“In terms of incidents weve estimated that for ever NHL player that suffers a concussion during the season, approximately 7,000 Canadian women suffer the same injury at the hands of their intimate partner each year.”
The federal government announced a $1 million grant for a new project to support survivors of gender-based violence in Kelowna.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus have joined the Kelowna Women's Shelter in a collaborative studying of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
Co-Principle Researcher and Professor at UBCO, Paul van Donklaar, was shocked by what they have found so far.
“In terms of incidents we've estimated that for ever NHL player that suffers a concussion during the season, approximately 7,000 Canadian women suffer the same injury at the hands of their intimate partner each year.”
Lab based assessments showed deficits in cognition, brain blood flow and sensory motor function in victims with these injuries
According to Karen Mason with the Kelowna Women’s Shelter, every week approximately two and a half women are killed by a family member or intimate male partner.
She stated head injuries can cause women devastated by trauma to become impatient, forgetful and angry, not only with staff but with their own children.
"We have the privilege to start educating, not only our staff at Kelowna women's shelter, but frontline workers at shelters across the province and across the country, so that we can all consider brain injury as a really critical factor in the women we're supporting and add that to how we work with them."
Mason expressed that the funding is a huge step for Canadian Women.
“This funding from the federal government means we can create and pilot test what we are calling a community support network, so that we can identify women who may have experienced a TBI [by an intimate partner] and feed her into a system that is designed to support her and her particular needs,” said Mason.
This may include medical care, psychological support and counselling, learning more about parenting, basic life skills and improving memory.
This will allow agencies to identify women who have experienced trauma and provide her with a safety net after leaving an abusive situation.
