Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

Indigenous women are significantly more likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) than non-indigenous women. Injuries from IPV commonly involve the head, face, and neck, and resulting brain injuries can have serious and long-lasting physical and cognitive effects. These injuries often go unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated, preventing survivors from receiving appropriate care and support. Despite growing awareness of IPV-related brain injury, there is limited research examining its impacts on Indigenous women, whose experiences are shaped by intersecting factors including colonialism, systemic inequalities, shame and stigma, and barriers to accessing services. This project recognizes the interconnected physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual impacts of violence and brain injury among Indigenous women, and the need for culturally safe, trauma-informed, and Indigenous-led approaches led to identification, care, and support of IPV-related brain injury. A partnership between Indigenous Disability Canada, the DisAbled Women's Network Canada (DAWN Canada), and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Health Equity and Community Wellbeing at Toronto Metropolitan University will form an Indigenous Advisory Committee to guide engagement and planning of two knowledge-sharing events bringing together survivors, community organizations, service providers, and health professionals. These sessions will share research from Australia on Indigenous women's experiences of IPV-related brain injury and co-designed education resources and healthcare training material developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Opportunities for shared challenges and priorities in the Canadian context, including barriers to culturally safe care, support, and healing will be discussed. Synthesis of knowledge into knowledge mobilization products will lay the foundation for future Indigenous-led research, knowledge mobilization, and systems action in this space.