Intimate partner violence: risk assessment and safety planning

1What it is

• Behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours (the World Health Organization's definition, as Ontario gives it).
• It covers violence by current and former spouses and partners.

2Risk assessment: what CRPO says

• Structured tools to identify red flags indicating risk of harm.
• They are not infallible: they depend on the client feeling safe enough to be honest.
• Harm can occur even when someone is considered low risk.

3Factors in the person causing harm

• History of abuse; escalation of violence; criminality.
• Age or declining physical, cognitive or mental health; access to firearms; substance use.
• Attitudes supporting violence. (CRPO's list, drawn partly from the Department of Justice Canada; not exhaustive.)

4Factors in the person harmed

• Concerns about future violence.
• Barriers in accessing support.
• A biological child with a different partner.
• Assaulted by the partner while pregnant.

5No single profile

• Intimate partner violence can be experienced by persons of any gender, sexuality, race, religion or class; there is no single profile of a perpetrator either.
• CRPO: examine your own biases about who may be harmed or causing harm.

6The safety plan

1. Immediate escape or intervention plans, depending on the risk.
2. Safe environments at home, at work and in the neighbourhood.
3. Guidance for an active violent incident.
4. When confidentiality might be breached, and the client's preferences: a trusted person or service they would accept as an intervenor.

7Breaching confidentiality? Weigh

• The level of risk to the client or a third party.
• The nature of the risk.
• The client's wishes about intervention, as the safety plan may set out.
• The options available, such as crisis response or police-partnered services.

8The law behind it

• PHIPA s. 40 (1): you may disclose without consent if you believe on reasonable grounds it is necessary to eliminate or reduce a significant risk of serious bodily harm. No statute requires it; get advice on a duty to warn.
• If a child may be in need of protection, the duty to report under the CYFSA (s. 125) applies, whatever the adult client wishes.

9Fit the plan to the person

• Build each plan from the client's circumstances, not a uniform approach.
• CRPO's example, citing Women and Gender Equality Canada: Indigenous women often face fewer culturally appropriate resources, inaccessible services, distrust of law enforcement and a perceived lack of confidentiality in the justice system.

10Your part, and the standards

• Know evidence-based tools, document safety planning, and educate the client about risks without influencing their decisions.
• Competence and referral when a case is too complex (Standards 1.9 and 2.1).
• When the duty to report means breaching confidentiality (1.3 and 3.1).
• Sharing with the circle of care, with the client's permission (3.3).