“It Just Rips My Heart Out”: Child Custody Dispositions After Women Leave Abusive Partners

Abstract

Family court child custody dispositions for women who have left violent partners can result in complications and difficulties. This secondary analysis of data from 2005 to 2009 describes the child custody dispositions of 369 Canadian women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) (48.5% Indigenous, 44.7% White, and 6.4% Visible Minority). Of these, the most common court disposition was mothers receiving sole custody (38.9%), then those who did not use formal custody (34.5%), joint custody (13.3%), fathers receiving sole custody (4.4%), and family court still in progress (8.8%). Mothers’ perspectives about these dispositions were qualitatively analyzed. Implications for researchers and practitioners are presented.