Former NHL star calls attention to 'staggering' rate of concussions for domestic violence survivors

Hockey legend Trevor Linden saw countless lives disrupted and careers cut short by concussions during his 19 seasons in the NHL.

Even still, the former captain of the Vancouver Canucks says he was "stunned" to learn survivors of domestic violence are concussed at rates much greater than professional athletes.

For every concussion incurred by an NHL player, approximately 7,000 women and girls in Canada are concussed because of intimate partner and domestic violence, according to a new estimate from YWCA Metro Vancouver and researchers at the University of British Columbia.

Linden is lending his name to a campaign raising awareness of concussions among survivors and advocating for increased support for diagnosis and treatment.

"The sad part about intimate partner violence is people don't like to talk about it and it's hard to talk about," said Linden. 

"Women are not diagnosed, they're not treated for it and that's something that hopefully we can change by bringing this issue to light."

Researchers at UBC's Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research group worked the YWCA to establish the new estimate of concussion rates among survivors based on data collected in Canada and the United States since 1997.

Approximately four in 10 women and girls in Canada will face violence from a current or former partner, according to a 2021 report by Statistics Canada, or about 290,000 every year. As many as 92 per cent of them will suffer a traumatic brain injury due to blows to their head or strangulation.

And that number has been on the rise in British Columbia since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 2022 report from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Transgender, disabled or racialized people also face higher rates of intimate partner violence.

Concussions can cause severe headaches and migraines, difficulty focusing, memory loss and also increase the likelihood of developing mental health issues like depression, anxiety and substance use disorder, said Lisa Rupert, vice-president of housing services for YWCA Metro Vancouver.

"We do see a lot of women who come to YWCA transition houses who have experienced blows to the head, blows to the face and neck, strangulation, and who are experiencing symptoms that could be traumatic brain injuries," said Rupert. "They don't necessarily know it's something women do experience."

More supports needed: YWCA

Noticing symptoms can be difficult for support workers or health care professionals who are not currently trained to look for evidence of concussions, Rupert said.

And even if survivors do receive a diagnosis, it can be used against them in child custody disputes.

Survivors need a "clear pathway of care [where] everyone understands that this doesn't mean they're not capable of looking after their children, it just means that they may need certain supports," said Rupert.

But leaving an abusive partner is still difficult, she added. Women may be unable to afford to move out due to high housing costs, or avoid reporting the perpetrator to police because they rely on his income to make ends meet.

Rupert wants specialized workers trained in concussions screening available to help survivors navigate reporting, diagnosis and treatment.

And she says government needs to build more affordable housing and raise income assistance rates to make it easier for survivors to flee abusive scenarios, as a 2021 expert panel recommended.

Linden called on men and boys to educate themselves on violence and to call out one another for perpetrating or dismissing abusive behaviour of any kind.

"Men have to start to understand that [women's] equality and fairness and protection has to be talked about," said Linden. "Kids and young people have to have those conversations with their parents and understand that this isn't acceptable."

Support is available for anyone affected by intimate partner violence. You can access support services and local resources in Canada by visiting this website. If your situation is urgent, please contact emergency services in your area.