Status of Women committee  That would be great, but the people doing the psychological assessments need to be experts on domestic violence. In my situation, there were two psychological assessments done where the abuse was completely ignored and it was deemed parental alienation. The assessments are done by these so-called “parental alienation experts”, which is why it goes back to parental alienation accusations being a form of continuation of coercion and abuse.

Status of Women committee  There are a lot of things that need to come together. Coercive control needs to be criminalized, because it's not.... Let me go back. When the perpetrator doesn't allow you to leave the house, get a job, see your friends or family or pick up the phone when they call.... Because coercive control is not criminalized, the police will say they don't see any bruises.

Status of Women committee  Coercive control is not a one-time thing; neither is domestic violence. For anybody, I guess you could be having a bad day, where you can raise your voice or something happens. With domestic violence it's not a one-time thing. It's not something bad happening. You never know what sets them off.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. I would like to start by expressing my sincerest heartfelt gratitude for inviting me here to testify before you on a subject that is plaguing many children and women: coercive control. I'm here to ask that Canada steps up and abides by the report written by Ms. Reem Alsalem, a United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women, which states: [T]he discredited and unscientific pseudo-concept of parental alienation is used in family law proceedings by abusers as a tool to continue their abuse and coercion and to undermine and discredit allegations of domestic violence made by mothers who are trying to keep their children safe.

Status of Women committee  I ask that the use of reunification camps and therapy for children as part of any outcome in legal proceedings be prohibited. I ask that abusive post-separation fathering tactics of accusing the mother of alienating the children against them be recognized as a form of coercive control, that those judgments be reopened and that the children be returned to their mothers.