Atlantic Domestic Homicide Review Network marks 1 year. What's been done so far?

Courtney Clarke remembers sitting at a roundtable discussion on domestic violence last year, when a colleague of a different group said something Clarke was also thinking: "Why are we even here?"

Clarke, chair of the Newfoundland group Violence Prevention Avalon East, says government inaction on issues of intimate-partner violence has led her to look at the Atlantic Domestic Homicide Review Network with a bit of pessimism. 

"All of this funding and time seems to be being spent finding out the why, but we know the why," Clarke said during a recent interview.

"So let's put the time and resources into how to stop it."

It's been a year since all four of the Atlantic provinces announced they had officially joined forces to collect and analyze information related to domestic homicides in the region.

The aim is to improve understanding of circumstances leading up to a person's death and by doing so, avoid such deaths in the future. 

"By identifying common issues and best practices across our region, we can promote better interventions and responses for all Atlantic Canadians," said an emailed statement sent on behalf of the network. 

CBC News wanted to speak with a member of the network to discuss what work has been done to date, but those requests were declined.

The group is comprised of members representing each province who will work over a three-year term. In Newfoundland and Labrador, for instance, representatives come from different government departments, as well as the province's chief medical examiner's office. 

Over the last year, the network has met three times. According to the emailed statement, it has ratified terms of reference, exchanged information on how each province collects information on domestic homicide, received funding, and provided training to its members.

After three years, the group could make recommendations to better protect vulnerable people at risk of domestic homicide.

Jane Ledwell, director of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, had been advocating for such a network for more than a decade. 

"The information is invaluable, it tells us what we can inform systems, what we can tell police, what we can tell justice officials, health officials, doctors, [and tell them] what to look for, what we can tell neighbours and friends and family to look for in terms of risk factors for domestic homicide," Ledwell said.

"This is life-saving information."