TORONTO — Jewish Women International Canada (JWIC), along with a committee of experts, has published a brochure about divorce for Jewish women.
The free brochure was made possible by Family Law Education for Women (FLEW), a public legal information project funded by the Ontario government whose goal is to inform Ontario women about their family law rights.
FLEW has produced materials on such topics as custody and access, child protection, domestic contracts, family law issues for immigrant, refugee and non-status women, and family law arbitration.
It’s made up of representatives from a number of local groups, including YWCA Toronto, Metropolitan Toronto Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO), the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW), Springtide Resources and the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL),
Penny Krowitz, executive director of JWIC, said her organization got involved in the project about a year ago. “I was invited to a meeting, because FLEW decided to broaden its committee to include reference groups such as ours – the only Jewish group – who represent the demographics and experience of Ontario women.”
Their idea was to publish materials on a wide variety of subjects pertinent to women.
“Our [mandate] was to outline a woman’s legal and religious obligations when dissolving a marriage in a format that is simple to understand, relevant, accurate, and easily accessible.”
Since February 2008, Krowitz has been meeting with her committee, which includes Evelyn Brook, a JWIC national executive board member and president of the Canadian Coalition of Jewish Women for the Get; Dr. Rachael Turkienicz of the Learning Centre; John Syrtash, family law lawyer; Judith Holzman, family law lawyer; Norma Joseph, a professor of religion at Concordia University and an expert on the get, the Jewish divorce document; Corinne Rusch-Drutz of YWCA Canada; Joanna Morrison, co-ordinator of community development services at JIAS Toronto, and Avraham Friedman, a former outreach worker at Jewish Family &Child.
As well as holding a number of planning meetings, the committee also met with local rabbis in the Orthodox community, including Rabbi Mordechai Ochs of Toronto’s Orthodox Jewish divorce court, to get their input.
The committee researched what languages the brochure should be translated into – it’s currently being translated into French, Hebrew and Russian – and held focus groups to get an objective and grassroots response to the material.
“The actual look of the material changed when we identified the need for a more reader-friendly style of presentation,” Krowitz said.
In writing the brochure, she said, committee members had to keep in mind that they were writing for women from every background, “from secular to frum.”
Information covered in the brochure includes the definition of a Jewish divorce, who needs one, and where to get it, as well as a list of community resources.
It also talks about the differences between Jewish and Canadian divorce law; who deals with custody, support and property division, and what happens when a husband refuses to give a get.
“This has been one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had. As we worked through the process, we realized the responsibility we had undertaken. Each word has an impact of women’s lives. It is an important project, and I’m proud to have been asked to do it,” Krowitz said.
JWICand FLEW plan to distribute the brochure to every centre across the province that has a connection to the Jewish community. “We want it to get into people’s hands,” she said.
For information, call FLEW at 416-961-8101, ext. 317, or JWIC at 416-630-9313.
