CDVC6 2020

Concurrent Session A - Thursday, March 5, 2020

10:00 am - 10:55 am

A.1 One size doesn’t fit all: The complexities of risk, safety, and domestic violence within immigrant and refugee communities.

Dr. Mohammed Baobaid, Dr. Lynda M. Ashbourne, Abir Al Jamal

This interactive workshop will present the Culturally Integrative Family Safety Response (CIFSR), an innovative model to address violence within immigrant and refugee families. CIFSR is developed and used by the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI) in London, Ontario. Participants will have opportunities to work in small groups using the Four Aspects Screening Tool (FAST) to assess risk, and to discuss the various interventions for addressing violence and supporting families using CIFSR model. The presentation will reflect on the complexities associated with domestic violence among immigrant and refugee populations, and highlight a range of optimal outcomes based on MRCSSI experience in this domain.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Baobaid is the founder and the Executive Director of the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI) and adjunct professor at Western University. For 30 years he has conducted research on families, children and youth at risk of violence, developing culturally appropriate responses in both Yemen and Canada. Based on his research, a culturally integrative model of family violence responses has been developed and implemented.

Lynda M. Ashbourne is Associate Professor in the Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph. She is a registered psychotherapist and couple & family therapist. She coauthored, with Mohammed Baobaid, Enhancing Culturally Integrative Family Safety Response in Muslim Communities (Routledge, 2016).. She is a registered psychotherapist and couple & family therapist. She coauthored, with Mohammed Baobaid, Enhancing Culturally Integrative Family Safety Response in Muslim Communities (Routledge, 2016).

Abir Al Jamal is a social worker and Research Coordinator at the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration. She is part of various research projects focusing on Domestic Violence, risk assessments, and social issues that affect collectivist newcomers’ communities.

A.2 Part 1 Pathways and Barriers to Help-Seeking: System Responses to Survivors of DV

Alysia WrighT and Linette Soldan

This presentation focuses on research conducted with survivors of IPV about their experiences of seeking help. The goal of the research is to find ways of improving services. In this presentation, participating clients, an agency manager, and project researcher discuss opportunities to maximize social, human, and capital resources, increase transparency and coordination between systems, streamline referral processes, reduce referral fatigue and gate-keeping, and improve help-seeking experiences for survivors of domestic violence.

About the Presenters:

Alysia Wright is a researcher on topics including vulnerability and marginalization, improving access to services for domestic violence survivors, advocating for equal access to end-of-life care, and examining the social inclusion and wellbeing of oil workers. She is currently working on her social work doctorate on understanding the experiences of oil workers in Alberta.

Linette Soldan has been at the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter for ten years as the Program Manager of Community Services Counselling Program, Court Program and Children’s Outreach Counselling Program. Throughout Linette's career, she has supported women and their families with counselling, safety planning, case planning, and navigation of community resources that will build their formal and informal supports. Supporting women and their families to increase their sense of safety, resiliency, and dignity is key through the collaboration of strong partnerships. Partnerships assists in seamless client delivery and improves access to services for women and their families experiencing family violence and abuse.

A.2 Part 2 How women seek help for suicidal ideation after IPV: A feminist-grounded theory and photovoice study

Dr. Petrea Taylor

This presentation will focus on the development of a substantive theory of how women seek help to address suicidality after IPV. This research shifts from an individualist medical model toward a trauma and violence informed approach, one which helps create a more validating healthcare environment. Understanding the contextual factors influencing women’s suicidality may reduce victim blaming. The research design uses both Feminist Grounded Theory (GT) and Photovoice (PV) multiple qualitative method.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Petrea Taylor is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Nursing, University of New Brunswick, Moncton. Her program of research is Gender, Violence, and Health, with a specialty in suicidality. After graduating from a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2018, she accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at UNB where she also was a clinical supervisor with iHEAL, a RCT evaluating a nurse-delivered health promotion intervention for women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Dr. Taylor is a co-investigator on two studies on health and cumulative lifetime violence in men and building her program of research on women’s suicidality and health promotion. Dr. Taylor obtained a Bachelor and Master of Nursing degree with UNB Fredericton and has been working as a psychiatric nurse in Moncton for over 20 years. Listening to and believing sexual assault survivors, breathing in yoga, and ‘beaching’ with family are her passions.

A3 Violence conjugale et maisons d’hébergement : qu’en est-il des femmes trans*?

Sam Asselin-Mailloux

Cette présentation présentera les résultats d’une recherche de maîtrise en service social qui demand: comment pourrait-on faciliter l’accès en maison d’hébergement aux femmes trans* qui sont victimes de violence conjugale? Près de 55% des personnes trans* sont victimes de violence conjugale de la part d’une partenaire (James et Collab, 2018). Dans le cas des femmes trans*, quelles sont les particularités de l’intersection sexisme-cisgenrisme (transphobie) en contexte de violence conjugale? Les femmes trans* sont perçues comme n’étant pas des «vraies » femmes et perçues comme une menace à la sécurité des femmes-cisgenres dans certains milieux féministes (Baril, 2014). Cette présentation a pour objectif de déconstruire les stéréotypes et préjugés véhiculés à l’égard des femmes trans* et soulever une réflexion sur les pratiques en maison d’hébergement pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. De plus, elle abordera les différents problèmes d’accès vécus par les femmes trans*.

À propos du présentateur:

Sam Asselin-Mailloux (pronom : iol) est une personne non-binaire travaillant dans le milieu communautaire et qui s’implique dans le militantisme trans et féministe. Iol détient aussi un baccalauréat en service social (Université d’Ottawa) et est candidat.e à la maîtrise en service social (Université d’Ottawa).

A.4 A restorative DV program for Indigenous people: The Way

Bev Poitras and Michelle Schwartz

This presentation will focus on a grassroots program for Indigeneous people who have perpetrated IPV. The program incorporates First Nations philosophies, cultural teachings and applies a trauma-informed perspective. The goal is for participants to recognize and stop the emotional, verbal, physical and/or sexual abuse they have inflicted on their intimate partners. Clients are helped to understand why they’ve turned to violence in their relationships. Partners are also invited on a voluntary basis to take part in the healing process.The program operates in over seven different First Nations communities as well as a correctional center.

About the Presenters:

Bev Poitras administers the Restorative Justice Unit at the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council. She provides administrative oversight for the four programs: Probations, Reintegration for youth and adult, Courtworker and Community Justice. Bev has received numerous awards including the Saskatchewan Centennial Award and the FSIN Women’s Award for Law and Justice, presented by the Government of Saskatchewan.

