Access to legal services in women's shelters

The complex nature of interpersonal violence (IPV) poses unique challenges to service delivery models due to the need for responsive client-focused services, increased safety measures, multi-agency collaboration, and... [ view full abstract ]

The complex nature of interpersonal violence (IPV) poses unique challenges to service delivery models due to the need for responsive client-focused services, increased safety measures, multi-agency collaboration, and intersectoral partnerships within the housing, health and justice systems.The literature suggests that help-seeking behaviours, cultural competency and the unique service needs of urban and rural populations influence the provision of IPV service delivery and client interactions with the justice system. It is important that the family court system recognize the need for a dedicated response to cases with a domestic violence component, particularly in an effort to increase the safety of women and children exiting violence in the home.

This study examines access to legal services among clients of women's domestic violence shelters. The study samples the views of staff and clients at three Calgary-area domestic violence shelters with the goals of improving understanding of clients' legal service needs, understanding the challenges clients attempting to access legal services encounter and making recommendations for improvement. There is significant value in studying the legal access patterns of women who experience intimate partner violence and the availability of legal assistance to vulnerable populations presenting with complex socio-legal needs. The authors conclude that clients' service needs are complex and often involve legal problems, yet shelters face specific organizational barriers to coordinating legal services.

The authors recommend that a further Alberta-wide study be undertaken to examine the legal access patterns of women experiencing domestic violence, to assess the prevalence of the barriers identified in the study and to determine whether further barriers are present in other shelters.