Cross, P. (2016). When shared parenting and the safety of women and children collide. Luke's Place Support and Resource Centre.
Introduction Women who have left abusive partners need and deserve a legal system that is able to adequately assess and address the violence they have experienced in its decision-making about child custody and access. Outcomes of family court decisions about custody and access should contribute to the safety of women and children, not detract from it. Yet many of us who provide family court support to women leaving abusive relationships observe that family court systems in Canada do not understand the ongoing impact of intimate partner abuse on women, many of whom are dealing with post-separation abuse, with the result that custody and access outcomes too often force women and children into unsafe – even lethal – contact with their abuser for many years (Harrison, 2008; Hardesty, Khaw, Chung, & Martin, 2008; Holt, 2015). This paper explores this topic from an experience-based perspective: my work as a family law lawyer representing women who had experienced abuse and my work at the systemic level as a community researcher, educator and advocate, working with frontline workers who support women involved with family court after leaving abusive relationships. It reflects the stories and lived experiences of hundreds of women that I have encountered either directly or through their legal support workers. Download a copy of the article here: Microsoft Word - FINAL - Shared Parenting - September 2016.docx (lukesplace.ca)
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