Speaker Series – Wednesday, October 7 from 1–3 pm Eastern
This webinar will focus on the following:
- IPV with a focus on Coercive Control
- Take a look at systems of Oppression
- Intersectionality and various Vulnerabilities
- Culture and Cultural Diversity
- The Importance of Knowing Who You Are
- Screening
- Process Design
- Best Practices
Family mediators are increasingly called upon to recognize and respond to the complex realities of intimate partner violence (IPV), coercive control, and the broader social contexts that shape families’ experiences. This workshop explores how systems of oppression, intersectionality, culture, and individual vulnerabilities influence family dynamics, access to justice, and the mediation process. Participants will examine the importance of self-awareness, learn best practices for screening for IPV, and consider how thoughtful process design can enhance both safety and effectiveness. Through practical application and reflection, this session will strengthen participants’ ability to design mediation processes that are responsive to the unique needs, circumstances, and lived experiences of the families they serve.
Learning objectives:
- To develop an understanding of how DV/IPV operates and how they interplay in the justice system
- To learn about the various systems of oppression
- To learn how the different systems impact and intersect with different cultural communities
- To take a closer look at yourself
- To learn how to apply your understanding of the above and how to utilize the skills in the work you do
- Learn how to appropriately screen for DV/IPV using appropriate screening tools
- Learn how to create a process design that fits with or connects with varying family situations
Registration link: https://forms.gle/nizWKdcaBPBKa1E39
Speaker Bio: Antoinette Clarke, M.S.W., B.S.W., Grd.Dip. Soc.Adm., CCFM(FMC)(OAFM)
Consultant – Mediator – Trainer
Antoinette is currently an independent Consultant. She is a Certified Comprehensive Family Mediator with Family Mediation Canada (FMC) and the Ontario Association for Family Mediators (OAFM), a Child Protection Mediator, and a Collaborative Family Professional. She delivers instruction and training in areas such as Family Mediation, Domestic Violence, Oppression, and Intersectionality. She is the sole proprietor of CCMS (Counseling, Consultation, and Mediation Services). She is one of the lead trainers of the Conflict Resolution Training Group (CRTG) and teaches the Basic and Advanced course in Family Mediation for the Black Mediation Center. She is a member of the Elder Mediation International Network and the Association for Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Parenting Plan Guide Task Force.
She is the retired Executive Director and board member for Peel Family Mediation Service, which oversees court-based services at the Brampton, Orangeville, and Newmarket Family Courts, and a retired adjunct professor, School of Social Work, York University. She is a former assessor for Family Mediation Canada. Part of her continued research is looking at ‘An Examination and Understanding of the Significance of Cultural Differences in Court-Based Mediation Services within Family Courts in Ontario”.
Antoinette is the co-author of a paper for Justice Canada entitled Newcomers to Canada: Viewing the Impact of Family Violence on Newcomers to the Region of Peel, Ontario through Interlocking, Intersectional and Ethno-Cultural Lens: Best Practices for Screening for Family Violence and Supporting Victims in a Trauma-Informed Manner, 2020 In addition she coauthored a book chapter entitled ‘Restorative Justice-based mediation for elder abuse among ethno-racial minority seniors in Diversity and Aging Among Immigrant Seniors in Canada: Changing Faces and Greying Temples(ed) Douglas Durst and Michael MacLean – October, 2010.
