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1. Individual sessions, proceed with joint session only when safety is established (i.e. mother feels safe)

2. Mother being fearful towards father, Father’s stalking behavior, family violence, father’s dominating the conversation, father justifying/rationalising his violent behaviors as discipline despite CPS’s involvement with an existing safety plan

3. Coercive controlling violence

4. Supervised access by a third party/professional to assess child’s response towards father

5. What was the investigation outcome known to CPS, what was the work done to support the family (i.e. safety plan, any psychological support provided by Danial), what was disclosed by child - how does child feels towards father, child’s medical report, whether a police report was lodged after the recent, outcome of PPO application, is father receiving any support for himself

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• Caucus - Separate

• Bruises, scars, shifting away, avoiding eye contact, interrupting

• CCV/Physical + Harassment

• Supervised access w gradual

• Information from CPS and regarding PPO

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Table 7 - Response for Question #1 and #2

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Table 7 - Response for Question #1 and #2

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Table 11

We can feel the confusion, conflicted, divided loyalty of the child.

Currently cross allegations need to be investigated

Child definitely impacted by the actions of the parents and the ongoing cross allegations

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-              Domestic violence present. PPO applied for.

-              Having observed the discomfort of the mother, may be helpful to see parties separately

-              FJC – usually will have CFRC before mediation

-              SYC mediation vs FJC mediation FJC mediators are judges, can record consent orders once parties agree. SYC mediators are not judges. They are there to mediate convos about ancillary issues and talak, but they cannot record consent

-              What if Father insists on joint session?

-              May request for session to be by Zoom. If parties are represented in SYC, session can be online. Reduce physical proximity. Usually will start with joint session, see each other’s faces, hopefully can reduce some tension

-              No right or wrong answer. Professional judgment based on your understanding of parties

-              Identifying red flags –

o   Wife’s fearfulness

o   Interruption by Husband – generally suggests that he is someone who wants to be in control of the conversation

o   Father is well-dressed vs Mother with old scars – suggests intimidation? Financial power? But should not jump into assumptions too – people generally come for counselling / court more well-dressed. Have also seen cases where a party may intentionally dress down. When not getting orders they want, can start to argue with judge.

o   Dressing up / dressing down – possible power imbalance? Some level of manipulation to be viewed in a certain way

o   CPS’ involvement previously – CPS assessed to have a certain level of risk. violence severe enough that CPS saw necessary to intervene

-              What happens if Client keeps secrets? E.g. not informing about CPS involvement?

o   Usually client will share, or opposing counsel will share. Or Court inform

o   Can try through social worker

o   Within MSF, there are internal systems to share the info e.g. SS Net (although could have interim period when info is not available). Not all agencies have access to the CPS report.

-              What kind of violence?

o   Physical, psychological

o   Coercive, controlling violence? Possible – power imbalance. Speaking over the other party etc.

-              What type of access?

o   DSSA. If just supervised access, issue is who supervise? DSSA report will be helpful for both sides – mother is reassured, father can have access. If all goes well, there can be progressive access arrangements.

o   Should consider child’s age too – as child gets older

o   DSSA is structured – it is also a test for the visit parent as to whether they willing to comply with the regime. As time goes by, some visit parents start to get impatient and “true colours” show

o   Access is a journey – it takes time to get there

o   Sometimes to convince visit parent to be cooperative, will advise that DSSA report states facts. Parties do not get copy of report. And some visit parents will be willing to comply

o   Court orders can be very prescriptive e.g. to attend X programme. But as time goes by, child may be found to be more suitable for Y programme. May be more helpful to have more flexibility in the order. Needs may change over time

Closing: in similar cases, may need to be congnisant of the info we have. info will come up along the journey from different sources. important for different agencies to come together and work closely

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Questions 1 to 3

Concerns about both parents suitability to care for the child due to the triangulation.

Child feels confused and acts out in other settings.

Question 4

Hakam - Assess suitability of both parents to care if issue is brought up

MCP - Conduct risk assessment using CARG and report to NAVH while concurrently establish immediate safety concerns and work with other stakeholders

DSSA - Practice trauma-informed care in listening and responding to child

Law - Corroborate information and make suitable recommendations to Court if needed such as DSSA support and custody suitability report

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Ariff and Siti

Son Ali (8 years old)

1. Child safety concerns: subjected to harm and injuries? Emotional turmoil. Verbal abuse. Knife pointing.

2. Custody and care: could be throwing false allegations, could also be true, could there have been mistakes too?

3. Long-term emotional scars, guilt - not open to put his parents in a difficult position - thus stops reporting any future abuse.

4. Listen to the child, allow them to express through various means, not just through speech, validate their fears, immediate reaction is to treat their feedback seriously upon first sharing - verify later.

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1. Given the history of domestic violence between Mdm Sara and Mr Hafiz, we would have recommend to start with separate sessions to ensure safety and allow both parties to express themselves freely.

2. Red flags:

Domestic violence as Mdm Sara has injury scars, and there is a history of physical abuse.

Fear and intimidation Sara’s avoidance of eye contact and fear of Mr Hafiz.

Harsh punishment and stalking

Mdm Sara has PPO against Mr Hafiz.

CPS involvement and safety planning

3. Coercive, controlling violence.

4. What type of access is suitable for the child and parent?

• Supervised access: Given the history of violence, supervised access in a safe environment is recommended to protect Danial and allow Mr Hafiz to maintain a relationship with his son.

5. Cause of Mdm Sara’s injuries and scars, whether its abuse or self-harm

what is included in the safety plan

PPO details: Specific incidents that led to the PPO

Values system as parents and the history of the marriage

Father’s mental health: Assessment of Mr Hafiz’s mental health and any support he might need to address his behavior and emotions.

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1)

Occasionally clients request for a separate session.

If FV is unknown/unreported, there’s a possibility of having joint session. If it arises, caucus session will be arranged

Counselling session to be done online instead

2)

Sitting apart

Avoiding eye contact

Injury scars

Not wanting the spouse to know her new residential address

Stalking

History of physical aggression (restrained/slapped)

CPS involvement due to abuse on son

3)

Coercive Controlling Violence

4)

Supervised visitation order

5)

to check in with CPS (e.g., gain more details on the reasons for PPO application)

Outcome of PPO

Other supportive figures in the family who can support the family members and/or during supervision

Whether the child’s system, like school, had sighted child in a safe manner

Documents that client submitted for PPO application