Memorializes Claire Crooks (1973-2004), a distinguished clinical child psychologist who dedicated her life's work to advancing the well-being of children and youth through the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based interventions. Claire's well-known work on healthy youth relationships promotion began as a postdoctoral fellow, continuing as a research scientist, and then associate director, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Centre for Prevention Science in London, Ontario. The caliber of Claire's career contributions was recognized by the receipt of an Order of Ontario shortly before her passing, the province's highest civilian honor. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Family violence and coercive control are increasingly being recognized in legislation and practice as critical factors to consider in determining children's best interests in making appropriate post-separation parenting arrangements. Professional practices have also become more trauma and violence-informed and better able to recognize and respond to the impact of violence on survivors and their children. Assessing the validity and context of family violence allegations is critical for making appropriate post-separation parenting arrangements. In cases where there are family violence concerns, court responses need to take account of the potential harm that perpetrators present to the children and the other parent. Findings of family violence should lead to a differentiated approach to parenting arrangements depending on the severity and history of family violence and coercive control, the timing of the disclosures, and the resources available to address safety for the adult victim and children. Arrangements may vary according to the potential need for restrictive parenting time, and may include supervised exchanges, supervised parenting, or no parenting time. This article reviews literature and legal developments to proposes a framework for better understanding and responding to continuing post-separation effects of domestic violence and coercive control.

This commentary provides an historical overview of work on children exposed to domestic violence across three generations of researchers in Ontario, Canada (PhDs completed in 1974, 2001, 2020). We focus on those children who never recover from the violence, namely, children killed in the context of domestic violence. Although recovery and resilience are critical areas of research and practice, not all children survive. Children who lose their lives to domestic violence are often overlooked as “collateral” victims in family homicides. It is equally important to examine the emerging data from domestic violence death review committees that point out an overwhelming number of risk factors and missed opportunities to intervene by the community, with special attention on the role of child protection. This research aligns with the articles in this special issue on the identification of the problems in the field, solutions to prevent child homicides and the challenges in the implementation of change. We draw attention to our recent review of the failure to implement repeated death review recommendations over a decade in our jurisdiction and the roadmap needed for significant changes in the child protection system.

Since 2003, all domestic violence-related homicides in Ontario, Canada have been reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee. This committee conducts in-depth analyses to help understand what may have been done differently, with hindsight, and make recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future. This study examined all recommendations made by the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee over a 10-year period (2010–2020). This study undertook a thematic analysis of all recommendations provided within 219 domestic homicide case reviews. Using a multistep coding process, several recurring themes were found across 400 recommendations. Results of this study identified consistent themes related to public awareness, professional education and enhanced systems, community agency collaboration and risk assessment, safety planning, and risk management. These themes parallel findings by similar research studies undertaken in the United States, parts of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Ongoing challenges in the implementation of these recommendations and an evaluation of the impact of this work in reducing homicides is discussed.

Intervention with fathers who commit family violence is an essential but often overlooked part of effective family court proceedings. This article provides an overview of how evidence-informed engagement with fathers around family violence can complement family court efforts to achieve safe and healthy outcomes for children. The focus on fathers is not based on bias against fathers, men, or masculinity, but rather it is consistent with the fact that fathers comprise a substantial proportion of those who use family violence. These men need more effective engagement and interventions. Fathers in these circumstances need to be engaged in services that can assess, monitor, and manage ongoing family violence and risk as well as develop skills to form more positive, healthy relationships with their children and children's mothers. Courts, in turn, need to consider evidence of accountability and change. Application and continued development of the strategies recommended herein would enhance the safety of mothers who experience violence, their children, and the well-being of fathers who have used family violence. Collaboration with community partners serving families must become cornerstones in promoting the safety for and with all family members. Intervention with fathers who use family violence is an essential part of family court proceedings.There are evidence-based programs for treating people who use family violence in their roles as intimate partners and parents.Evidence of change in fathers is crucial to decisions to drop supervision and increase parenting time.Effective family court intervention requires collaboration with community agencies providing services for children and parents living with family violence.Communities of practice may be a good model to foster enhanced collaboration.

