Death of Calgary children highlights need for earlier domestic violence intervention: experts

Warning signs before violence escalates

For Lana Wells, Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence at the University of Calgary, the case highlights gaps in how systems respond once domestic concerns are flagged and how broader risk factors are understood.

Wells says research and case patterns show domestic violence is often not random.

Instead, they can be linked to a range of developmental and behavioural risk factors, including exposure to violence in childhood, learned behaviour in the home and unresolved trauma or poor emotional regulation skills.

It also raises questions about how families are supported after police become involved, she said.

“To me, those are signals in a window of opportunity in which we could have diverted that behaviour – and it’s not all on police, their role is to see if there’s been a crime and to collect good evidence,” Wells said.

“But this is where community, neighbours, family, workplaces, schools, all have to show up if they are noticing and seeing something.”

Wells says once the system is involved with a family, more coordinated intervention is needed rather than fragmented responses.

“That father in this case needed supports differently that we were not providing him as a community. That responsibility is on all of us, and we all need to be engaged. We all need to learn how to disrupt violence within our networks.”

Wells also pointed to the need to reduce stigma around help-seeking, particularly for men.

She says recent research in Calgary has found 73 per cent of men charged with domestic violence had prior police contact through non-criminal domestic incidents.

“Often what happens is when police show up and there’s violence, but not enough to charge, they will sit down with the victim and create a safety plan,” Wells said.

“But that just puts the burden of keeping her and her kids safe on her, and I think we have to flip the burden to those who are causing harm and work with them. Does he have friends? How can he regulate? Where can he get support?”

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