Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Divorce and the family court: what can be done about domestic violence?
Other Titles:	Family court review
Authors:	Ellis, Desmond
Keywords:	Legal issues;Risk assessment;Training;Screening;Post-separation violence;Family law
Year:	2008
Publisher:	Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Citation:	46 (3), July 2008
Notes:	General Overview:This North American article explores the role of family courts in preventing and reducing the incidence of domestic violence during and after separation or divorce proceedings. The author posits three ways in which family courts can achieve this: first, by reducing the adversarial nature of proceedings (for example, through the use of divorce mediation); second, through the implementation of a mandatory risk assessment and risk management process; and third, through mandatory education and training for court personnel in the dynamics of domestic violence. Discussion:The article begins with a discussion of the links between adversarial proceedings and the incidence of domestic violence. The author cites a range of empirical studies which suggest that adversarial court processes heighten the level of conflict between partners and argues that, in comparison, domestic violence rarely occurs during and after collaborative proceedings. The middle section discusses the value of triage systems and describes the development of the Domestic Violence Evaluation (DOVE) screening instrument. DOVE assigns the divorcing parties to three different risk categories, which are in turn used to determine what form of proceedings is most appropriate (for example, mediation, collaborative lawyer negotiations, trials) and what other community-based interventions may be required. The final section, on mandatory education and training, outlines the content of the DOVE education program. The program consists of 21-hours of workshops, covering three broad topics: definitions of domestic violence; the dynamics of domestic violence; and post-separation violence. The author notes that education on domestic violence is mandatory for court personnel in Ontario, Canada.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14239
ISSN:	1531-2445
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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