The RESPECT Study

Research framework for Engaging intimate partner violence Survivors as

Partners in Empowering Collaborative Transformation

What is it about

“This project seeks to co-create practical, equitable, and evidence-based recommendations for engaging survivors/victims in IPV research as research partners, resulting in co-creating a framework for IPV research partnerships.”
— Dr. Zoe Hilton

This project is led by N. Zoe Hilton, Ph.D., University of Toronto and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care; Elnaz Moghimi, Ph.D., Queens University and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care; Crystal Giesbrecht, Ph.D., Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS), Elke Ham, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and co-researchers.

This project is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council.

  • Problem

    Community service organizations are often approached by survivors/victims who spontaneously offer to share their experiences for research purposes. Frameworks are critical in providing principles and guidelines for the ethical and just engagement of survivors/victims in research. However, there is currently no evidence-based framework for the full involvement of survivors/victims in the research process as partners.

  • Objectives

    We want to understand what helps and what hinders research partnerships on intimate partner violence (IPV). We will look at current models of working together on research with people who have experienced IPV. We aim to create practical and evidence-based suggestions for involving survivors/victims. This will result in a framework for IPV research partnerships that we develop together.

  • Plan

    1. Review relevant literature on the experiences of survivors/victims participating in research related to intimate partner violence (IPV).

    2. Assess participatory models used in other research areas to see if they can be applied to IPV research (e.g., patient-oriented research, learning health system).

    3. Host an event with researchers and survivors/victims to establish a common understanding of the issue, identify values and outcomes important to survivors/victims, develop a framework, and create an action plan.

  • Impact

    This partnership aims to create a practical framework for promoting partnerships with survivors and victims in research on a significant social issue. The framework will transform how researchers and partners engage with survivors and victims who want to contribute to research. Activities to share knowledge will help ensure that the framework is widely accepted in the field of research on intimate partner violence (IPV). Ultimately, this project will greatly enhance the importance and quality of research on understanding and preventing IPV.

Let’s work together

Have you experienced Intimate Partner Violence and are interested in participating in research?

Register below!

Project Team

  • Dr. Zoe Hilton is a full professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health at Waypoint. For over 30 years, she has studied IPV risk, led multi-site inter-disciplinary teams, and translated research products into practical applications.

  • Dr. Crystal Giesbrecht is the Director of Research at the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS), the member association for 25 front-line intimate partner violence (IPV) shelters and service agencies.  She has published research relating to IPV intervention programs; newcomer women’s experiences of IPV; the intersection of IPV, animal maltreatment, and animal safekeeping; the workplace impact of IPV; coercive control; and addressing data gaps in the study of domestic homicide. Her doctoral research related to typologies of perpetrators of IPV. PATHS is currently researching victims/survivors’ experiences with the legal system. 

  • With over 10 years of experience conducting quantitative and qualitative research projects, including multi-site studies, and co-authoring 30 peer-reviewed articles, Ms. Ham is a research psychometrist at Waypoint Research Institute. She is a certified trainer for the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment and is the designer, implementer and facilitator of the ODARA 101 electronic training program (https://odara.waypointcentre.ca/ ). This self-paced, interactive e-learning program has been used to train and certify nearly 9000 police, victim services, health and corrections professionals in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and several European countries in English and French.

  • Dr. Elnaz Moghimi is an early career researcher at Waypoint and adjunct assistant professor at Queen’s University. She is currently conducting a study that uses an intersectional approach to understanding IPV service needs working with people with lived experience of IPV and a scoping review of IPV risk factors.

  • Ashley Melvin is a research analyst at Waypoint, where she focuses on research on IPV and studies using patient-oriented research approaches. Ashley brings to the team experience in using qualitative and quantitative methods and she is dedicated to advancing research that seeks to understand and addresses IPV service gaps for members of marginalized and underserved communities.

  • Kristin Smith is a survivor of both Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence. She is a Counsellor in private practice in Saskatoon and supports many who have experienced violence.  Kristin has also recently founded a not for profit called Safety and Advocacy for Every Child  in Saskatchewan (SAFE Child SK).  Given her lived experience both personally and professionally, Kristen is a dedicated advocate who is passionate about addressing complex issues, such as intimate partner violence, at the systems-level to support reform and our human right to be safe.

  • Carissa is a 4th year undergraduate Honours student at the University of Regina and is a research analyst at PATHS. Carissa brings to the team a diverse research background, having previously worked as a student crime analyst for the RCMP and currently working as a research assistant in the Aging, Residents, and Caregivers (ARC) Research Unit at the U of R. Carissa is passionate about the importance of patient/client-oriented research, which advocates for the inclusion of clients as research partners since they are the experts in their own experience and needs.

This project is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council