Michelle Schwartz is Director of Corporate Initiatives with the Ministry of Correction and Policing, Government of Saskatchewan. She develops policy and programs in response to the province’s high rates of interpersonal violence and abuse. Michelle has partnered with Bev Poitras and the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council to explore how the province can learn from First Nation programs on interpersonal violence and abuse.

A.5 The Power and Control Wheel and the Equality Wheel: Tools to facilitate critical dialogue

Chris Godsey

This presentation will begin with short histories of the Power and Control Wheel and the Equality Wheel. Afterwards, the presenters will facilitate a critical-dialogue session using a process called logging, which focuses on naming and discussing behaviors associated with specific tactics or characteristics on the wheels, the intentions and beliefs underpinning those behaviours, and the effects created by them.

About the Presenter:

Chris Godsey is Coordinator of the Men as Peacemakers Domestic Violence Restorative Circles program in Duluth, Minnesota. Previously, he spent over ten years co-facilitating Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter groups. His Ed. D. dissertation was entitled Making a Big Deal out of Nothing: White Supremacy, Patriarchy, and Teacher Preeminence.

A.6 Dear Survivor: The transformative power of women’s words

Laura Winters and Dana Warren

The St. John’s Women’s Centre has developed an eight-week model beginning with exploring the dynamics of IPV, and then shifting to having women explore themselves and their futures. Week four culminates with each woman writing a letter to another imagined woman experiencing IPV, sharing her wisdom, insight and understanding of IPV and its impacts. This presentation outlines the philosophy of the program, with a special focus on exploring the letter-writing activity as an example of the transformative power of words. The intention is to shift the ideas women internalize about themselves from the outside world and empower them to challenge these myths.

About the Presenters:

Laura Winters is the Executive Director of the St. John's Status of Women Council and Women's Centre, a feminist organization that provides direct service provision and public advocacy work around gender equality. She is also a sociologist who researches stigma and resistance.

Dana Warren is the clinical team lead of the Right Here Right Now Drop in Counselling Program at The St. John’s Women’s Centre. Dana leads group counselling and develops training for the community in intimate partner violence, single session therapy, and mental health issues.

A.7 Engaging teenage boys in conversations about masculinity and IPV

Morris Green

This presentation will focus on grade seven and nine health classes that help boys normalize help-seeking behavior, particularly around issues of IPV. The interactive lessons are designed to engage students in conversations about a range of health issues and their connections with present day expectations around masculinity. There are various themes covered, including, anger, alcohol, pornography, trauma and violence.

About the Presenter:

Morris Green works on the issue of male youth and how definitions of masculinity can play an unhelpful and helpful role in their lives. He recently retired from the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness where he was the Coordinator for Youth Health. He’s worked with youth for almost 35 years across a wide range of health issues.

A.8 People with disabilities and IPV prevention programs

Dr. Erin Stern

This presentation will focus on research conducted with women and men living with disabilities who are engaged with IPV prevention programs. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 women and 15 men with disabilities in Ghana, Rwanda, Tajikistan and South Africa. The research explores how disability shaped their experiences of gender, violence and IPV, and whether the programs met their disability related needs.The research focused on inclusion efforts with recruitment and monitoring strategies aimed at people with disabilities, partnering with a local disabled people’s organization, training staff in disability inclusion, and raising awareness of disability rights.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Erin Stern conducts qualitative research in the field of gender and health programming. She coordinated an impact evaluation of an intimate partner violence programme in Rwanda, and led qualitative evaluation research across the DFID-funded What Works to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls Portfolio. Erin holds honorary positions with the University of Cape Town and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

A.9 Part 1 Ensuring safer learning environments in Uganda’s refugee settlements

Frank Kiyingi and Dues Ampwera

This presentation will discuss programming to improve safety at elementary schools in refugee settlements in Uganda. The children’s rights NGO, Advocacy for Child Relief, studied four schools in Kiryandongo refugee settlement. The authors researched rates of school-related Gender Based Violence and trauma among refugee learners in the settlement. They also assessed both the quality of the learning environments and actions taken by learners after experiencing school-related Gender Based Violence.

About the Presenters:

Frank Kiyingi is the founder and executive director of Advocacy for Child Relief (ACR) Uganda. He has worked with numerous NGOs including, CDC, USAID, FHI360 and UNICEF. He has a certificate in child protection and child rights from University of Geneva. Kiyingi is a member of Alliance for Child Protection in humanitarian Action, International Society for Child Indicators and other international networks to protect children from GBV.

Deus Ampwera is data manager at Advocacy for Child Relief Uganda. He has served as a research assistant and data manager with various local and international organizations including, USAID, World Vision Uganda, Save the Children, and UNICEF.

A.9 Part 2 Nigerian women and IPV: A critical analysis

Okonkwo Favour Amaka

This presentation examines cases of domestic violence against women in Nigeria. The focus will be on the types of abuse, causes, effects, and the impact on children. The presentation will also explore possibilities for government intervention and look at why governments fail in this area. The research supports the recommendation for comprehensive premarital counselling and government funded counselling centers.

About the Presenter:

Okonkwo Favour Amaka is the Director of Kaizara Favour Enterprises. She works in Public Administration with a specialization in the welfare of women and children.

A.10 Department of Justice Canada: Improving Family Justice System Responses to Family Violence

Robin Trombley and Cherami Wichmann

This presentation will provide an overview of the Federal Divorce Act and changes relating to family violence (Bill C-78) that will come into effect July 1, 2020. The Department of Justice Canada is currently engaged in a number of initiatives aimed at increasing understanding of family violence in the context of family law. It is creating a new online course on family violence and family law, which will be available on the Justice Canada website. In addition, the Department is developing a family violence identification tool for legal practitioners that will support them in better serving clients who have experienced family violence. Such a validated tool does not currently exist and has been identified as a gap by family law practitioners.

About the Presenters:

Robin Trombley is a lawyer in the Family, Children and Youth Section at the Department of Justice Canada. She has worked in a variety of different policy areas during her 20 years at Justice Canada, including crime prevention, victims of crime, youth justice, family law and family violence.

Cherami Wichmann is a senior researcher in the Research and Statistics Division at Justice Canada. Her area of expertise is developing and implementing social science research projects, with a specialization in quantitative methodology. She has been undertaking research on issues related to families, children and youth since 1992.

