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High conflict post-separation disputes involving family violence in a neoliberal context: British Columbia, Canada [2016] CFLQ 111
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Rachel Treloar Interdisciplinary PhD candidate c/o Department of Sociology and Anthropology Simon Fraser University CanadaKeywords: Family violence - vulnerability - British Columbia Family Law Act - domestic violence policy - family law reform - neoliberalismBritish Columbia's new Family Law Act (FLA) came into full effect in March 2013 following years of cutbacks to legal aid and to a broad range of services that support families. The Act explicitly promotes out-of-court dispute resolution which shifts responsibility for resolving family disputes to individuals regardless of the complexities involved. This article focuses on the Act's innovations regarding family violence including a comprehensive definition of its many forms. In 2014 a new Provincial Domestic Violence Plan was announced which included specific provisions for vulnerable groups. Thus at the same time as a broader legal definition of family violence was enacted the conception of who is vulnerable in the context of domestic violence policy was narrowed. This conceptual narrowing of identifiably vulnerable people within policy is increasingly common in neoliberal governance and tends to occur alongside reductions in resources. This plan particularly as it intersects with British Columbia's FLA raises important questions...
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