“In Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2023 ONCA 476, paras. 1, 99, 101, the Court of Appeal for Ontario recognized that: “the relatively recent addition of family violence considerations reflects Parliament’s awareness of and concern about the devastating effects of family violence on children” and that it is an important consideration when developing a parenting plan. The Court notes that family violence can have “widespread and intergenerational effects.” In Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, para. 143 (citations omitted), the Supreme Court of Canada stated:
The suggestion that domestic abuse or family violence has no impact on the children and has nothing to do with the perpetrator’s parenting ability is untenable. Research indicates that children who are exposed to family violence are at risk of emotional and behavioural problems throughout their lives. Harm can result from direct or indirect exposure to domestic conflicts, for example, by observing the incident, experiencing its aftermath, or hearing about it.
The Government of Canada explains that a child’s direct exposure to family violence (e.g., seeing or hearing the violence) or indirect exposure (e.g., seeing that a parent is fearful or injured) is itself recognized as family violence and a form of child abuse: Government of Canada, Department of Justice, The Divorce Act Changes Explained (23 February 2022).
As I discussed in S.S. v. R.S., paras. 31-47, the family violence provisions in both pieces of legislation are consistent with Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990, accession by Canada 13 December 1991), which grants children the right to state protection from “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child”: In General Comment 13, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child provides a similarly expansive definition of violence and identifies exposure to domestic violence and corporal punishment (including slapping and hitting) as forms of violence that impact children uniquely: General Comment 13: The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, UNCRC, 2011, UN Doc. C/GC/13. The Committee notes the devastating impact of violence on children’s survival and their “physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development”: para. 15. It states that both the short- and long-term health, development, and behavioural consequences of violence against children and child maltreatment are widely recognized, and notes that “there is evidence that exposure to violence increases a child’s risk of further victimization and an accumulation of violent experiences, including later intimate partner violence”: paras. 15(a)-(b).”