Concurrent Session B - Thursday, March 5, 2020

11:05 am - 12:00 noon

B.1 The Silent Witness Journey: Two Women’s Stories - Short documentary & discussion guide

Lindsay Manuel and Silke Brabander

This presentation will share a 13 minute documentary and discussion guide that can be used to facilitate conversations about domestic homicide, intimate partner violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The film focuses on two indigenous families who lost family members as a result of domestic homicide. Both women who were killed, Geraldine Paul and Rowena Sharpe, are listed among the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls in Canada. The documentary traces the journey of the two families and their community as they create Silent Witness Silhouettes.

About the Presenters:

Lindsay Manuel works for Public Legal Education and Information Service of NB (PLEIS-NB) and is an advisor with the Violence Prevention and Community Partnership unit at the Women’s Equality Branch. She has worked with the Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Act, Second Stage Housing, Danger Assessment, Family Violence and the Workplace and the NB Silent Witness Project.

Silke Brabander is a Policy Advisor with the Women’s Equality Branch, who has spent the last year chairing the Domestic Violence in the Workplace Committee of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research. She worked for the government of New Brunswick as an advisor on the implementation of pay equity and was the coordinator of the provincial “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” campaign, raising awareness about intimate partner violence.

B.2 The impact of group art therapy: Survivors experiences

Dr. Michelle Skop, Dr. Jennifer Root, Julie Mason, Raghida Mazzawi

This presentation shares research in which women survivors of IPV were consulted about their experiences of group art therapy (GAT). Wilfrid Laurier University researchers partnered with the non-profit organization, Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services, to conduct the research. This study was initiated by counselling staff who wanted to know how women thought GAT benefited them in terms of treatment, healing, and support. Key findings include how the GAT activities helped participants express and process their experiences of abuse, promoted exploration about issues of power and control, and increased their sense of empowerment.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Michelle Skop is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Prior to joining Laurier, Michelle practiced social work in the field of adult mental health. Michelle’s program of research involves using arts-based research methodologies to explore people’s experiences of health, illness, and wellbeing. She also researches pedagogical methods for incorporating community approaches into social work education.

Dr. Jennifer Root is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Jennifer has worked alongside various communities across Canada and the United States doing anti-violence prevention and intervention work, primarily on issues related to women’s experiences of IPV, GBV, and sexual violence. More recently, her work explores the impacts of GBV on students.

Julie Mason is an addiction therapist at Stonehenge Therapeutic Community in Guelph, Ontario, as well as a research assistant on this project. In her master’s thesis, Julie used the arts-based research method, body-map storytelling, to explore the experiences of women who pull out their hair.

Raghida Mazzawi is the Manager of Programs at Catholic Family Services of Peel Dufferin. Raghida worked for 11 years at Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services in Brantford, Ontario, managing clinical programs for women, men, and children. Raghida brought the Group Art Therapy program to Nova Vita to help women survivors of domestic violence.

B.3 Impacts du continuum des violences envers les femmes dans le parcours de vie des femmes violentées vivant des enjeux d'itinérance, de santé mentale et d'utilisation de substances psychoactives

Dr. Catherine Flynn and Mylene Bigaouette

Un nombre important de femmes violentées vivent également des enjeux par rapport à la santé mentale, à l'itinérance et à l'utilisation de substances psychoactives. Or, ces enjeux sont souvent le produit des violences qu'elles ont vécu. C'est dans la perspective de favoriser l'accueil et l'accompagnement de ces femmes que la Fédération des maisons d'hébergement pour femmes (FMHF) a intégré l'intervention féministe intersectionnelle dans ses pratiques et qu'elle a développé un outil de réflexion permettant de mieux comprendre et accompagner les femmes violentées qui présentent des enjeux de santé mentale, d'itinérance et d'utilisation de substances psychoactives .Cet atelier, inspiré de la démarche de réflexion développée par la FMHF, permettra de se familiariser avec les concepts liés à l'intersectionnalité et de mieux comprendre le lien entre les violences vécues par les femmes et les enjeux de santé mentale, d'itinérance et de consommation de substances psychoactives qu'elles vivent.

À propos des présentateurs:

Dr. Catherine Flynn est professeur au département des sciences humaines et sociales de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Ses travaux de recherche porte spécifiquement sur la violence faite aux femmes et les conditions sociales et économiques de ces dernières dans une perspective intersectionnelle.

Mylene Bigaouette œuvre depuis 5 ans à la Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes à titre de Coordonnatrice liaison et formation. Elle est notamment responsable des dossiers liés à l'intégration de l'intervention féministe intersectionnelle dans les maisons d'hébergement et de l'intervention auprès des enfants vivant en contexte de violence conjugale.

B.4 A restorative justice approach to IPV: The Winnipeg Police Service Model

Susan Desjardine and Shane Wepruk

This presentation will describe a program that involves pre-charge diversion of the accused to a restorative justice program as an alternative to the criminal justice system. The accused must take responsibility for their actions and acknowledge the harm caused. The program also addresses imbalances of power between the parties. The presenters will identify the collaborating agencies required for the implementation of this program, examine the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria of the program and related liability concerns for police, and review the roles and responsibilities for program delivery.

About the Presenters:

D/Sgt Susan Desjardine is the Domestic Violence Intervention Coordinator for the Winnipeg Police Service. She has worked in inner-city Winnipeg on the Sex Crimes Unit, the Internet Child Exploitation Unit, community policing, and Victim Services.

D/Sgt Shane Wepruk has been with the Winnipeg Police Service for close to 14 years. He has worked intermittingly in general patrol between working as an investigator in the Central Crime unit and the Arson Unit. He completed 3 years as a Domestic Violence Investigator before being promoted in spring of 2019 and returning to the front line of General Patrol. He recently has taken on the role of Domestic Violence Intervention Coordinator.

B.5 Deconstructing the Victim-Only Identity (redux): A 3 Phase Coordinated Response for creating safety, inviting agency and facilitating justice for those who harm and those who have been harmed

Leland Maerz

This presentation will outline a 3 Phase Coordinated Response to violence and abuse. This model involves victims, perpetrators and counsellors working together to navigate the effects of trauma, create safety, engage in collaborative conversations inviting agency and responsibility, and repair harm to facilitate justice. The 3 Phase response can address a common effect of trauma in which people position themselves as only victims. This posture can perpetuate harm to themselves and others. Community workers can also unwittingly participate in the effects of trauma by reinforcing the victim-only identity. The 3 Phase response can support people to move beyond a victim-only identity.

