'I never feel safe': N.S. domestic abuse survivor calls for changes to family court system
CBC
Warning: This story contains accounts of intimate-partner violence
A Nova Scotia mother who left Halifax to get away from her abusive ex-partner says police and the province's family court system have failed her and her son by not taking their concerns for safety seriously.
Mary escaped the abusive relationship a decade ago and now carries an RCMP-issued panic button wherever she goes, but for years she's been required by the courts to share parenting time with someone she's afraid of.
"I've left my church, I've started my life over. I've left the city. I've done so many things to try to have a peaceful life, and ... it doesn't matter how much peace I have, I never feel safe," she said in an interview.
Advocates and survivors across Canada say partner violence isn't given enough consideration in child custody matters, and there are calls for more training for lawyers and judges about the risks survivors face long after they've escaped abusive relationships.
CBC News has agreed not to use Mary's real name.
Her ex-partner faces two charges of sexual assault for separate incidents involving Mary that date back to 2016. He pleaded not guilty to both charges last month and is scheduled to go to trial in September.
The man is also due to stand trial next year on a charge of uttering threats in connection with an incident last December involving Mary, her mother and her partner.
Linda Neilson, a research associate with the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research in New Brunswick, said courts sometimes assume that abuse in the past has no bearing on current custody cases.
But research clearly shows that domestic violence is a cumulative pattern over time, said Neilson, and she believes more practical education is needed for judges.
"It's not enough to provide judicial education on domestic violence," Neilson said. "You really need to be able to convey practical steps that judges should be taking in the cases so that a judge, for example, doesn't inadvertently place women and children at risk."
Mary, who met her ex when she was 16 and he was 22, said the violence started early on in their relationship.
When she was five months pregnant, Mary said her ex kicked her in the ribs and she ended up in the hospital.
She remembers one day picking up their infant son and trying to leave.
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