As lawyers we are trained in the law really well…but learning how to work with human beings not so much…and how to support human beings in crisis rarely at all…that’s a problem.

Women fear not being believed when they disclose violence because they have not been believed. Women fear not being listened to when they disclose violence because they have not been listened to. Throughout this project we found that women have a valid basis for these fears.

As lawyers, judges, members of the legal profession, we are tasked and entrusted with upholding justice, fairness, and the rule of law. But these notions are fraught within in a legal system originally built on advancing the colonial enterprise…

Remember that time? The hurt, sadness, devastation, sorrow, grief, unbearable pain, betrayal, disappointment, anger, confusion, loss of control, numbness, anxiety, the gut-wrenching feeling that never left, exhaustion, feeling physically and mentally sick, the back and forth, burnout,

Regardless of our areas of practice there is a call out for each of us individually to address the impact and ongoing dynamic of systemic racism and white privilege that pervades our lives and the lives of people we work with.

Going to court will not heal your broken heart. It will not repair jealousy, betrayal, broken trust, cruelty, or even the honest reality that not all love lasts forever.

We have to recognize if we do not meaningfully and consistently address violence against women in family law we will continue to leave women at risk.

The reality is that how, when and by whom the children are told (and not told) and in what manner can have a profound impact not only on children’s experience of the divorce but also on their future relationships.

Indigenous, Black, and racialized lawyers (people/communities) experience micro-oppressions on a regular basis. Calls to stop incivility do nothing to address the impact of systemic racism or the continuation of white privilege and practice in the law.