Familicide is rare; however, the high victim counts in each incident and context surrounding these killings underscore the need for further research. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding familicide in Canada. Using univariate statistics, this study analyzed 26 incidents of familicide that occurred in Canada between 2010 and 2019. The results show that familicide is a gendered crime involving primarily male accused who often target female victims, have a history of domestic violence, and commit the killings using firearms. This research highlights the importance of developing risk assessment, risk management, and safety planning strategies to address warning signs and prevent future familicides.

In this article, children as victims of intimate partner violence will be explored. Their exposure to this violence has been linked with numerous devastating consequences including mental and physical health ailments, poor academic and work outcomes, and fatality. These outcomes will be summarized based on the last 30 years of research findings. Key prevention and intervention initiatives are also outlined to provide ways in which children can be protected from these harms.

Purpose:Children exposed to domestic violence are at risk of adverse short- and long-term psychosocial effects and of being abused themselves. However, mothers and children face systemic gaps when seeking safety from domestic violence services and police. Safety planning typically focuses on women, overlooking their multiple social identities and excluding their children. We explored safety strategies used by mothers and children coping together with severe domestic violence.Method:Interviews with 30 mothers who experienced severe or potentially life-threatening domestic violence and 5 adults who experienced domestic violence in childhood were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis, revealing five major themes: ongoing communication, appeasing the abuser, soothing activities, exposure reduction, and fostering independence.Results:Interpreting participants' experiences in terms of the mother-child dyad, we found that mothers and their children worked together to reassure each other, keep each other safe, and make plans to leave their abuser.Conclusions:Safety planning for the mother-child dyad could build on children's existing coping strategies and recognize and support children's desire to protect their mother and themselves effectively and safely according to their developmental stage.

PurposeDomestic violence and domestic homicide are significant community concerns in Canada. Recent studies suggest that female victims residing in rural, remote, and Northern (RRN) regions faced both greater levels of domestic violence and barriers to seek safety and support.MethodsThis study was part of a national research program that sought to understand the barriers to safety planning and survivors' views on what could be done to enhance possible support in RRN regions. A qualitative thematic analysis of fifteen interviews conducted with survivors of DV in these regions provided some insight into these questions.ResultsBarriers to safety planning included victim blaming and patriarchal attitudes, geographical barriers, confidentiality concerns, and a distrust in justice systems and community agencies. Participants made suggestions for those supporting survivors of DV in RRN regions that included meeting survivors where they are at, providing a non-judgmental space, believing, and validating survivors' experiences.ConclusionsRural victims of domestic violence were found to have significant barriers in disclosing their stories and seeking help which placed them at further risk of ongoing violence. Rurality was seen to be an important factor in understanding the context of their lives from an intersectional analysis. The implications of these findings were discussed in terms of enhanced outreach and practice among community members and service providers.

Domestic violence (DV) impacts the safety and well-being of adult victims and their children who are exposed to the violence. Police play a critical role in providing intervention strategies to protect the welfare of victims of DV. Police training, policy and procedures on intervention strategies are often adult-centric leaving little direct police interaction with children. The objective of the current study is to identify the challenges police officers perceive in providing effective safety planning and risk management strategies for domestic violence victims and their children. Interviews with domestic violence police specialists (n = 12) in Ontario, Canada were used to gather information on police officers’ perspective on the challenges they face in executing safety planning and risk management strategies. A dual deductive/inductive approach to a thematic analysis at the sematic level was used (Braun and Clarke, Qualitative Research in Psychology 3:77–101, 2006) to explore themes. The major themes that emerged from the interviews were: (a) challenges with the broader economic/social and judicial system; (b) challenges created by organizational factors; and (c) individual challenges affiliated with police officers’ perception of barriers they encountered. These challenges all impact the police response to providing intervention strategies to DV victims and their child(ren). This study highlights the need for police organizations to formalize training, policies, and directives specific to safety planning and risk management for adult victims of DV and their children.