About the Presenter:

Leland Maerz works as a counsellor at both the Bridges Institute and Dalhousie University. He has worked internationally as a teacher and counsellor with youth and families for 25 years. He specializes in engaging therapeutically with those who have experienced abuse and violence. Leland draws inspiration for his research into therapy and restorative justice practices from post-structural philosophy and is trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches.

B6 Engaging (In)Justice Stories involving GBV

Diane Crocker, Sue Bookchin and Deborah Norris

This presentation will report findings from a project using a narrative approach to explore women's experiences of justice-seeking after domestic or gender-based violence. The research methodology created a more nuanced understanding of justice than more traditional approaches to research. The presentation will describe the methodology and share the findings. The presenters will also involve the audience in an exercise designed to make sense of some of the stories we heard and to use that process to discuss how we might collectively and individually change the work we do to help women find justice after violence.

About the Presenters:

Diane Crocker is a Professor in the Department of Criminology at Saint Mary’s University. Her work explores the use of law to address social problems, particularly those that disproportionately affect women. She is currently a member of the Canadian Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative and the Gender-Based Violence Prevention Network and the Provincial Sexual Violence Committee.

Sue Bookchin is Executive Director of Be the Peace Institute, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the roots of gender-based violence and advancing systemic change for gender equity and social justice. She is an advocate, facilitator, and collaborative partner on multiple projects involving justice reform, first voice research and system leadership.

Dr. Deborah Norris is a Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology at Mount Saint Vincent University. Informed through her background in family studies, critical theory, and qualitative methodology, she teaches courses in family relations, family violence, and research methods. Dr. Norris also participates in research and community initiatives focusing on gender-based violence and the service needs of persons living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

B.7 Transgender community and IPV: Providing accessible and inclusive services to trans and non-binary survivors

Susanne Litke

This session will assist community members, anti-violence advocates, social workers, court workers, judiciary, therapists and victim service providers in better serving transgender and non-binary survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Many are committed to serving transgender and non-binary clients but require specific information in order to provide competent and sensitive services. This session will focus on basic queer and transgender concepts, how to create services that are accessible and inclusive to trans and non-binary survivors, and how gender identity intersects with domestic violence, sexual assault, hate crimes and discrimination. Best practices to create a trans-friendly environment in the workplace, in treatment programs and in the court system will be offered.

About the Presenter:

Susanne Litke is a feminist lawyer at Dalhousie Legal Aid Service in Halifax. Susanne practiced social work before entering law. She has represented countless women and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community leaving abusive relationships and experiencing violence and discrimination. She also offers diversity and inclusion training through the NS Rainbow Action Project.

B.8 Foreign women escaping DV through transition houses in rural Nova Scotia

Dr. Shiva Nourpanah

This presentation will discuss the initial findings from an ethnographic qualitative research study on the experiences of foreign women who seek the services of transition houses in rural Nova Scotia to escape domestic violence. There is a small but steady flow of immigrants, refugees, international students or their spouses, temporary foreign workers, victims of trafficking, women on spousal reunification (“mail-order brides”) requiring transition house services in rural Nova Scotia, however, there has not been a corresponding allocation of resources. Through in-depth interviews with these women and the staff-members who advocate for them, and participant-observation at programs and activities, this research develops an intersectional understanding of the situation of these women. It will also critically consider the capacity of transition houses to provide support to women who fall outside the mainstream population group which they were originally designed to serve, ie., local, lower-to-middle class white women.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Shiva Nourpanah is the Coordinator of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (THANS) and is affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence, University of Guelph.

B.9 Risk issues during domestic violence police responses: The impact of children’s presence

Angela Hovey, Susan Scott and Lori Chambers

The presentation will focus on how risk issues during DV police responses are impacted by the presence of children. Data is drawn from a sample of 3,414 DV forms completed by police when responding to DV calls with the following purposes: 1) to establish a rate of co-occurrence of DV and child maltreatment; and, 2) to determine if identified risk factors are associated differently when children are present during DV occurrences. The results demonstrated that when children were present for DV occurrences, regardless of whether or not criminal charges were laid, they were directly assaulted or involved in approximately 20% of calls. Although most risk factors were less likely to be endorsed by police when children were present, factors pertaining to victim’s fear, accused’s increased stress, escalation of violence, and contact change between accused and child(ren) were endorsed more often than expected. Risk factor endorsement did not change regardless of whether children were directly assaulted or involved, witnessed, or heard the occurrence. Understanding these vulnerabilities is integral to future developments in screening, prevention, and intervention by police and social services.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Angela Hovey is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Lakehead University, Orillia Campus. Her current areas of research focus on domestic violence and policing practices, use of harm reduction approaches in domestic violence shelters, restorative justice, male survivor treatment evaluation, and student mental health accommodations. These research areas connect her with community and government organizations, as well as interdisciplinary research teams.

Dr. Susan Scott is an Associate Professor with the School of Social Work at Lakehead University, Orillia Campus. She teaches social policy and all areas of macro social work. Susan has extensive practice experience in a broad range of social work fields, including, justice, children’s services, mental health. She is currently engaged in research related to domestic violence and policing as well as the use of harm reduction approaches in women’s shelters.

Dr. Lori Chambers is a Professor in the Department of Women's Studies at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, where she teaches courses in feminist theory, queer theory, reproductive justice, violence against women, and human rights. Her research interests include police responses to intimate partner violence, sexual violence policy, reproductive justice and policy, and women's legal history.

B.10 Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada: Federal government efforts to prevent and address GBV

Hoori Hamboyan and Gail Gallagher

This presentation will provide an overview of the federal government’s approach to gender-based violence, highlighting the importance of collaboration with survivors, NGOs, and researchers, and of increased public awareness about GBV. There will also be a focus on engagement with the most marginalized populations. The strategy is focused on prevention, support for survivors and their families, and an improved legal and justice system response. The approach also addresses the root causes of GBV such as gender inequality, power imbalances, and oppression.

About the Presenters:

Hoori Haamboyan works with the Department for Women and Gender Equality on the Gender-Based Violence team. She worked for 14 years with child protection, refugee rights advocacy, and with survivors of violence. She also worked at Justice Canada on family violence policy.

Gail Gallagher is a Policy Officer with the Department for Women and Gender Equality, in the Gender Violence Policy & External Relations branch. Gail is finishing a Master of Arts in Native Studies, writing a thesis on Missing and Murdered Indigenous women and girls. She is a First Nations Cree woman from Frog Lake First Nation, Alberta.

