Improving Lives of Families or Punishing Women?
Understanding the experiences of criminalized women in Nova Scotia’s domestic violence court programs
They Didn’t Listen to My Story: Experiences of Women in the Domestic Violence Court
This short video portrays the voices of the women who shared their experiences with us. Produced by Ross, N. & Bagg, L. (2022)
Exploring Women’s Experiences
Our study explored the experiences of women who had been charged with domestic violence related offenses and participated in a domestic violence court program in Canada. With our partners at the Elizabeth Fry Societies of Mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton we formulated the following research questions:
a. Have research participants had prior exposure to adverse childhood experiences?
b. How do women make sense of their use of violence?
c. Does the domestic violence court program incorporate trauma and violence- informed principles?
d. What is the impact of participation in domestic violence courts on women and their families?
We held three virtual two-hour workshops with 14 women who had participated in the domestic violence courts and analyzed court records connected to the same 14 women. We initiated an online Opinio survey that included socio-demographic questions and an adverse childhood experiences questionnaire. We conducted a reflexive qualitative thematic analysis of our data.
Findings
Five themes emerged from analysis of workshop and court transcripts titled:
1. Silencing women’s voices
2. Responsibilization
3. Negative impacts on women’s lives
4. Court as system-centered
5. Punishment versus support
Eight of the nine participants indicated they had experienced physical abuse and emotional neglect during their childhood.
We concluded that a review of the pro-arrest policies invites consideration of alternative measures to place less pressure on participants to plead guilty, prioritize therapeutic supports and enable a trauma and violence-informed approach.
Research Team
Dr. Nancy Ross and Leslie Bagg, MSW
Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)