The Housing Crisis & Coersive Control

How housing problems can trap clients in unsafe situations and what practical steps you can take to help.

This 1-hour course explains the unique challenges survivors of family violence face and how lawyers can apply this research in their practice. It will help you better support survivors navigating BC’s housing crisis and family law system.

verified 1.0 CPD (Ethics)
play_lesson 1 hour of content
local_offer CA$125

Rise Women’s Legal Centre’s 2025 report, “Should I Have Just Stayed?” Improving Family Law Remedies for Survivors During BC’s Housing Crisis, which shows the dangerous effects of BC’s housing crisis on women and gender diverse people. The first in-depth study of its kind, the report shows that, though the housing crisis in BC is affecting everyone, it can be life-threatening to survivors of intimate partner and family violence. 

This course breaks down the intersection with the housing crisis and violence, to understand how perpetrators use coercive control.

• Course Curriculum

  1. Introduction

  2. BC's Housing Crisis: Why call it a housing crisis? The numbers on housing. Intersecting identities.

  3. The Housing Crisis and Family Violence: Family Violence, Housing crisis and family violence, Lack of safe options, Hidden homelessness

  4. The Housing Crisis and Coercive Control: Coercive control and misconceptions, threats and intimidation, economic abuse, social isolation.

  5. Putting Into Practice: Practical Considerations, screening, safety planning, key takeaways, legal counsel connect

  6. Additional readings
     

• Learning Objectives

  1. Examine the relationship between the housing crisis and experiences of violence by identifying key contributing factors and impacts.

  2. Analyze how perpetrators use coercive control to influence, manipulate, and restrict survivors’ choices and safety.

  3. Apply knowledge of housing-related violence and coercive control by incorporating trauma-informed and survivor-centered approaches into professional practice.

• About the Instructor

  Haley Hrymak (she/her) was a staff lawyer at Rise Women’s Legal Centre who conducted original research to support Rise’s goal of providing responsive family law services to women and gender diverse people in BC. On behalf of Rise, Haley led numerous research projects on family violence and its intersection with the family law system. Haley was called to the bar in 2015 and holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Manitoba, and a LL.M from UBC. She is a PhD Candidate at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law where her research focuses on economic abuse and BC’s child support system.

We offer special student and group pricing to support your learning.
Reach out to education@womenslegalcentre.ca to find out more.

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Explore our series on BC’s Housing Crisis