Developing better care for women who experience domestic violence

The statistics are startling. Domestic violence (DV) is increasingly recognized as an issue affecting the health of millions of women. In Canada, an estimated 7% of women, or 653,000 individuals, experienced physical or sexual assault by their intimate partners in the five years preceding the most recent survey. At the extreme end of the continuum, one to two Canadian women are murdered by their current or former partners every week.

Frequently these homicides (femicides) occur in conjunction with mental health issues and/or substance use. The Coroner of Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee has consistently recommended that frontline healthcare service providers develop greater knowledge about the intersection of mental health and substance use issues with domestic violence.

Drs. Brenda Toner, CAMH; and Robin Mason, Women’s College Hospital.

Now a joint project between CAMH and Women’s College Hospital will address this gap to provide better care to women who have experienced DV. Dr. Brenda Toner, co-head of social equity and health research at CAMH, and Dr. Robin Mason, research scientist at Women’s College Research Institute at Women’s College Hospital are co-leading the Domestic Violence, Mental Health, and Addictions Curriculum Development project.

Funded by the province of Ontario through the Ontario Women’s Directorate, the goal of the project is to draw upon the expertise of those working in the mental health, violence against women (VAW), and substance use fields as well as published literature to:

identify core competencies for working at the intersection of these three sectors
incorporate the competencies into a practical curriculum to ensure abused women receive the best care possible wherever they go for help.

As co-principal investigators, Drs. Toner and Mason will work with up to eight different Domestic Violence Coordinating Committees. They’ll bring together representatives from the VAW, mental health, and addiction sectors for regional round table discussions to:

learn successful collaborations
identify gaps in knowledge in working with women who experience mental health and/or substance use problems within the context of domestic violence
develop core competencies for effective practice in working with those with these co-occurring issues.

The project objectives are to share information, improve communication and coordination across sectors, and create linkages among those working in VAW, mental health, and substance use. As well, it is to involve those who work with abusive men in the developing dialogue.

If you are interested in learning more about this project, please contact susan.orinn@wchospital.ca.