Concurrent Session C - Thursday, March 5, 2020

1:00 pm - 1:55 pm

C.1 Part 1 Black Men and Boys Non-violence Project

Mario Rolle and Courtney Brown

This presentation will focus on the Black Men and Boys Nonviolence Project (BMBNP), which seeks to inspire and support Black males to take an active role in ending men’s violence against women. This project provides culturally specific information and resources to help men join similar local and international initiatives. The project also explores strategies for Black males to intervene when they witness violence or hear negative talk about women in their families, schools and communities. The project provides a forum for Black males to talk together about preventing dating and domestic violence.

About the Presenters:

Mario Rolle is a clinical social worker in Halifax who advocates for black males in the justice system. He is the coordinator of a series of workshops on domestic violence for black men and black boys.

Courtney Brown is the Outreach Social Worker for the Nova Scotia Association of Black Social Workers. Courtney is also a member of the Halifax Domestic Violence Court working group.

C.1 Part 2 The journey from offender to healer: An African-American man’s story

Dominique Waltower

This presentation is about an initiative that focuses on working with men in efforts to intervene and prevent domestic violence. Dominique engages men by sharing his journey through domestic violence. He speaks about being a victim as a child, becoming abusive as an adult and how his thinking/ heart needed to change to stop his abuse. Dominique speaks about the important difference between simple behavior change and a heart/mind change.

About the Presenter:

Dominique Waltower has worked in social services for 24 years. He has extensive experience counselling youth in various settings including the Tarzana Treatment Center for addiction, the probation program, Gang Intervention /Intensive Aftercare, and with incarcerated youth at Camp Munz and Camp Mendenhall (Los Angeles County). He has also worked as the Emergency Response Social Worker (Los Angeles County) for Child and Family Services and as Dropout Prevention Mentor (San Diego Unified School District).

C.2 Reaching out with yoga: Trauma-informed yoga and women’s shelters

Renee Turner

This presentation focuses on the potential impacts of trauma-informed yoga on the health and well-being of women and children who have experienced violence, as well as for staff working in anti-violence organizations. The project is named the Reaching Out with Yoga (ROWY) and is being used in transition houses across British Columbia. Trauma-informed yoga adapts traditional yoga techniques to make it safer and more accessible for those with trauma histories. The main focus of the practice is on psychological and physical safety, choice and empowerment for its practitioners. The presentation will provide a trauma-informed yoga demonstration and ideas for establishing such projects in shelters will be discussed.

About the Presenter:

Renee Turner is Research Manager for the Reaching Out with Yoga project (ROWY). Her background is in public health and she has worked on a number of projects in the areas of Prison Health and Rural Maternal Health, and in the anti-violence sector. Renee is a registered yoga teacher.

C.3 Violence conjugale devant les tribunaux de la famille : enjeux et pistes de solutions

Manon Monastesse and Dr. Dominique Bernier

Ce travail découle d’un partenariat entre l’UQAM et la Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes (ci-après « FMHF »). Au cours des dernières années, les intervenantes de la FMHF se sont attardées aux différentes embûches vécues par les femmes qui se retrouvent devant les tribunaux, plus particulièrement la difficulté de faire reconnaître la violence dont elles et leurs enfants ont été victimes dans le cadre particulier du processus judiciaire en matière familiale. L’arrimage entre le traitement de la violence par le milieu judiciaire et le cheminement des femmes victimes semble en important décalage. Nous avons donc cherché à comprendre comment et pourquoi, et ce, à la lumière d’un corpus de 250 jugements provenant des tribunaux québécois de la famille. Nous présenterons les principales conclusions de cette étude exploratoire et les suites envisagées, dans la perspective d’améliorer tant l’accès que le parcours des femmes violentées dans le système de justice.

À propos des présentateurs:

Manon Monastesse est la direction générale de la Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes. À ce titre, elle a participé à plusieurs comités interministériels et différents comités impliqués dans l’élaboration des politiques en matière, notamment, de violence conjugale et d’itinérance. Elle a coordonné par la suite la Table de concertation en violence conjugale et agressions à caractère sexuel de Laval (Québec) (2003-2006).

Dominique Bernier est actuellement professeure au Département des sciences juridiques de l'Université du Québec à Montréal. Ses recherches portent aussi sur le processus judiciaire pénal et les effets de la renonciation aux droits, l'auto-représentation et l'accès la justice, et la reconnaissance de la violence conjugale.

C.4 2SLGBTQ+ Survivors of GBV: Improving pathways to safety

Ellis Furman

This presentation will focus on improving the experience of 2SLGBTQ+ survivors accessing VAW services (shelter, counselling, legal, housing, education, etc.) in Toronto. The organization, Springtide Resources, develops inclusive prevention, intervention, and educational programs for those working toward ending gender-based violence. Springtide Resources partnered with five multi-site, multi-service VAW agencies to conduct an audit of 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion and accessibility. This presentation will describe the overall findings from the audit process, and outline the recommendations that can be implemented in other agencies across Canada.

About the Presenter:

Ellis Furman (pronouns: they/them) is a doctoral student in the Community Psychology program at Wilfrid Laurier University. Ellis uses qualitative, quantitative, and arts-informed research methods to amplify the voices of queer and trans communities through community-based research and program evaluation.

C.5 Restorative conversations with men who abuse: Responsibility, trauma and masculinity

Tod Augusta-Scott

This presentation will focus on restorative possibilities in cases of intimate partner violence, moving men who have used violence toward a restorative engagement. Restorative justice does not require face-to-face contact between men and their partners or former partners, nor is the intent to restore intimate relationships. The intent is to repair harm. The process initially is focused on ensuring safety, it then moves to examine the effects of trauma on men’s identity and their willingness to take responsibility for their abusive behavior. This workshop will illustrate a narrative therapy process of attending to men’s experiences of trauma and masculinity in an effort to stop men’s abuse and repair the harm they have created.

About the Presenter:

Tod Augusta-Scott, MSW, RSW is the Executive Director of Bridges - a domestic violence counselling, research and training institute in Nova Scotia. He is also a clinical social worker with the Canadian Armed Forces. Tod has co-edited and contributed to two books: Narrative Therapy: Making Meaning, Making Lives (Sage, 2007) and Innovations in Interventions with IPV (Routledge, 2017). His restorative work was highlighted in the documentary, A Better Man (2017).

C.6 Children in domestic violence shelters: Does the feminist perspective collapse?

