Access to justice is a fundamental human right and is generally understood as one of the main pillars of society. In short, the Rule of Law is at the heart of SDP, giving authoritative power to judges to decide on what is considered "right and wrong" in society.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Family law is not static; this was designed to adapt to the needs of the times (Young, 1994). Included in this research was a comparison of the opinions of judges and lawyers working in Alberta (and the rest of Canada), all of whom expressed concern about the increasing number of SRL cases in family courts.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Structural social work recognizes that change to improve the lives of marginalized people must occur at a structural level. As already mentioned, the goal of structural social work is to change the structures of social systems.
METHODOLOGY
After careful examination of the various qualitative research methods, I found that narrative research best suited this research topic. Most importantly, narrative research methodology attempts to describe and analyze the lived experiences of the participants in depth (Creswell, 2007). The main aim of the recruitment phase of this research was to recruit participants based on their experience of SR in the family court.
In qualitative, narrative research, small sample sizes are appropriate as this method seeks to gain a deeper understanding of participants' personal stories (Creswell, 2014; Padgett, 2008). I found this suitable for transcribing the interview, as according to Azevedo et al. 2017) this method seeks to preserve the originality of the elements of the interviews. This method emphasizes the essence of the environment where the stories are located (Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013; Padgett, 2008).
Nevertheless, given the fluidity of the research process, this research is not without methodological gaps.
Chose This Topic
ANALYSIS OF THE NARRATIVE WITH SRL PARTICIPANTS This section presents the combined findings of narratives and from interviews conducted
The second case used an LA lawyer for some time but felt they were not reliable and so opted for SR, although at the end of the case she sought legal advice again. The three cases were unique in the circumstances that brought them to court, but they all had some commonalities. I found the three participants to be smart, well-educated, and interested in sharing their experiences of their process as self-represented litigants.
To protect participants' identity and privacy, I have called them participant 1, participant 2 and participant 3 throughout this analysis. To bring out participants' voices, original quotes from their stories are used to analyze the relevant themes that emerged. These themes include: (a) reasons for SR, participants' concerns about the barriers to access to justice, (b) the effect of the court process on participants' health, and (c) the participants' views on the behavior of trial judges.
I also greatly appreciate the contribution of each participant in this sample for sharing their unique and valuable experiences that contribute to understanding the effects that SR in family court has had on their lives.
Reasons for Self-Representation
Another reason I decided to self-represent was, for example, I had talked to different people I met in court. I was encouraged by this news, I also read that about 80% of family court cases are self-represented… this was surprising to me. These are some of the examples that illustrate the lack of financial resources that people face.
In this context, it can be said that the justice system is not the same for all and its inability to provide equal access to justice for all people with family legal problems invalidates the values of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part II, Section 15(1), which exclude that are "all citizens equal before the law, have the same benefits before the law, have the same right to a fair trial" (Part II, Section 15.1). Although she cited many reasons why she chose SR, she was aware of how difficult it was to deal with family issues while conducting court proceedings. According to Barnett (2017), high legal fees act as a gatekeeper and in many cases discourage people from pursuing family legal issues at the court level.
This story reflected the reality of other participants and the many cases of SRL in family court highlighted in some of the literature reviews found for this study.
Barriers Encountered to Access Justice
Specifically, help them fill out pleadings or other paperwork needed in the court process. In the beginning, I only had a booklet, or I think it was a brochure with information about the court. I didn't find any helpful programs outside of court, but the on-call counselors were helpful and I got more information in court.
At the beginning of my process, I knew nothing about family law or the court process. If the judge tells me upstairs in the courtroom, you have to talk to the guardian ad litem, then I go talk to them. I realized that everything in the court is very slow and the system is old and all activities are done manually.
Although she followed all the court's instructions and documented herself, she still faced barriers during the process.
The Effect of the Court Process on Participant’s Health
These factors are consistent with many of the studies found in the literature review that discussed the barriers faced by SRLs in courtrooms. Most of the time I was on the computer just filling out court papers, reading related court materials, preparing for court dates or doing work related to the process. The detailed description of the emotional and psychological hardship of this experience is not considered in the current literature.
This story illustrates the reality of those women who appear in family court with no legal advice or little knowledge of the system. Zorza (2009) reported that in many cases at the beginning of the court process, a large percentage of litigants have legal representation, but at the end of their cases, up to 80% end up as SRL. An important point she emphasized was the fact that "the emotional health of litigants is completely outside the judicial system" (Participant 3).
Unfortunately, this reality is mostly ignored by the FJS and is mostly out of the literature.
Participants’ Perception of Judges’ Behaviours Toward Them
However, it is important to emphasize that despite some of the participants' positive experiences with the trial judges, others did not have the same experience. At the beginning of the process I was intimidated to stand before the judge, but then I felt better. The SRC process is not an easy process to deal with, especially when litigants have children, lack of financial resources and the breakdown of the family.
I had no problems with judges, but it is intimidating to stand in front of a judge, especially early in the trial. Don't fear the process and don't let your emotions get in your way because the process is scary. Just standing in front of a judge and hearing your ex-partner's statements brings up a lot of emotions.
From the start of the process, other options than adversarial litigation should be available to help with family legal problems.
IMPLICATIONS
This was noted during the discussion about the lack of programs, the help of LA, the fear of confrontation. One of the aims of this research was to uncover the narratives of SRL, particularly the barriers faced by women in FJS, as their voices have largely been excluded from the current social work literature. Unfortunately, Townson (2000) failed to identify the role of FJS in disadvantaging women in court processes, and there are few articles linking the role of FJS to women's poverty; this was evident from the findings.
Most participants expressed frustration with the unfairness of the FJS and the obstacles to accessing justice to resolve family law issues. In short, the participants faced most, if not all, of the same issues regarding structural social work and AOP frameworks. Research is also needed to make family law an essential service like health care and education, as stated by Justice McLachlin (2013), and most of the participants expressed the same concern.
Furthermore, the Ontario government cutting 30% of the annual LA budget will worsen women's legal aid (Paikin, 2019).
REFLECTION AND CONCLUSION Reflection
It is in the interest of the state to provide an accessible family law for those who need to resolve family problems that require legal intervention as this affects many, if not all segments of our society. Jennifer Poole, an associate professor and director of the Graduate Program in Social Work at Ryerson University is supervising my Masters research. The purpose of this study is to gain a broader understanding of the challenges faced by self-represented litigants (SRLs) in family court.
If you decided to participate, please be informed of the following: any question during the interview makes you uncomfortable, you can skip it, and in case you wish to stop participating, you can do so at any time during the investigation. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a participant in this study, please contact: Research Ethics Board c/o Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation. Covering the costs of divorce: The role of the family, the state and the market.
Contrast the views of Alberta family law lawyers and judges of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench. Facilitating access to legal information by self-represented litigants: An exploratory case study of the People's Law Library of Maryland. Tracking the Continuing Trends of the Self-Represented Litigants Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project.
