Desmond inquiry: expert says red flags for domestic violence were ignored, overlooked – Halifax
A domestic violence skilled says the tragic case of a former soldier in Nova Scotia who killed his household and himself in 2017 was predictable and preventable, primarily based on a evaluation that exposed many pink flags had been ignored or ignored.
Dr. Peter Jaffe, a psychologist at Western College in London, Ont., shared his grim findings as we speak earlier than a provincial inquiry that’s investigating why Afghanistan struggle veteran Lionel Desmond fatally shot his mom, spouse, daughter and himself nearly 5 years in the past.
The inquiry has targeted a lot of its consideration on Desmond’s lengthy battle with post-traumatic stress dysfunction, but it surely has additionally been tasked with figuring out whether or not his household had entry to home violence intervention providers and whether or not the health-care suppliers who interacted with them had been correctly skilled.
Jaffe’s report says Desmond introduced 20 danger elements related to home murder, out of 41 elements developed by the Ontario Home Violence Loss of life Overview Committee.
Amongst different issues, Desmond reported extreme verbal and bodily abuse throughout his childhood, a key danger issue linked to home violence.
As nicely, he was going by a marital separation, was unemployed and suffered from main despair and different psychological well being issues, together with extreme PTSD and borderline persona traits.
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