This study examined the role of police in domestic homicide cases reviewed by a multidisciplinary death review committee in Ontario, Canada. Examining the 219 domestic homicide case summaries, this study explored the difference between homicides with, and without, prior police contact. Results indicated that police contacted cases had 63% more risk factors present compared with cases without prior police contact, with 80% of police-involved cases having 10 or more risk factors. Police cases had unique risk factors present including a failure to comply with authority, access to victims after risk assessments, prior threats to kill victims (including with a weapon), history of domestic violence (DV), extreme minimization of DV, addiction concerns, and an escalation of violence. Cases involving child homicide have unique child-specific risk factors such as custody disputes, threats to children, and abuse during pregnancy. Overall, there was a lack of formal risk assessments conducted. Implications are discussed in terms of police intervention being a critical opportunity for risk assessment, safety planning, and risk management. Although there is no certainty in predicting that lives would have been saved, the level of risk presented calls for enhanced efforts at assessment and intervention for adult victims and their children.

Assessing risk in domestic violence situations is foundational to ensuring safety. Although there is growing information about the reliability and validity of a variety of risk assessment tools across different practice contexts, there is a paucity of research on the feasibility and application of these tools in real world settings. The present qualitative study examined current practices in domestic violence risk assessment in Canada through a survey of professionals working across diverse sectors. Utilizing a thematic analysis of 255 open-text responses. this study presents several themes related to challenges identified at the systemic, organizational, and individual levels. Themes related to promising practices and the practical implication of risk assessment strategies are also explored.

The use of standardized tools to assess risk for children is mandatory in the child protection sector in Ontario. Factors that can be used specifically to assess the risk of lethality in exposure to domestic violence (DV) cases, however, are largely missing from these tools. Using data from an online survey of 138 child protection workers in Ontario, the current study examines practitioners' risk assessment and safety planning practices with DV cases. Findings provide an overview of the frequency of risk assessment and management strategies within various environmental contexts (e.g., urban and rural) and populations (e.g., indigenous and immigrants/refugees). According to the practitioners sampled, assessing and managing risk are frequently and consistently completed across the province, although specific strategies and challenges vary. Although mandatory provincial child protection tools are commonly used, some workers report using other specific DV risk assessment tools to complement their own measurement of risk and planning for safety. Respondents emphasized the importance of working collaboratively with families and professionals in other sectors to address risk. Implications for future research include exploring the barriers and challenges of using DV-specific risk assessments in child protection and factors contributing to these challenges as identified by practising child protection workers.

Through interviews the present study examined the perspectives of service providers (n = 14) in the violence against women (VAW) sector regarding risk factors and challenges in assessing risk for women experiencing domestic violence (DV) in rural locations. The present study also examined what promising practices VAW service providers are utilizing when working with women experiencing DV in rural locations. Interviews were coded and analyzed in a qualitative analysis computer program. Analysis indicated several risk factors including the location (i.e., geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and lack of community resources) and cultural factors (i.e., accepted and more available use of firearms, poverty, and no privacy/anonymity). Moreover, analyses indicated several challenges for VAW service providers assessing risk including barriers at the systemic (i.e., lack of agreement between services), organizational (i.e., lack of collaboration and risk assessment being underutilized/valued), and individual client (i.e., complexity of issues) level. However, participants outlined promising practices being implemented for rural locations such as interagency collaboration, public education, professional education, and outreach programs. The findings support other research in the field that highlight the increased vulnerability of women experiencing DV in rural locations and the added barriers and complexities in assessing risk for rural populations. Implications for future research and practice include further examination of the identified promising practices, a continued focus on collaborative approaches and innovative ways to prevent and manage risk in a rural context.

Almost 40% of murdered women are victims of domestic homicide across the world. However, research has yet to examine comorbid depression and substance abuse in domestic homicide perpetrators, despite comorbid mental health conditions being associated with homicide in the general population. A retrospective case analysis approach was performed using domestic homicide cases that had been reviewed by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee in Ontario, Canada. Group comparisons were made by compiling cases into groups based on perpetrators with depression and/or substance abuse: a no history of depression and/or substance use group, depression only group, substance abuse only group, and comorbid depression and substance abuse group. Statistical analyses compared groups on number and types of risk factors and service provider contacts. A major finding of the current study was the resounding lack of mental health care and batterer intervention program engagement across groups. Results also indicated that perpetrators with comorbid depression and substance abuse have an elevated number of risk factors for domestic homicide and elevated number of service provider contacts. Furthermore, results indicated that perpetrators with comorbid depression and substance abuse had an increased likelihood of having engaged in hostage-taking behavior and increased likelihood of having contact with mental health and health care providers. The study demonstrates the necessity for future research into the barriers associated with help-seeking by perpetrators, family and friends, as well as the barriers to agency referral and to mental health agencies providing service to perpetrators. It also highlights the need for service providers to take multiple mental health conditions into account when working with perpetrators of domestic homicide. Overall, this study underscores the importance of mental health and domestic violence training for service providers in different sectors. Moreover, it emphasizes the necessity of collaboration among service providers to address both violence-specific and mental health-specific concerns in perpetrators of domestic violence.

