VICTORIA — A panel that examined 100 domestic-violence deaths in British Columbia says few victims tell anyone what's happening in their lives before they are killed and even professionals may not know how to they can help.
The group of experts ranging from police and a former judges to agencies involved in family services and aboriginal health looked at 75 separate incidents between 2010 and 2015.
Its three recommendations, to be implemented by December 2017, are contained in a report released by the BC Coroners Service.
The report says the overwhelming burden of intimate-partner violence is borne by women, mostly between the ages of 20 and 59, and that their children may endure lifelong consequences from exposure to family violence.
The death-review panel is calling for more public awareness about intimate-partner violence and a review by the Justice Ministry to determine the merits of early case management by a single judge in family and criminal cases.
The panel says the Provincial Domestic Violence Office should also enhance access to data so it can be shared between service agencies to support victims and their children.
