A new initiative to train frontline professionals who work with victims of domestic violence was launched Monday in Montreal.
The Echo Institute will offer training programs aimed to improve how victims of domestic violence are supported. The programs are targeted at social workers, police, health workers and employers and unions.
“Sometimes all it takes is a simple question or attentive listening to change the trajectory of women who are victims of domestic violence. By being in contact with them, professionals have a privileged position to make a difference,” said Annick Brazeau, president of the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale, which officially launched the Institut Écho on Monday, in a press release.
In its first phase, the Institute targets four areas: the community sector, the judicial sector, the health and social services sector, as well as employers and unions.
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Founded by the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale (Regroupement), a women’s rights and advocacy organization, the institute will be led by Mathilde Trou.
The launch event at PHI Centre in Old Montreal also had a panel discussion with members from the Regroupment as well as Luc Mathieu, president of professional order of Quebec nurses,
According to the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee report released by the Quebec coroner’s office in November 2024, nearly 70 per cent victims were in contact with a healthcare or social worker or the police.
Annick Brazeau, president of the Regroupement, said in a press release, “By being in contact with (victims), professionals are in a privileged position to make a difference.”
The launch of the institute comes at a time both Canada and Quebec have seen record levels of domestic violence.
After reaching their highest levels in 2023, the number of police-reported domestic violence incidents in Canada remained at record levels last year, according to Statistics Canada data released last month. In 2024, there were 187 victims of family homicide – 100 of which were intimate partner homicide.
Quebec saw nearly 30 per cent increase in family violence since 2018 – the highest among provinces. Both family violence and intimate partner violence in Quebec were higher than the national average in 2024.
The institute’s first event on “on coercive control in the perinatal period” is scheduled for Nov. 24. In January 2026, a seminar on coercive control of children is being planned.
—With files from The Canadian Press, first published in French and translated by CityNews
