Kate Feather is a PhD student in Rehabilitation Science at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University. Trained as an occupational therapist, Kate’s research is informed by over 10 years of professional experience in community mental health, homelessness, and violence prevention, with a particular focus on women and gender-diverse populations. Prior to returning to academia, they served as Director of Québec’s largest women’s shelter, where they led large multidisciplinary teams and partnerships, contributed to funding and engaged extensively with municipal and provincial systems.
Kate’s doctoral research examines how local, provincial, federal, and global public policies shape access to services for women and gender-diverse people living with disabilities, particularly in contexts of homelessness and intimate partner violence. Using participatory and community-engaged approaches, their work explores how policy and funding structures produce service gaps and inequities across care, housing, and support systems.
Health equity for women with disabilities experiencing intimate partner violence: A policy analysis and comparative institutional ethnography
Fleeing intimate partner violence (IPV) is the leading cause of women’s homelessness, and women with disabilities face heightened exposure to violence in addition to experiencing disproportioned barriers in accessing safety and health services including police, justice, shelter, and housing. Studies have found that equity-deserving women, especially those with disabilities, are disproportionately affected.
Those unable to access IPV shelters often remain with abusive partners, rely on unsafe alternatives such as temporary stays with family or friends, or turn to homeless shelters. While homeless shelters provide low-barrier access, they lack IPV-specific services such as legal accompaniment, psychosocial support, child-care, and secure/confidential housing.
IPV shelters provide these services but are often unable to accept women with complex, intersecting needs related to psychiatric, cognitive, or other disabilities. This situation is compounded by Canada’s continued housing crisis, creating a cycle where women with disabilities are disproportionately affected by IPV, more likely to experience post-IPV homelessness, and thus disproportionately exposed to further harm.
The overarching objective of my doctoral project is to examine and propose policy actions to redress health inequities faced by women with disabilities who experience IPV in Montréal, QC. More specifically, this project will examine how community organizations providing support for women, like those associated with the Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes du Québec (FMHF), operate to address these needs and how this work is shaped by the federal, provincial and municipal policy landscape.
Anticipated impact: Scientific contribution: A production of in-depth knowledge on the Canadian and Québec policy landscape at the intersection of women’s health, housing, homelessness and IPV by filling a knowledge gap on how public policies shape the processes and representations of shelter operations.
Policy contribution: A gendered analysis of housing, IPV and homelessness policies can help policy- and decision-makers attend to the unintended structural barriers faced by women with disabilities seeking these services.
Social contribution: To respond to a critical need identified by the primary knowledge user, FMHF, to raise awareness of challenges for women with disabilities and for community workers to implement disability-inclusive practices.