Dr. Isabelle Cote

This presentation looks at research focused on how workers intervene with children domestic violence shelters. The data suggests that most workers adopt a child-centered perspective and consider children’s rights during their stay. Accounts of workers practices also show that they perceive these children as being vulnerable and at risk. With a moderate emphasis on vulnerability and risks, workers tend to support children alongside their mother, while associating potential risks to the perpetrator’s behavior. However, with a strong focus on vulnerability and risks, workers tend to monitor the mother's actions, while negating the perpetrator’s choices. This can lead to (inadvertent) mother-blaming, surveillance and more authoritarian interactions. Implications for future research will be discussed.

About the Presenter:

Isabelle Côté is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Laurentian University, where she teaches the theoretical foundations of social work practice. Her field of interest includes violence against women, domestic violence, children’s exposure to domestic violence, shelter practices, and qualitative research. Isabelle is a founding member of the FemAnVi Research Collective at the University of Ottawa and the author of two books on domestic violence.

C.7 Part 1 Immigrant men in the South Asian community: Representations of domestic violence

Omaira Naweed

This presentation focuses on the importance of re-conceptualizing DV to better meet the needs of South Asian immigrant men who abuse. The research focused on how South Asian men represented DV was influenced by pre- and post-migration experiences. By approaching domestic violence from a male South Asian perspective, the research seeks to create more culturally sensitive avenues of prevention and intervention. The presentation will be in English and French.

About the Presenter:

Omaira Naweed is a PhD student in psychology. He works with newcomers or refugees. His research is focused on domestic violence and men within the immigrant population from South Asia.

C.7 Part 2 South Asian communities and IPV: Developing a culturally appropriate workshop

Amandeep Kaur Singh

This presentation will explore the process of developing a culturally appropriate domestic violence (DV) workshop for South Asian communities. Attendees will be empowered to develop community-oriented workshops for the various and diverse South Asian communities. Preliminary evaluation results of the workshop indicate participants experienced an increased understanding of DV and how to provide support to people experiencing domestic violence.

About the Presenter:

Amandeep Kaur Singh is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Community Psychology program and the Lab Coordinator for the Access and Equity Research Interest Group at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has worked on human trafficking, domestic violence, program evaluation, community capacity and development initiatives. She is also the co-founder of the Instagram account @BIPOC.grads - an online space for racialized graduate students.

C.8 Mental health, addictions issues and women: The ethics of recognizing oppression and gender violence as root causes

Dr. Norma Jean Profitt

This presentation will focus on how our current conceptualization of mental health and substance use obscures the role of gender violence as a form of structural violence. The current discourse individualizes the social determinants of mental health such as poverty, racism, misogyny, lack of decent and affordable housing, caregiving responsibilities, and so forth. Rather than focusing on the structural determinants of health, the issues are funneled into constructions of mental illness. As a result, workers do not act on opportunities for public advocacy to change systems and structures shaping the social determinants of health. Further, workers are not encouraged to help clients understand the political economy of health and the wider social roots of physical, mental, and spiritual health.

About the Presenter:

Norma Jean Profitt has a long history of activism in feminist movements, with a focus on violence against women. From 1999-2011 she was associate professor in the School of Social Work, St. Thomas University. In 2016, she received a Governor General’s Award honouring Canadians who advance gender equality. Norma Jean is co-editor of the book, Spirituality and Social Justice: Spirit in the Political Quest for a Just World (Canadian Scholars' Press, 2019).

C.9 Carceral feminism and marginalized women: An Intersectional Peacebuilding Analysis of Pro-Arrest, Pro-Charge and Pro-Prosecution Policies as a response to domestic violence in Canada

Dr. Nancy Ross and Cary Ryan

This presentation will present an intersectional analysis of the literature related to Pro-arrest, Pro-Charge and Pro-prosecution Policies as a response to domestic violence. The focus will be on those who are socially, racially, and economically marginalized in Canada, and who seem to be more vulnerable to negative impacts of these policies, including, women, Indigenous people, African Canadians, newcomers, South Asians, persons with disabilities, the rainbow community, low income/unemployed people, sex workers, the homeless, and individuals living with mental health and/or substance misuse barriers. A peacebuilding framework advances a response to GBV that seeks to support the restoration of relationships, the creation of just social systems that serve the needs of the whole population, and the constructive resolution of conflict. An intersectional and peacebuilding analysis provides substantial critique of these policies while also defining a way forward.

About the Presenters:

Nancy Ross is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, Dalhousie University. Her previous work as a clinical therapist in Mental Health and Addiction Services informs her research interests which include a focus on the role of social work in mental health, gender-based violence, adverse childhood experiences and resilience.

Cary Ryan is involved in the domestic violence community in Halifax, and is active in the Metro Interagency Committee on Family Violence and the Domestic Violence Court Working Group. Prior to pursuing social work education, Cary worked in the criminal justice system in British Columbia, as a police officer, youth probation officer and restorative justice facilitator.

C.10 The Canadian Armed Forces approach: A Campaign to address family violence and healthy relationships

Carley Robb-Jackson and Sandra Campbell

This presentation will focus on the campaign to address family violence by the Canadian Armed Forces. The “Healthy Relationships Campaign” was developed by domestic violence professionals in consultation with military families who have overcome challenges. The presentation will cover lessons learned, good practices, and explain the toolkit of resources developed for the campaign. It will also introduce preliminary feedback on the success and reach of the campaign. Lastly, this presentation is meant to inform civilian front-line domestic violence workers about the supports available for their clients Canadian Armed Forces.

About the Presenters:

Sandra Campbell is the Senior Manager of Gender-based Violence with Military Family Services, Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. Sandra has led the development of programs and policies that support military families since 2012.

Carley Robb-Jackson is the Research and Policy Manager of Gender-based Violence with Military Family Services, Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. Carley has worked as a Gender Advisor in Canada and internationally, and has focused on women’s access to justice, organizational gender mainstreaming, and staff capacity building on gender equality.

Concurrent Session D - Thursday, March 5, 2020

2:05 pm - 3:00 pm

D.1 Part 1 Muslim women victims of domestic violence: Establishing a culturally competent faith-based response

Asma Inge-Hanif and Ayyub Hanif

This presentation will review the theological foundations which can contribute to violence directed toward females. We will look at helpful and unhelpful professional and community responses to abused Muslim women. The presentation will involve an examination of case studies to help social services to respond appropriately to the needs of the abused. A series of recommendations will also be included.

