Self-Represented Litigants Project
Through this 15-month program at the Clinic we will build our capacity to provide direct support and informational resources to self-represented women and gender diverse of gender-based violence in a variety of situations and legal proceedings who are facing barriers to justice, compounded by the isolation and other impacts of COVID, including service cutbacks such as access to Legal Aid.
Financial and affordability issues remain the significant barrier to access to justice in Canada. There is a significant gap between the eligibility threshold for legal aid services and the ability to afford a lawyer, leading many people to self-representation.
Intersectionality plays a crucial role in the complexity faced by self-represented clients. Did you know that the highest rate of self-representation in Ontario occurs in housing law? According to data from Legal Aid Ontario’s Tenant Duty Counsel program in 2018, an overwhelming 97.4% of tenants were unrepresented before the Landlord and Tenant Board. Furthermore, 57.8% of self-represented litigants were involved in civil matters, while 42.2% were dealing with family matters. This data not only underscores the widespread nature of self-representation but also highlights the intersecting legal and personal challenges that these individuals face, adding layers of complexity to their legal struggles.
Self-represented litigants need more face-to-face orientation, education and other forms of support to navigate the legal system, which is why we started this project.
What we can offer:
We can help self-represented survivors with civil law, criminal law (assistance with peace bonds or private prosecution), family law, housing law, and immigration law. Services will be provided when there are no other support services available through community legal clinics, or through Legal Aid Ontario. Please call us for more details about what we can offer.
The project will also compile comprehensive set of legal resources including plain language legal guides, video tutorials, user-friendly online tools and implement guided decision trees to assist users in understanding their legal options.
In addition, online webinars covering legal rights, court procedures, and self-representation skills will be created. Please visit us back to access these resources on our website.
Specific Services offered to self-represented survivors include:
- Civil law matters;
- Peace bonds and private persecutions;
- Simple divorce, getting a restraining order;
- Supporting client to attend court, tribunals and small claim courts
- Helping with filling out forms (such as work permits and other matters related to maintaining immigration status in Canada); and
- Public Legal Education through webinars and online tools.
How to get a Peace Bond?
Application to remain in Canada under Humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
We would like to hear from you
Have you attended or watched any of our webinars before? We’d love to hear your feedback! Your input will help us improve our webinars.
The Self-Represented Women Project is founded by:
We need your support
Your support is important to the work we do today and every day, helping us to make a lasting impact on those we serve.
The Schlifer Clinic is thankful for the continued generosity of its donors and supporters.