Victims will be able to get help for their children on their own
Parents who are victims of domestic violence will now be able to get help for their children without needing the consent of their abuser, a news welcomed by the community.
This is a new measure, already provided for in the family law reform adopted last June, but whose entry into force has been brought forward.
Under this measure, a parent who is a victim of domestic violence, including domestic or sexual violence, will be able to apply to a criminal and penal prosecutor for certification so that his or her child can benefit from health or social services without the consent of the other parent.
It will not be necessary to have laid charges to benefit from this certification.
On a web page posted Thursday, the Ministry of Justice explains that it will indeed be possible to obtain a certificate from a prosecutor by providing certain documents.
This can be a statement to the police or a letter from a health or social service professional in relation to the child.
Welcomed news"We want parents who are victims of violence, or those whose children have been abused, to be able to focus on rebuilding and get all the help they need without fear of being subjected to an unhealthy control of the other abusive parent," Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said in a statement Thursday.
The news was welcomed by the Crime Victims Assistance Centres (CAVAC) and the Federation of Women's Shelters and Transition Houses (FMHF).
"This is the kind of situation we see quite regularly in our work with victims: perpetrators of violence who, for reasons of control or because they do not recognize the harm they have caused to children, could hinder access to care for children," explains CAVAC Network spokesperson Marie-Christine Villeneuve.
This will allow abused children to receive timely care "necessary" for their recovery, such as psychological care in the case of a child who has been sexually abused, so that they can understand what happened to them.
Obviously, in the case of a serious injury requiring urgent care, authorities urge parents to go directly to the emergency room, which does not require certification.
"For abusive fathers [access to child care], it is an extremely effective lever to continue to harass mothers, to continue to know everything about children. It is often trench warfare, coercive control where they will exhaust mothers by opposing the provision of services to children," says FMHF spokesperson Manon Monastesse.
The latter is particularly pleased that it will be possible for victim parents to obtain a certificate without even a complaint having been made to the police. Only 20% of women housed in the federation's institutions intend to file a complaint with the police against their spouse and 33% say outright that they will not do so, show figures from the organization.
"This is extremely important in a context where family courts will take little account of the impact of domestic violence on children," explains Manon Monastesse.
This is a new measure, already provided for in the family law reform adopted last June, but whose entry into force has been brought forward.
Under this measure, a parent who is a victim of domestic violence, including domestic or sexual violence, will be able to apply to a criminal and penal prosecutor for certification so that his or her child can benefit from health or social services without the consent of the other parent.
It will not be necessary to have laid charges to benefit from this certification.
On a web page posted Thursday, the Ministry of Justice explains that it will indeed be possible to obtain a certificate from a prosecutor by providing certain documents.
This can be a statement to the police or a letter from a health or social service professional in relation to the child.
Welcomed news"We want parents who are victims of violence, or those whose children have been abused, to be able to focus on rebuilding and get all the help they need without fear of being subjected to an unhealthy control of the other abusive parent," Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said in a statement Thursday.
The news was welcomed by the Crime Victims Assistance Centres (CAVAC) and the Federation of Women's Shelters and Transition Houses (FMHF).
"This is the kind of situation we see quite regularly in our work with victims: perpetrators of violence who, for reasons of control or because they do not recognize the harm they have caused to children, could hinder access to care for children," explains CAVAC Network spokesperson Marie-Christine Villeneuve.
This will allow abused children to receive timely care "necessary" for their recovery, such as psychological care in the case of a child who has been sexually abused, so that they can understand what happened to them.
Obviously, in the case of a serious injury requiring urgent care, authorities urge parents to go directly to the emergency room, which does not require certification.
"For abusive fathers [access to child care], it is an extremely effective lever to continue to harass mothers, to continue to know everything about children. It is often trench warfare, coercive control where they will exhaust mothers by opposing the provision of services to children," says FMHF spokesperson Manon Monastesse.
The latter is particularly pleased that it will be possible for victim parents to obtain a certificate without even a complaint having been made to the police. Only 20% of women housed in the federation's institutions intend to file a complaint with the police against their spouse and 33% say outright that they will not do so, show figures from the organization.
"This is extremely important in a context where family courts will take little account of the impact of domestic violence on children," explains Manon Monastesse.
