Filicide prevention | Domestic violence is a risk factor, warns the Coroner’s Office

A child’s exposure to domestic violence is a red flag that must be taken into account in the prevention of filicide, even when the child has never been physically assaulted, underlines the Coroner’s Office in a report released Thursday.

“In many situations, filicide is the first manifestation of physical abuse against the child,” notes the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee in its second annual report.

“Therefore, in the context of spousal abuse, the fact that a child is not physically abused at a point in time is no basis for concluding that that child will not become a victim of homicide, or any other form of aggression. »

This committee formed in 2017 brings together some twenty experts from various backgrounds (academic, community, legal, police, government, etc.).

Its first annual report, published two years ago, did not make any recommendations aimed at protecting children, as it dealt with events in which most of the victims were women.

This time, he looked at 11 family dramas where more than half of the homicide victims (16 out of 30) were children.

Ten of these events presented “at least one risk factor closely related to the children: threats or abuse towards the children, threat or domestic violence in the presence of the children or disputes over the custody of the children”, and they took place against the background of a breakdown. , the authors point out.

In half of the cases, the rupture was imminent or recent (less than six months), in the other half, it dated back more than three years.

It therefore recommends including “detailed content on coercive control, on the difference between domestic violence and severe separation conflicts, and on domestic violence in a post-separation context” in training sessions including the Secretariat for the Female Condition has responsibility.

The conditions for the release of any spouse or ex-spouse “violent in a context of domestic violence” should take into account the safety of the children, and youth protection workers should be able to assess the risk of homicide, also argues the committee.

We should also “ensure that children can be heard and that their opinion can be considered”, recommends the report, which has 25 recommendations.

Fewer resources for attackers

The names, dates and places relating to the dramas studied are not specified. The 16 children were between 1 and 15 years old. Almost all (14) were killed by their biological father. Four spouses or ex-spouses were also murdered, and all the attackers were men.

In most cases, assistance resources intervened during episodes of conjugal violence preceding the tragedy, slightly more frequently with spouses (27 contacts with resources) than with aggressors (18 contacts).

Over the past two years, “significant changes have taken place in the legislative and institutional environment surrounding the issue of domestic violence,” the committee acknowledges.

However, given the “frequency” and “the magnitude of the consequences” of this form of violence on children, “the latter must be recognized as victims in their own right”, he pleads in this new report. .