About the Presenters:

Asma Inge-Hanif is executive director of Muslimat Al Nisaa Shelter, a health and social services center in Baltimore which cares for the underserved and uninsured women and children. She is a chaplain and a nurse focusing on the issue of domestic violence, particularly in the faith communities.

Dr. Ayyub Hanif completed a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. He has an extensive background in healthcare, business, and domestic violence advocacy.

D.1 Part 2 The Othering of Muslim Minorities and the issue of IPV: Implications for Public Policy and Service Provision

Misha Maitreyi

This presentation explores the ‘othering’ of Muslims living in India and Canada in the IPV context. In India, there were campaigns that claimed that Muslim men were ‘luring’ Hindu women into marriage and converting them. This discourse led to polarization between minority Muslims and majority Hindus resulting in violence (Mander et al., 2016). In Canada, the federal government’s Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act gave the impression that intimate partner violence and femicide is primarily a problem in Muslim communities. The authors explain how Msulim women are (mis) portrayed as simply being oppressed by violent Muslim men, which, in turn, justifies misguided efforts to rescue them. The paper also provides suggestions for adopting an inclusive approach to Muslims by authorities and domestic violence service providers.

About the Presenters:

Misha Maitreyi is currently pursuing a PhD in Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. Her research interests include gender violence, violence in ethnic and religious conflicts, and memory and collective identity in the aftermath of violence. Her Master’s thesis looked at gender violence and the role of competitive electoral politics in violence against minority Muslim communities during the riots in Muzaffarnagar (2013) and Gujarat (2002) in India.

D.2 ”There must be a better way to deal with this”: The mental health needs of women in VAW shelters in Ottawa

Ann-Marie O’Brien, Emma Slaney Gose, Laura Crich, Dr. Angel Foster

The presentation will focus on research into the mental health needs of women in violence against women (VAW) shelters. Research was conducted with the help of six VAW shelters in Ottawa. The research revealed residents experienced high levels of psychological distress, substance use, self doubt from gaslighting, and isolation. Bringing children into the shelter also negatively impacted women’s mental health, as did racism. These experiences created barriers for women accessing housing, navigating criminal or family court procedures, and engaging with healthcare providers and child protection services, as well as working and studying. These findings can be used to advocate for equitable access to psychiatric outreach services for women in VAW shelters.

About the Presenters:

Ann-Marie O'Brien is the leader of Women's Mental Health at The Royal, a mental health care and academic health science centre in Ottawa. She is the lead investigator on this study and has held a broad range of clinical, administrative, and academic roles.

Emma Slaney Gose is a clinical social worker with Women's Mental Health at the Royal, and has extensive experience as a frontline service provider in the homeless sector. Emma is a graduate student in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies at the University of Ottawa.

Laura Crich is a registered nurse and graduate student at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Angel Foster is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She held the 2011-2016 Endowed Chair in Women's Health Research.

D.3 Part 1 Post-secondary campus: Models of dating violence prevention

Dr. Cathy Carter-Snell

The presentation will provide an overview of a social ecological model of violence prevention. Peer facilitators are recruited to deliver programs in four key areas: healthy relationships, gender and media, bystander intervention and sexual relationships. In consultation with community partners and faculty, facilitators develop and deliver interactive curriculum to peers, and support participants in developing prevention projects to present to the university community. The presentation will focus on the process of recruiting peer facilitators and participants. The data collected from pre and post surveys and focus groups have consistently demonstrated success on all key measures.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Cathy Carter-Snell is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University. Her main program of research is focused on the prevention of violence and early effective intervention to reduce the consequences of violence. In 2017, she was recognized as one of 150 Difference Makers in Mental Health in Canada for her sexual assault training program.

D.3 Part 2 University students, IPV and childhood trauma: A therapeutic approach

Melissa Currie and Melody Petlock

Using a feminist trauma Informed approach, this presentation examines how to support students from varying backgrounds who are experiencing or have experienced IPV. Topics include breaking the cycle of abuse in future relationships/friendships and gender issues. The presentation discusses strategies for supporting clients' healing while balancing the needs of their education.

About the Presenters:

Melody Petlock administers sexual violence prevention policies and programs as an advisor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.

Melissa Currie is a Student Development Counsellor at Mount Allison University.

D.4 Queering service provision: Reducing barriers for GBV Survivors

Jess Fisher and Andrew Hartman

This presentation will focus on becoming more responsive to 2SLGBTQ people facing gender-based violence (GBV). The presenters will define GBV and explore how it can impact service provision and service users. The presenters will enact real stories of GBV service provision captured through a federally funded community based initiative. The presenters will act out both harmful and affirming scenarios of service provision, and consult participants about effective practice.

About the Presenters:

Jess Fisher (She/Her) is a queer, Metis/settler, Two Spirited woman from Martensville, Saskatchewan. She is the lead of two federally funded initiatives that address the difficulties 2SLGBTQ individuals experience when accessing supports and services across the Prairies. She has also provided education to youth, teachers, and administrators throughout Saskatchewan regarding 2SLGBTQ identifies and creating safer spaces.

Andrew Hartman (They/Them) is a queer, Metis individual traveling from Treaty Six Territory and the Homeland of the Metis. Andrew is a PhD student in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, with a focus on community led program evaluation. Andrew works alongside OUTSaskatoon on evaluating initiatives, such as programming related to LGBTQ2S+ homelessness and addressing queer individuals’ experiences with gender-based violence.

D.5 Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations: Examining domestic homicide on a national level

Anna-Lee Straatman, Dr. Julie Poon, Dr. Myrna Dawson, Dr. Peter Jaffe

This presentation will focus on the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations, a 6 year partnership grant funded by the Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada, and co-directed by Drs. Myrna Dawson and Peter Jaffe. With the support of co-investigators, collaborators and partners across Canada, the project seeks to identify risk factors for domestic violence and domestic homicide among vulnerable populations, and to identify promising practices for risk assessment, risk management and safety planning. The project's knowledge mobilization and research activities include homicide databases, national surveys and interviews with service providers. In addition, interviews with survivors of domestic violence and loved ones of homicide victims will be shared.

About the Presenters:

Anna-Lee Straatman is Project Manager for the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations and works at the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children at Western University. She is an Expert Panel member for the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability.

Dr. Myrna Dawson is Professor of Sociology, Canada Research Chair in Public Policy in Criminal Justice, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence (CSSLRV), College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, University of Guelph. Her research focuses on trends/patterns in and social/legal responses to violence with emphasis on violence against women and femicide.

