Making appropriate parenting arrangements in family violence cases, 2023

This paper is a revision of the 2005 Justice Canada publication entitled Making Appropriate Parenting Arrangements in Family Violence Cases: Applying the Literature to Identify Promising Practices (Jaffe et al., 2005). The original paper was written to assist lawyers, judges and other practitioners in dealing with the difficult issues that arise in making appropriate post-separation parenting arrangements in cases where there are family violence issues. This updated paper captures the significant changes in the field including major legislative reforms. Amendments to the Divorce Act that came into force in March 2021 include a comprehensive definition of family violence and recognize the importance of coercive control. These amendments made the federal statute more consistent with provincial and territorial laws that govern parental separation and that already recognized the importance of family violence.