Saskatchewan community leaders say new family law screening officers will improve response to family violence

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice and Attorney General is welcoming new family law screening officers, who will support families experiencing separation and divorce, to Court of King's Bench.

The pilot project, which started at the beginning of the month, features family law screening officers located in Regina and Saskatoon.

The officers review new family court applications to ensure all required documents have been filed and procedural prerequisites have been met, including family dispute resolution and parent education.

They will also screen for family violence and identify possible risk factors and warning signs. If family violence is suspected, they will guide people to the appropriate resources, including local community supports, such as Family Service Regina or Saskatoon, the Children Exposed to Violence Program, or shelters.

"It's a great step to ensure survivors of intimate partner and family violence receive the best services as they make their way through the family justice system,"Jo-Anne Dusel, executive director of Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan, said.

"We have found there are often barriers, like lack of knowledge of the dynamics of intimate partner violence, on the part of justice system participants."

Dusel said past research shows a major proportion of divorces involve such violence.She saidsurvivors often feel "not heard."

"In Saskatchewan, we have higher rates than other jurisdictions. Very experienced family law lawyers say there is an element of intimate partner violence in virtually all the cases they take."

She said it is particularly important to watch for coercive control,an umbrella term for behaviours by a current or former intimate partner that causes the victim to fear they will be physically harmed, causes their mental health to decline or causes the victim distress that has a substantial adverse effect on their life.

"The most important pattern in such situations is coercive control to isolate the victims, keep them more dependent on perpetrators, limit their access to funds or reduce their self esteem trying best to not let them exit the relationship."

Dusel said these behaviours are sometimes ignored because they aren't considered criminal.

She said the pilot project is a step in the right direction.

Stephanie Taylor, executive director of Regina Transition House, said it will also reduce the negative impacts of the judicial system on families and children.

"There is often a lot of conflict in these situations, almost a norm, and judicial process tends to exacerbate that conflict. Children are usually the most negatively impacted," she said.

Taylorsaid the pilot project will better educate judges and lawyers about these impacts.

Mandel, executive director of Safe and Together Institute, said family law, child protection, human services and criminal justice systems need to increase their efforts to improve accountability from the perpetrators as parents, and how their actions have a "ripple effect in hurting" the entire family.

"A lot of interventions in the past on domestic violence perpetrators have ignored perpetrators as parents," he said.

He said perpetrators try to use family court or child protection systems to increase their leverage over survivors.

"It's really important that family law systems are very sensitive in screening for post-separation coercive control, not just looking at physical violence but also at the harm to children."

Mandel said this will also mean holding perpetrators accountable for standards of collaborative co-parenting, an issue he saidfamily law systems across Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand are grappling with.

The screening officers will also play a key role in a new judicial case conference process being implemented by the Court of King's Bench. As of Nov. 1, for most family law applications in the judicial centres of Saskatoon and Regina, parties will be required to participate in one of these conferences before proceeding to chambers.

The provincial Ministry of Justice and Attorney General will receive approximately $279,000 in the next year from the federal government to fund the pilot program as part of the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program, and $273,000 in subsequent years until 2025-26.

Support is available for anyone affected by intimate partner violence.In Saskatchewan,www.pathssk.orghas listings of available services across the province.You can access support services and local resources in Canada byvisiting this website. If your situation is urgent, please contact emergency services in your area.

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