Several organizations that defend victims of domestic violence called for amendments to the reform of the Youth Protection Act to limit the power of violent spouses over their children on Tuesday.
Among other things, they want the definition of this type of violence as a form of "coercive control" to be included in the legislation.
"The Youth Protection Act must also clearly state that because it is a context of coercive control, there are impacts on the children, and of course on the mothers as well," said Federation of Women's Shelters director Manon Monastesse, at a virtual news conference. "Thus, this violence would be a valid reason to refuse to grant custody of the children to the spouse."
Health and Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant tabled Bill 15 last December. It was created in the wake of the Laurent Commission report set up after a young girl was killed in Granby, in 2019, after suffering abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother.
Domestic violence is not mentioned in the bill anywhere.
"During the specific consultations, several groups told us about the problem of domestic violence and the negative impact on the child's development, but also the dangers to his or her safety," Carmant's office said by email. "The minister made it clear that there will be elements regarding domestic violence introduced in Bill 15. This is an issue that concerns us and must be taken into consideration if we want to avoid tragedies."
ABUSERS STILL UNDER CONTROL
"The Youth Protection Directorate (DPJ) and the courts will often make problematic or dangerous decisions in cases of domestic violence," said legal researcher Suzanne Zaccour, who attended the news conference. "Either they don't believe the woman and they see it as just a separation dispute, or they believe the woman, but they find the issue of spousal abuse irrelevant because it doesn't affect the child."
In both cases, there is a tendency to award joint custody, which not only allows the abuser to stay in contact with his victim, but also puts their child in danger.
Monastesse emphasized that the lack of knowledge does not only concern judges.
"In concrete terms, on the ground, it requires that youth protection workers be better trained in domestic violence, its impacts and manifestations on mothers, but also on children," she said.
"We have to work in the best interest of the child, and right now, it's more in the interest of the fathers," said Chantal Arseneault, president of the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. "Why is post-separation spousal violence not recognized, when violent spouses continue their coercive control after separation and often use the children as a transmission belt?"
UNEVEN PROGRESS
Last November, the National Assembly unanimously adopted the government's bill on the creation of a specialized court for sexual and domestic violence.
Other bills are in the works, including one on family law reform, which "provides for the presence of domestic violence in the child's environment to be taken into account in determining the child's best interests" and "specifies that the presence of domestic violence is one of the elements to be considered by the court in an application for the termination of parental authority."
The document does not specify whether this also applies in cases where the violence is directed only at one of the spouses, or in cases where the violence was only noticed before the separation.
On Feb. 2, Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety Geneviève Guilbault tabled a bill on the implementation of an anti-separation bracelet system to prevent violent ex-spouses from being within a certain radius of their victims. A first pilot project is expected to be launched in the spring.
"While agencies at the news conference welcomed these advances, they lamented the lack of an overall plan. We really need to stop working in silos," said Arseneault. "We have to consider the whole court, like domestic violence, it affects all spheres of life of moms and kids."
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 22, 2022.