What is intimate partner violence?  

This refers to harm caused by an intimate partner. An intimate partner is someone you have an  emotional, physical or sexual relationship. It is quite wide ranging.  

Violence can take many forms: physical, emotional, psychological, financial or other. 

In my job as a family law lawyer, far too often, we deal with situations involving intimate partner  violence. It is tough to deal with.  

In a recent case, I was stunned at the severity of the abuse and how long this occurred to my client.  When she told me her life story, I was left in tears. I learned that the violence extended to her  daughter by her former spouse. Frankly, I did not know how to deal with the situation. I have had  the privilege of now taking and participating in family violence courses.  

In my education in this area, I have come across an important decision from Ontario called  Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2022 ONSC 1303. Here are the facts from the case: 

  1. Parties were married in India. The parties had a child and immigrated to Canada in or  around 2002. They had a second child in Canada a few years later.  
  2. At the Trial for this matter, the Trial Judge accepted the wife’s evidence of the husband’s  emotional and financial abuse and coercive control. The Trial Judge accepted that the  husband “insulted and belittled the wife about her appearance and her difficulties  conceiving, and repeatedly threatened to leave her and the children penniless.  
  3. The Trial Judge accepted that the husband had been physically violent on three specific  occasions, which included punching and slapping his wife to the point of causing extensive  bruising, and strangling her. 

Analysis:  

  1. The Judge commenced their analysis if whether the wife could bring a tort claim within the  family law proceeding, whether the tort of family violence should be recognized, whether  the husband was liable for damages for his conduct during the marriage; and if so, what  should he pay?  
  2. You may ask, what is a Tort? It is a breach of a recognized legal duty where the appropriate  remedy is damages;  

Without getting overly technical, the Court found the wife could make a tort claim within the family  law proceeding, determined there has been a breach and ordered that the husband pay $150,000  in overall damages.  

I thought this was a great decision; however, wait, it does not end here.  

The husband appealed the decision. The citation is 2023 ONCA 476. He argued that this new tort of  family violence should not have been created by the Trial Judge. He did not concede liability, Her  argued that allowing this would open the “floodgate of litigation that would fundamentally change  family law.”

I pause here to comment that maybe it’s time to fundamentally change family law.  

Given I could write a lengthy essay on this cause and it’s importance, I will summarize the decision  of the Ontario Court of Appeal as follows: 

  1. The Court of Appeal declined to recognize this new novel tort but found that existing torts  already covered intimate partner violence in this case; and,  
  2. They reduced the damages from $150,000 to $100,000.  

My views: 

I found the decision of the first Judge in the Supreme Court to be groundbreaking legal  development. I found it to be consistent with acknowledging the harms of intimate partner violence and the extension to include coercive control.  

The Court of Appeal, while not recognizing the novel tort, rejected the myth that intimate partner  violence is rare and a private matter. The court called it the “cancer of domestic relationships.” 

Changes are coming and we are seeing significant understanding shifts to what happens in  situations involving intimate partner violence.  

If you are someone who is facing intimate partner violence, or know someone who is, find a lawyer  that is updated on these changes who can help you move forward with your life.