Family Violence & Family Justice And Divorce

The course explores how family dispute resolution professionals can address family violence concerns in all areas of family justice services, including clients' first interactions with the justice system, initial needs determination and assessment, pre-mediation and mediation, documentation, and report writing.

This course draws upon research, theory, and best practices from the fields of family justice, mediation, trauma-informed practice, gender-based violence prevention and response, child abuse and neglect, counselling and social work, Indigenous wellness, and access to justice, among others. It discusses how to apply ethical values and principles such as self-determination, impartiality, protection of vulnerable parties, confidentiality, and conflict between personal values and professional obligations to a range of practice challenges related to family violence. Throughout the course, the learner will have the opportunity to hear from experienced family justice counsellors about ways of working with diverse clients and how to tailor their practice to best meet their needs.

This course meets the practice standards and requirements for training on family violence outlined by Family Mediation Canada and B.C.'s Family Law Act Regulation.