Project Overview
The Violence Against Women Curriculum Modules Initiative was developed to support the inclusion of violence against women issues in Canadian law school education. The objective of the initiative was to develop flexible curriculum modules that law schools could integrate into existing courses, offer as intensive stand-alone courses, or combine into a full course. The modules were designed to ensure that law students receive foundational training on violence against women regardless of the area of law in which they ultimately practise.
The initiative recognizes that legal responses to violence against women arise across many areas of law—not only criminal and family law, but also immigration, social welfare, torts, ethics, and public policy. As a result, the project takes a cross-disciplinary approach to legal education, emphasizing both substantive legal knowledge and professional responsibility.
The LCO retained Pamela Cross, an expert on violence against women with extensive experience developing legal education curricula for institutions including the National Judicial Institute and Legal Aid, as Project Director. The work builds on earlier curriculum initiatives in Canada and internationally, adapting them to the Ontario legal and educational context.
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee members were:
- Pamela Cross, Project Coordinator
Law Commission of Ontario - Patricia Hughes, Executive Director
Faculty of Law Representatives - Martha Bailey, Queen’s University
- Nicholas Bala, Queen’s University
- Louise Belanger-Hardy, University of Ottawa
- Julie MacFarlane, University of Windsor
- Janet Mosher, Osgoode Hall
- Jennifer Nedelsky, University of Toronto
- Melanie Randall, University of Western Ontario
- Elizabeth Sheehy, University of Ottawa
Community Representatives - Leighann Burns, OAITH
- Lisa Cirillo, Downtown Legal Services Student Legal Clinic
- Mary Lou Fassel, Barbra Schlifer Clinic
- David Humphries, Criminal Lawyer
- Nneka MacGregor, Women at the Centre
- Tracey Marshall, Durham College/University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Law Society of Upper Canada - Diana Miles
National Judicial Institute - Kate Kehoe
- George Thomson
Judiciary - Patti Cross, Office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Court of Justice
- Justice Marc Rosenberg, Ontario Court of Appeal
Ministry of the Attorney General - Anne Marie Predko, Director, Family Policy and Programs Branch, Court Services Division
- Jill Witkin, Deputy Crown Attorney, Old City Hall Specialized Courts
Acknowledgement of Funding
The LCO gratefully acknowledges the funding from the Ontario Women’s Directorate in support of the project.
Curriculum Framework and Outputs
The project resulted in a comprehensive Final Report that sets out a framework for incorporating violence against women issues into law school curricula, along with practical curriculum materials.
At the core of the report is a framework for inclusion, which outlines guiding principles, educational objectives, and core competencies for law students. The framework is intended to assist law schools and instructors in evaluating where and how violence against women issues can be meaningfully integrated into legal education.
The report also includes a set of curriculum modules, which provide substantive content and teaching materials on topics such as:
- Foundational concepts related to violence against women
- Family law and criminal law
- Ethics, professionalism, and legal practice considerations
Together, the framework and modules are intended to support law schools in developing responsive, adaptable, and context-sensitive approaches to teaching violence against women within legal education.