The Violence Link in Practice

The Every Lawyer

The Violence Link in Practice

*Content warning: This episode discusses serious and potentially triggering subjects, including family violence and animal abuse, as well as the recounting of real-life events.

A new Report prepared for Humane Canada with funding from the Department of Justice Canada, The Violence Link in Practice is an empirical analysis of the implications of the Violence Link for Family Justice Professionals.

But what exactly is the Violence Link? Broadly, it describes the intersection between animal abuse and a litany of violent criminal offences from bestiality, child-, elder- and spousal abuse, to gang violence, human trafficking, and homicide.

And family lawyers are often on the front line.

With:

- Dr. Amy Fitzgerald. Criminology Professor at the University of Windsor, Amy is THE authority on the Violence Link, she has been researching the connection between animal abuse and domestic violence for many years and is the principal author of The Violence Link in Practice.

-Jenny Mason has practiced family law for several years and is active in the PEI branch of the CBA as Chair of the Family Law Section, Chair of the ADR section, and Co-chair of the Animal Law section. Jenny has firsthand experience with the violence link in her practice.

-Kerri Thomson and Valerie Monckton. Both from Humane Canada, they co-authored the report together with Amy and oversaw much of the research.

Please remember that abusers often monitor their victims’ online activity and correspondence. When sharing any information about abuse of any kind, it may be safer to do so verbally and in person.

The Violence Link in practice - SUMMARY REPORT (humanecanada.ca)

The Violence Link in Practice - Full Report

2016 SCC 22 (CanLII) | R. v. D.L.W. | CanLII

R v Chen, 2021 ABCA 382 | NCPAC Case Law Database