BC Family Mediation Violence Against Women Project — The Exploration of the Effectiveness of Current BC Methods of Family Mediation in Cases of Violence Against Women and Lessons to be Learned from other Jurisdictions Models

Prepared by: Kamaljit K. Lehal LLB, Amy Fitzgerald JD, Harjit Kaur RCC, Shelina Nellani LLB And Kathryn Sainty Q.C.

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Acknowledgements

This resource guide is part of the Exploration of the Effectiveness of Current BC Methods of Family Mediation in cases of Violence against Women and Lessons to be learned from Other Jurisdictions Models (BC Family Mediation VAW Project). Funding for the project was provided by the Law Foundation of BC. The project aims to explore current mediation practices as they relate to the Family Law Act (FLA) in BC when screening for violence and what mediators are doing when violence against women is present. It is hoped that the information obtained in this project will be of use to those working in this area.

We appreciate and acknowledge all those who provided their time and expertise to this project.

The Project Team:

  • Kamaljit Lehal – Lawyer, Project Manager, Focus Group and Key Interview coordinator
  • Amy FitzGerald – J.D., Online Survey and Literature Review coordinator
  • Harjit Kaur – Registered Clinical Counselor, PhD Candidate, Literature Review and Online
    Survey coordinator
  • Shelina Neallani – Lawyer, Mediator, Focus Group and Key Interview coordinator
  • Kathryn Sainty, QC – Lawyer, Project Editor

Special Thanks

The BC Family Mediation VAW Project interviewed or received feedback from mediators, lawyers, alternative dispute resolution professionals, family justice counsellors and front line workers from across BC, as well as the Executive Director of Family Justice Services in BC, U.S. colleagues Connie J. Beck, Fernanda S. Rossi, Amy G. Applegate, Amy Holtzworth-Munroe and Jeannie M. Adams the Director of the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division (Washington, DC).

We would also like to acknowledge the valuable financial contribution of the Law Foundation of BC to
this project, as well as the support and assistance of the Family Justice Services of the Ministry of Justice
BC and the support of Mediate BC.

Project Completion

The project was approved for funding in October 2015 and commenced the following year with
completion occurring towards the end of 2016. The findings were compiled and summarised over the next
few months and submitted in May 2017.

View full project pdf here