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41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis

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The 41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) took place in Barcelona (September 24-26). The MSDVA research team (Dr Kharis Hutchison, Prof. Helen Ford and Rachel Horne) participated actively, presenting innovative findings and fostering important discussions around domestic violence and abuse (DVA) within the MS community.

The MS domestic violence and abuse research initiative presented a poster titled UK MS Domestic Violence and Abuse Research Initiative: experiences of victim-survivors with MS and healthcare professionals. This presentation shared findings from the two PhD projects that have been undertaken as part of the research initiative, each providing powerful quotations from two groups of participants: women with MS who have experienced DVA and MS healthcare professionals. The poster highlighted the variety of forms of DVA the women experienced and the complexities surrounding healthcare professionals' views on their ability to support victim-survivors with MS.

Following on from the successful meeting at ECTRIMS last year, Rachel Horne organised a meeting of academics, healthcare professionals, and organisations involved with supporting people with MS to explore the topics of domestic violence and abuse, and intimate partner violence among people with MS. It was attended by 20 people, evidencing the growth in interest and concern about this topic. The meeting provided the opportunity for ongoing research within this field from around the world (the UK, Canada, and Australia) to be highlighted by researchers. This facilitated important conversations about how we can increase the impact of the current research and what is required moving forward.

The MS DVA research initiative's attendance at ECTRIMS was an excellent experience which encouraged continued collaboration with researchers passionate about improving the support available and response to DVA among people with MS.