Practitioner Perspectives on First Nations Women's Engagements with the Family Law System: Navigating Complexities in Turning To/Away

Increasing First Nations women's use of the family law system is seen by some as an important endeavour that will be achieved by removing barriers to access and cultural safety. This position assumes that First Nations women could be using the family law system more, and that increased engagement equates to greater safety for women and children. Drawing on insights from 30 professionals working at Women's Legal Services who support First Nations women who are victim-survivors of family violence, we explore First Nations women's participation in the family law system in more complex terms. Using an intersectional framework considering gender, race, social inequalities, and settler colonialism, we explore the family law system as embedded in a broader settler legal system. We, therefore, complicate framings that rely on an understanding of turning to/away and explore First Nations women's engagements with this system as shaped by the structural realities of their lives.