A new app developed in part by researchers at Western University aims to help women experiencing intimate partner violence.
Called iHEAL, the app is free, secure, and bilingual. Researchers from Western, along with those from the University of British Columbia and University of New Brunswick, designed the app to assist women who have experienced abuse from a current or past partner find ways to stay safe and healthy.
"The app is a way to try to reach more women and reach them in ways that are meaningful for them,” said Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, Western professor and app creation team lead. “It provides a space for a woman to reflect on her situation, identify what's going on and navigate through her priorities.”
The app features a standard risk assessment, health assessments, grounding exercises and safety features to address both physical and emotional well-being. There are interactive activities and topics within the app to help women identify needs including safe housing, food, health and well-being, childcare, finances, legal options, and building a support network.
As well, the app offers information and links to more than 400 resources across Canada that can be personalized to a user's province or territory.
The app can also be used to help women having difficulty outlining their situation to family and friends.
"There was a woman who was trying to explain to her father what she had been going through and didn’t have the words to explain it, so she showed him one of the exercises that she had completed in the app, and he read it and then he understood," said Ford-Gilboe. "It changed everything. So, it was a way for her to be able to explain to her father what she had been going through and to enlist his support."
According to Western researchers more than 40 per cent of Canadian women experience intimate partner violence at some point in their lives. However, only 20 per cent access formal services due to a variety of reasons including fear, accessibility, and confidentiality concerns.
The app is available for download in both English and French at iHealapp.ca.
