Courses Included in This Bundle
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Introduction
Welcome to the NJI’s course on Intimate Partner Violence. Here you will find resources that will acquaint you with foundational information about IPV in the context of family and criminal law.
Additional content will be developed and added on a rolling basis.
Intimate partner violence continues to dominate academic, social, and political discourse because of its prevalence and devastating impacts. The extent of the physical and emotional trauma experienced by IPV victims, who are typically women and children, is finally being recognized. Transformative approaches are required to permanently end the cycle of violence.
Courts must likewise transform their approach to IPV to ensure justice is achieved. Judges must have a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues associated with IPV. The NJI online IPV course is an excellent resource containing much of the legal and social science data that is required to properly conduct and decide cases involving IPV.
The online course includes a module dedicated to the legal landscape. This interactive chapter allows quick access to federal, provincial, and territorial legislation related to parenting, protection orders, child protection, and possession of the family home, together with a review of relevant Criminal Code provisions. Further, key family law decisions are referenced.
In particular, the module on coercive control is pivotal for three reasons:
- Coercive control is at the heart of the negative power dynamic that encompasses IPV. Coercive control involves repeated acts of abuse, degradation, intimidation, and deprivation which diminishes the victim’s autonomy and self-esteem. Victims often remain in toxic relationships because of the psychological impact of coercive controlling behaviour.
- Research indicates a direct link between coercive control and IPV outcomes.
- Coercive control is identified as a form of family violence in the Divorce Act and some provincial and territorial family legislation. Judges require specialized knowledge and skills to correctly interpret and apply the legislation.
We are grateful to NJI for producing this online course bundle. It includes much of the legal and social science data we need to transform our approach so that we can provide safe, just, and lasting legal solutions to families who experience IPV. Justice Theresa Marie Forgeron
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Family Division
Acknowledgements
The NJI is grateful to the IPV Judicial Planning Committee for their guidance, contribution, and generosity of time and expertise:
- The Honourable Justice Michelle A. Coady, Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
- L’honorable Marie-Hélène Dubé, Cour supérieure du Québec
- The Honourable Justice Cidalia Conceiçӓo Gouveia Faria, Ontario Cout of Justice
- The Honourable Justice Jane M. Fitzpatrick, Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
- The Honourable Justice Theresa M. Forgeron, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
- The Honourable Judge Lua Gibb, Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
- The Honourable Justice Sheila M. MacPherson, Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
- The Honourable Justice Regan Thatcher, Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba (Family Division)