Brock University’s Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement Robyn Bourgeois has been appointed to the Province of Ontario’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee (DVDRC).

The DVDRC, which reports to the Chief Coroner for Ontario, is a multi-disciplinary review committee of experts established in 2003 in response to jury recommendations made in two major inquests into the deaths of women killed by their intimate partners.

Ontario was the first province in Canada to develop this type of expert death review committee to explore the circumstances surrounding intimate partner homicides and develop recommendations to prevent further deaths.

The DVDRC reviews the circumstances of the deaths associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) and analyzes issues and identifies risk factors and possible points of intervention. The committee will investigate ways to impact effective change regarding the issue of IPV and its impact on individuals and communities, taking the opportunity to address the need to be more efficient and impactful with recommendations.

Bourgeois, who is also an Associate Professor in Brock’s Faculty of Social Sciences, said it is an honour to join the committee.

“I have always been an academic focused on making meaningful change in this world, and my work with the DVDRC will be an opportunity to use my scholarly and lived experience to actualize meaningful change to address domestic violence,” she said.

As she takes on the new role, Bourgeois, alongside with her colleagues on the committee, hopes to inform positive change from historic trends related to IPV by sharing their various perspectives.

“The pandemic saw increased rates of domestic violence — rates which have remained relatively stable since this violence became a political focal point in the late 1970s — and this demonstrates the dire need for change,” she said. “As an advisor to the Chief Coroner of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario, this is an opportunity to drive that change. I’m also eager to ensure that Indigenous perspectives and strategies are on the table during this process.”