Working with Mothers Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence with their Infants

Overview

Infants and young children are developmentally impacted directly by their environments. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in families where violence and trauma are regular occurrences, specifically when caregivers are harming others or being harmed. Nearly 1 million Canadian children are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) annually with the majority of reports to child protection services being for children under the age of 3 years. Experiencing IPV was exacerbated globally by the COVID-19 pandemic while at the same time, real-life practice opportunities to learn how to appropriately respond to infants experiencing this violence against their mothers was reduced. This session will first cover the fundamentals of the impact of experiences of intimate partner violence on infants and young children, then participants will have the opportunity to interact with a virtual gaming scenario involving a home visit to a mother with an infant who may be experiencing intimate partner violence.