Partnering to Support Victimized Fathers of Intimate Partner Violence: An Evidence-Based Approach
About the Project
The partnership between Chuang and the Canadian Centre for Men and Families -- York Region (CCMF-York) investigates the under-researched topic on victimized men and more specifically fathers, of intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is defined as any behaviour that causes physical, psychological, sexual harm or controlling behaviors by an intimate partner (World Health Organization, 2012).
In December 2019, CCMF-York opened its doors to the York Region community (population of 1.2 million). A significant number of their clients are victimized/surviving fathers or families and friends of victimized fathers who have been searching for help. Thus, CCMF-York is seeking to further develop knowledge and skill capacity for their staff and facilitators, creating gender and culturally sensitive services and programs for men/fathers and IPV, and building public awareness on these issues.
For many years, fathers had been searching for formal support, unable to find services and programs that are gendered sensitive and socio-culturally appropriate. Acknowledging that men have their own unique challenges and experiences, men's organizations in Canada have recently organized to address these great societal concerns. In York region, the police statistics on domestic violence has been steadily increasing from 2017 -- 2019. It is expected that this rate will be drastically higher because of COVID. The statistics revealed that 20% of charged IPV perpetrators were females (York Regional Police, 2020). However, the incident rates on male victims are not accurate as many men do not report the abuse. Several Canadian surveys have found gender symmetry (similar proportions of men and women).
Fathers cannot continue to be "in the shadows" or "silenced" by societal stigma and shame, especially when children and youth are involved. All family members have a right to live in a safe environment and to thrive in Canada. Thus, the objectives of the partnership project are to critically explore and understand: (1) the experiences of IPV as men and as fathers; (2) how gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status may complicate surviving fathers' willingness to disclose and seek assistance and informal/formal support; (3) how these fathers navigate their own and societal views on IPV; and (4) the current community views (police, Children's Aide Society) on men and IPV.
The knowledge development of the study will focus on fathers' narratives/stories with the goal of gaining greater insights into this phenomenon. Using the power of videos to raise societal conversations about IPV and encourage fathers to step forward can strengthen families. Focus groups with key community stakeholders will also provide significant insight into this complex topic, as dealing with IVP needs a multi-pronged, multi-partnership approach. With this knowledge, the partnership goal will be to create and/or enhance programs and/or services (including outreach activities) at CCMF-York, build knowledge and skills capacity among staff, mobilize videos and information on CCMF-York's website, and create a knowledge mobilization "hub" for the organization. This project will continue to leverage more partnerships with fathers, organizations, community stakeholders, and researchers to help families who suffer from IVP.