Local researchers initiate study during Domestic Violence Awareness month

A distraught woman is shown in this file image.

November is the month to support survivors of intimate partner violence.

The Waypoint Research Institute (WRI) does its part by raising awareness about domestic violence by developing public education on prevention to support women and men affected.

"Intimate partner violence affects the mental health and well-being of women and others across society," said Dr. Elnaz Moghimi, WRI's research scientist.

"Our collective efforts are vital to improving the safety of every person affected by gender-based violence, and increasing access to anti-violence services and supports."

Moghimi, along with Dr. Zoe Hilton, Waypoint’s Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health, are in the process of recruiting participants in the Simcoe County and Muskoka region for a study to learn what individuals impacted by IPV require when it comes to mental health.

Hilton studies coercive control, referring to a range of abusive behaviours, such as isolating, threatening, stalking, technology surveillance and controlling finances. In Queen’s Park now, Ontario’s Bill C-332 would criminalize coercive control of intimate partner violence.

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To that end, Waypoint has reached out to the province to build its first mental health hub focused on gender-based violence.

Moghimi wants to meet with people who have lived experience of intimate partner violence and are interested in contributing to the research. Having just received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant, Moghimi will create a website dedicated to encouraging a safe space to share stories between researchers, people with lived experience and organizations who serve IPV survivors.

Hilton, who spoke at the province’s standing committee on justice policy in August, said "By raising awareness and providing evidence-based support, we can make a difference in the lives of those affected."