic violence clients and the family justice system

Last modified: August 20, 2015

Content warning: this post includes descriptions of violence

LAO began developing its Domestic Violence Strategy by looking at our services through the lens of a client who has experienced or is experiencing domestic violence.

This is one in a series of posts exploring the legal needs of domestic violence clients.

More and more, people are representing themselves in court because they can’t afford to hire a lawyer. Statistics provided by the Attorney General’s office show that about half of the people who appear in Ontario’s family courts don’t have a lawyer at the beginning of their court proceeding.

Now, imagine you’re someone who’s either experiencing or has experienced domestic violence. You can’t afford a lawyer and you’ll have to face your abuser. Unlike in criminal court, there’s no possibility of having a lawyer appointed to cross-question you. You could end up looking into the eyes of your own abuser, under cross-examination if he chooses to represent himself.

Sara’s story

Let’s look at the example of Sara*, who was in an abusive relationship and had two children with her ex-partner.

Jack threatened to commit suicide and then attacked her with a knife. When Sara fled to her parents’ place, Jack then began to stalk her and applied for custody of their two children.

Jack would routinely wait for Sara outside of court, and because he was representing himself, he was allowed to interrogate her in court and further intimidate her.

Sara has been stuck in court proceedings for a year.

The big picture

A recent study by Rachel Birnbaum and Nicholas Bala found that one-third of self-represented women in family court have reported domestic violence issues. 132 participants surveyed had this to say about not having a lawyer:

  • 34 per cent of self-represented women said that domestic violence victims don’t get adequate protection from the family justice system
  • 34 per cent of self-represented women were also concerned about the lack of protection for victims of family violence, compared to only 20 per cent of women with legal representation
  • 37 per cent of self-represented men don’t think that those who are accused of domestic violence get fair treatment in family court

What LAO is doing

Clearly, the cost of retaining a lawyer is too much for many women. At LAO, we’ve been exploring ways to start chipping away at this huge problem.

In May 2015, we made it easier for people experiencing domestic violence to get help from a family lawyer by expanding the financial eligibility guidelines.

This summer and into the fall, we’ll be meeting with domestic violence survivors, partners in the Violence against Women community and other legal or community service providers to develop a strategy to expand and improve legal aid services.

If you want to add something to this discussion, we strongly encourage you to reach out to us at dvs@lao.on.ca.

Together, we can work on solutions that ensure LAO’s services and programs reflect the needs of those who are experiencing domestic abuse.

*Not their real names. All personal examples in this post are based on composites of client experiences. LAO prioritizes client confidentiality, and only publishes client names and experiences when the client has provided consent, in writing.