Civil Courts Introducing a New Intimate Partner Violence Tort: Coercive and Controlling Behaviour and the Potential Barriers to Victims for Access to Justice [ Part 2 ]
Survivors who experience CCB by an intimate partner may find themselves needing to seek help and safety from the court system. Individuals may not know the potential risks of seeking intervention from the court system that may lead to further CCB if the intimate partner misuses the court system. Litigation abuse can cause substantial harm to an individual in the court system. This discussion will examine several potential barriers and concerns arising from the new IPV tort.
Civil Courts Introducing a New Intimate Partner Violence Tort: Coercive and Controlling Behaviour and the Potential Benefits to Victims for Access to Justice [ Part 1 ]
Intimate partner violence is a serious issue in Canada. This discussion will examine how Canadian courts recognize coercive and controlling behaviour within civil law, regarding the new intimate partner violence tort, and whether the tort will improve access to justice for survivors. The important questions are: how are the courts recognizing the harms of CCB? And what are the potential positives of the courts recognizing and providing legal consequences for this type of abus
The Intersection of Credibility and Stereotypes in the Family Violence Context
Family violence is defined broadly in the Divorce Act, including any conduct “that is violent or threatening or that constitutes a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.”[i] This includes psychological abuse and financial abuse.[ii]Family violence has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) as being “notoriously difficult to prove.”
The Coercive Control Concept and Application to Court Procedures
Although courts have gradually been adapting when it comes to understanding of gendered violence, the arguments put forth by Janet E. Mosher in the article, Grounding Access to Justice Theory and Practice in the Experiences of Women Abused by Their Intimate Partners, still gives insightful commentary in the way that courts have operated as proxies for that violence. It would be interesting to consider how this concept has applied to other categories of criminal cases.
