Safety for women & children

By Luke's Place | August 9, 2022

The content in this post is adapated from our recently updated After She Leaves Resource Manual. Click here to learn more about the manual.

Assessing risk

A woman will face one set of risks if she stays with a partner who is abusing her and a different set if she leaves. Leaving does not guarantee that her risks will be eliminated or even reduced. For many women, it will create new or increased risks, at least in the short term.

It is important for the woman and her support worker to develop an understanding of the nature of the abuse. Of particular concern is whether the woman and/or her children are at risk of death or serious injury.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive list that tells us when a woman or her children may be at risk of being killed or seriously injured. However, the indicators that follow represent current knowledge and research about some of the most predictive indicators.

Red flags that may require immediate intervention to ensure the safety of a woman and her children:

A recent or pending separation
A woman who is fearful for her safety and believes the abuser is capable of harming her and/or her children
A history of physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse toward the woman
A history of physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse toward the children
Threats of homicide or suicide
Breach of court orders
A criminal record by the abuser
Access to firearms or weapons
Threats to use firearms or other weapons against the woman, children or any other
person
Use/abuse of drugs and/or alcohol
Harm to pets and/or personal property
Economic control/deprivation (e.g., her ex is keeping her short of money)
Mental health concerns, especially depression
Isolation from family, friends and the community at large of the woman and/or the abuser
Obsessive behaviours, jealousy and/or stalking on the part of the abuser
Lack of remorse by abuser about his behaviour
Belief by the abuser that he is entitled to expect compliance from his partner and/or children
The abuser’s ready access to the woman and her children
Recent changes in the behaviour of the abuser articulated by the woman
The knowledge of abuse toward previous partners

Completing a risk-assessment questionnaire with an experienced woman abuse advocate gives a woman the opportunity to reflect on her situation. This allows her to:

Name what is happening to her as abuse.
Articulate the forms of abuse to which she is being subjected.
Identify the abusive strategies the abuser employs to control her.
Notice the patterns of abuse that have developed during the relationship.
Identify recent changes in conduct or actions of either the woman or the abuser that place her or her children at an escalated level of immediate risk.

Additionally, the woman benefits from the opportunity to assess her degree of isolation as well as her access to social support. The process permits her to gain insight into her situation, to obtain accurate information and to correct untrue beliefs she may hold about woman abuse. Most importantly, the process of engaging in a risk-assessment interview makes the woman an expert in her own experience and affirms for her the view that no one knows better than she what she is up against.

Completing a risk-assessment questionnaire with a woman has benefits for the worker too. It:

Provides the worker with a tool to organize her thinking about each woman’s situation.
Assists the worker in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of the woman’s immediate risk level.
Assists her in engaging in a cooperative, mutually respectful partnership with the woman in developing the best possible safety plan.
Articulates for the legal and court system specific reasons for concern and extra caution in particular situations.

Three Widely Accepted Threat/Risk-Assessment Tools use in Canada: