Date: March 4, 2021 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (PST)

Platform: ZOOM

Downloads: RISE Webinar Poster

Watch the Webinar:

Overview

From 2017 to 2020, Rise Women’s Legal Centre researched how the legal system in BC responds to family violence. Rise lawyer, Haley Hrymak, travelled to 27 communities in BC and interviewed survivors of family violence who had recently pursued their family law case in a BC court. Further, she administered surveys, organized focus groups and round-table discussions, and spoke directly with front-line workers and experts from different disciplines. The results of this research can be found within Rise’s recent report, authored by Haley Hrymak and Kim Hawkins.

The focus of this webinar will be on Rise’s research results regarding the impacts the family court system had on survivors, particularly to their health. Further, this webinar will focus on the recommendations on how we can improve the court system in BC, starting with mandatory family violence training for lawyers, judges and police, and the creation of a specialized family court designed to address the needs of people attending court with a family law matter, most importantly their own safety and well-being.

This webinar is part of the Alliance of Canadian Research Centres’ project “Supporting the Health of Survivors of Family Violence in Family Law Proceedings” – funded by Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Speaker

Haley Hrymak works with Rise Women’s Legal Centre and represents self-identifying women through their family law matters. Part of her work with Rise also involves conducting research, primarily on topics related to family violence and the family court system. She recently completed working with the Department of Justice in a consulting role for their development of a family violence screening tool for lawyers. Prior to working with Rise, Haley worked with the federal Crown in Winnipeg and in Vancouver. She holds a Master of Laws, a JD, and a BA.

Moderator

Margaret Jackson is Professor Emerita in the School of Criminology and Director of the FREDA Centre at Simon Fraser University. She was principal investigator for a Federal Ministry of Justice study on child abuse. Other research areas of interest include criminal justice policy analysis, problem-solving courts, and most recently, bullying and cyberbullying. Margaret primarily focuses upon research issues related to domestic violence and its impacts on women and children.