Male depression has been recognized as an important factor in some cases of intimate partner violence but there is a paucity of literature connecting depression and intimate partner homicide (IPH). This retrospective study provides a preliminary analysis that distinguished depressed from nondepressed perpetrators of IPH from a sample of 135 cases analyzed by a coroner’s homicide death review committee in Ontario, Canada. Depressed perpetrators were more likely to commit homicide-suicide and had almost 1.5 times the number of risk factors present than nondepressed perpetrators. Consistent with the existing literature, the results indicated that depressed perpetrators were significantly older, more likely to commit homicide-suicide than homicide only, more likely to have prior threats or attempts of suicide, more likely to have been abused or witnessed domestic violence as a child than nondepressed perpetrators and more likely to exhibit sexual jealousy. The implications for these findings are outlined in terms of training of mental health professionals and public awareness about the potential lethality of domestic violence.

Domestic homicide is the most extreme form of domestic violence. These deaths often appear to be predictable and preventable with hindsight, based on information from various death review process across the world. Prior research has identified citizenship status, length of stay, trauma and stress in the migration context as contributors to domestic violence. However, these factors have not been explored within the context of domestic homicide and the present study examined these factors among immigrant perpetrators.A retrospective case analysis approach was performed using domestic homicide cases that had been reviewed by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee in Ontario, Canada. Perpetrators with a history of pre-migration trauma had significantly more identified risk factors for domestic homicide. Additionally, they were more likely to engage in stalking behaviours and have more identified post-migration stressors. However, the number of agencies involved did not significantly differ between perpetrators with or without a history of pre-migration trauma. Pre-migration trauma is a critical factor in understanding the risk profiles of immigrant perpetrators. Standardized risk assessment tools generally do not screen for pre-migration trauma and it may be overlooked by professionals when evaluating risk of homicide or when engaging in risk management strategies. It is imperative that professionals are more aware of the relationship between migration trauma and domestic violence perpetration and there is continued research and development of specialized risk assessment tools to aid in domestic homicide prevention initiatives.

Exposure to domestic violence (DV) reports account for a significant portion of child welfare cases. However, there is a lack of resources for specifically working with cases that present a high-risk for lethality. The present study examined the involvement of child protection services (CPS) prior to domestic homicide cases. A retrospective case analysis was conducted utilizing cases reviewed by a domestic violence death review committee in Ontario, Canada. The study also examined the recommendations made by the committee to the child welfare sector. Overall, less than one-quarter of the homicide cases with children in the family system had CPS involvement. There were no differences in the presence of CPS involvement in cases where children were killed compared to cases where children were not killed. CPS-involved cases had significantly more risk factors and the family was involved with significantly more agencies overall. Recommendations directed to the child welfare sector highlighted the need for enhanced ongoing service provision to promote safety and hold perpetrators accountable, specialized DV training, and increased cross-sector collaboration. The child protection sector plays a critical role in assessing and managing risk in DV cases and preventing tragedies. The findings stress the importance of multi-disciplinary collaborations, and specialized ongoing training in engaging perpetrators and managing risk.

Domestic homicides are considered the most preventable of all homicides. As a result of work by domestic violence review committees, public inquiries and researchers and due to the voices of advocates and family members who have spoken about their experiences and loss, a great deal is known about the steps that are needed to prevent these tragedies. This chapter provides an overview of major themes identified throughout this book. They include the need to consider intersectionality, culture and historic context, to make resources more available to victims of domestic violence, to improve risk management for abuse perpetrators and to enhance interagency collaboration. Chapters in this book also emphasize the need for better training of professionals and for continued efforts to build public awareness about domestic violence and risks for domestic homicide. The case studies throughout are a call to action reminding all of us of the high stakes of this work. With effective and sustained implementation, these strategies will help to prevent future deaths.