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Violence Against Women, Vol. 12, No. 12,
1150-1168 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1077801206293500
Systemic Obstacles to Battered Women's Participation in the Judicial System
When Will the Status Quo Change?
Joseph Roy Gillis
Shaindl Lin Diamond
University of Toronto, ON
Paul Jebely
Dutton Brock LLP, Toronto, ON
Victoria Orekhovsky
Ellis M. Ostovich
Kristin MacIsaac
Sandra Sagrati
University of Toronto, ON
Deborah Mandell
University of Toronto at Mississauga, ON
The Canadian government has introduced numerous policies, guidelines, and mandates at the federal and provincial levels that recognize woman abuse as a serious social problem and violation of the law. Nonetheless, recent feminist research continues to expose laws and practices that fail woman abuse victims. The present study examined the experiences of women victims in domestic violence cases and the barriers they faced in dealing with the police, the courts, and social service agencies. Despite government initiatives, the study results corroborate previous findings indicating that many battered women feel further traumatized by ambivalent or discriminatory attitudes and practices prevalent within the system.
Key Words: domesticviolence • immigrantwomen • legal-judicialsystem
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