Supervised Access and Exchange Programs—Safety for Parents and Children in the Context of Domestic Violence
Author: Leslie M. Tutty, Ph.D..; Ashley Barlow, B.A..; Gillian Weaver-Dunlop, M.S.W.
Source: Volume 03, Number 02, Fall 2010 , pp.149-174(26)
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Abstract:
A common myth about partner violence is that it ends when the woman leaves her abusive partner. Unfortunately, that is not always the case: former partners are often quite abusive, even when no longer living together. The situation becomes more complicated when there are children. In fact, when former partners share custody of children, women are often vulnerable because of ongoing contact between her and her estranged partner. In this article, the authors describe a program in Canada aimed at alleviating this situation and decreasing risk of abuse for both women and their children. This program provides a neutral and safe place for visitation to occur that minimizes contact between women and their abusive partners. They also describe the characteristics of these programs, their effectiveness, and some of the controversies surrounding their use.Keywords:
Affiliations:
1: RESOLVE Alberta; 2: University of Calgary; 3: RESOLVE Alberta.