Status of Women committee  I will say that right now, women are afraid to report. They know they may well be punished for coming forward as a victim of violence. They know they may be accused of being unwilling to facilitate a relationship with the other parent, which is not at all the case when somebody i

Status of Women committee  I agree that these systems often further the abuse and can often be more traumatizing than suffering the abuse itself. Education is a good step, and other measures can be implemented. I would welcome the government's input on measures, such as the roles the victim and perpetrator

Status of Women committee  In terms of the changes to the federal Divorce Act, obviously Philip can speak to this more eloquently than I can. Per my understanding, the Divorce Act was changed in March of last year, and now includes family violence as a factor that judges have to take into account when deci

Status of Women committee  I think that I would have been a candidate for a bracelet, and I'm in full support of that initiative. Unfortunately, it would not have changed the outcome for Keira, because the judge ordered Keira to be put into the hands of the perpetrator, my ex-husband. That was a court orde

Status of Women committee  This is definitely a very good step, and a start. Looking at the failures for Keira and looking at the failures for Canadian children, we see that when there's a situation of domestic violence, the woman most generally flees the situation. We want to ensure that judges are equipp

Status of Women committee  Judges need to recognize when a child is being harmed and in danger, and that's the bottom line here. It's at least a first step. I could absolutely speak to other initiatives at great length. It's nice to see you again, MP Gazan.

Status of Women committee  I think this is a first start. I think victims and survivors being comfortable with coming forward to talk about this is a very good step. It's not an easy thing to come forward as a survivor of violence. We need societal acceptance and awareness and less stigma and less blamin

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. I think education is really key to giving the professionals in the system the tools they need to make decisions that put child safety at the forefront. There's an entire body of literature and domestic violence expertise. For example, the centre for family violence in

Status of Women committee  We had resources so that when a court order was defied, I was able to address that, or when a frivolous motion was brought. Many of these motions were brought in a very litigious fashion by my ex-partner as a means to cause me distress in responding, but we were able to respond l

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much. My name is Jennifer Kagan. I'm a mother and physician, and I will introduce my husband, Mr. Philip Viater, who is a father and family law lawyer. I'm here to speak with you today about Bill C-233, the judicial education component of which is named informall