Dr. Peter Jaffe is a Psychologist and Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University and the Academic Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women & Children. He is the Director Emeritus for the London Family Court Clinic, which is a children's mental health centre specializing in issues that bring children and families into the justice system in London, Ontario.

Dr. Julie Poon is National Research Coordinator for the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations.

D.6 Part 1 Unfounded Sexual Assault: Women's Experiences

Dr. Jodie Murphy-OikoneN, Dr. Karen McQueen, Lori Chambers, Ainsley Miller & Alexa Hiebert

The purpose of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of women who have had their sexual assault deemed unfounded by police. One in five reported sexual assaults are deemed false or baseless and therefore coded as "unfounded." Through face-to-face interviews with thirty-eight sexual assault survivors, the research represents a first step towards filling knowledge gaps regarding women’s perception of their experience when they are disbelieved by the institutions designed to protect them. Preliminary findings reveal trauma and revictimization, numerous health and social outcomes, mistrust of police and increased vulnerability to future violence. The research informs discussions among service providers in social work, law enforcement and health sectors to provide enhanced support to survivors in a way that better meets their needs. This research also involved , Dr. Karen McQueen, Dr. Lori Chambers, Alexa Hiebert, and Ainsley McQueen.

About the Presenters:

Jodie Murphy-Oikonen is an Assistant Professor with the Lakehead University School of Social Work. Jody has had a long-standing clinical career working with women and children. She has also held leadership roles in an interprofessional prenatal care clinic and in the public health sector. Her research has focused primarily on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and most recently in the area of Unfounded Sexual Assault.

Dr. Karen McQueen is the Director of the Lakehead University School of Nursing. Her research interests focus on women’s health with a particular focus on the perinatal period.

Lori Chambers is a professor in the Department of Women’s Studies at Lakehead University. She teaches courses in feminist and queer theory, and various areas of women/gender and law.

Ainsley Miller is a Registered Nurse with a clinical background in critical care and nursing education. Ainsley’s research interests include traumatic events and mental health outcomes. She plans to begin a PhD in Nursing in the fall.

Alexa Hiebert is an MSW candidate in the School of Social Work at Lakehead University. Her research has centred on women and sexual assault.

D.6 Part 2 Full Civil (Emergency) Protection Orders : Predictors of completion among female domestic violence victims

Kathryn Bell, Melis Kahraman and Lorie L. McCaughan

This presentation will explore why few women who obtain a temporary civil protection order (CPO) do not go on to obtain a full CPO. The purpose of the current study was to investigate predictors of women obtaining a full CPO. Legal records from 405 female domestic violence victims who received a temporary CPO and initiated a full CPO petition through the Family Advocacy Clinic at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio were reviewed, coded, and analyzed. Information was gathered on demographic background, legal history, and relationship characteristics. Findings may help to identify and address domestic violence victims’ potential barriers to obtaining a full CPO.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Kathryn Bell recently joined the Department of Psychology at Acadia University where she supervises graduate and undergraduate research on interpersonal violence. Dr. Bell has published extensively on intimate partner violence and sexual assault. As a faculty member at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, she co-initiated a collaborative research project with colleagues at Capital University Law School, examining predictors of civil protection order attainment for domestic violence victims.

Melis Kahraman is a Visitation Coordinator with GreenHouse17 Children’s Safe Exchange in Lexington, Kentucky, which serves families who have experienced domestic violence. She completed an externship through Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, where she observed legal processes and advocacy practices for domestic violence victims.

Lorie McCaughan is a faculty member at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She oversees and is the senior attorney for the Civil Protection Unit of Capital’s Family Advocacy Clinic, which serves domestic violence victims who cannot afford to hire private counsel. She is also a supervising attorney in Capital’s General Litigation Clinic.

D.7 Part 1 Family Court and VAW: How VAW is made invisible

Leighann Burns

The presentation will focus on research into family court and IPV. Many women struggle to have their experience of abuse acknowledged in family court. Because most family court cases do not reach trial, what happens to women remains invisible to the family law legal system. Two random, representative samples of family court files taken four years apart, provide clear evidence that demonstrates both how the violence is rendered invisible, and possible strategies to address it in order to provide a more reliable source of assistance that appropriately accounts for the safety of women and children fleeing violence.

About the Presenter:

Leighann Burns practices family law with survivors of violence in Ottawa. She has also worked in women’s shelters for many years. Using data collected from family law files and family court decisions involving violence, Leighann’s research focuses on possible improvements to make family court a reliable source of assistance for women and children fleeing violence.

D.7 Part 2 Quebec’s Family Court and the “Failure to assess’’ the best interests of children in DV cases

Alexandra Vincent

This presentation will discuss findings from a study that investigated how psychosocial experts mobilize the notion of parental capacity when confronted with Domestic Violence contexts. This qualitative study is based on a documentary analysis of 15 reports of psychosocial expertise in family matters in the province of Quebec. Results show that the majority of the experts either do not take into account, minimize or deny the issue of domestic violence. As a result, they do not consider the exposure or victimization of the children in their analysis for their well-being. Providing access for both parents and the importance of the father in child development are often prioritized as being in the child’s best interests, even in cases where there has been violence in the home. This presentation will also focus on the implications for practice and suggest some avenues of intervention, based on a literature review and an advocacy approach. Powerpoint presentation will be both in english and french.

About the Presenter:

Alexandra Vincent is a Ph.D student in Social Work at the University of Ottawa and a member of the FemAnVi Research Collective. Her experience as a shelter social worker with women surviving Domestic Violence and their children enabled her to develop a specific socio-legal advocacy approach. She is interested in the treatment of Domestic Violence in Quebec’s Family courts and the child welfare system.

D.8 Spoken word and creative group exercises: Reclaim your voice by creating safe spaces

Jungle Flower

The presentation will focus on the work of Reclaim Your Voice, a grassroots community organization which creates safe spaces for stories of abuse to be shared. Combining testimonials with inspirational spoken word pieces and creative group exercises, Reclaim Your Voice events are experiences that uplift both the mind and the soul. During this condensed demonstration of a Reclaim Your Voice event, founder and program director Jungle Flower will share her story of experiencing abuse, perform spoken word poetry on the topic, and will facilitate a group exercise to demonstrate the power of silence-breaking and truth-telling in a safe and supportive environment. Participation is not mandatory and attendees can simply be involved by listening and being present.

About the Presenter:

Jungle Flower is a Toronto-based photographer, poet, and interviewer. She is the author of a Certified Trauma-Informed Writing Guide. She founded Reclaim Your Voice in 2012. She has since hosted over 50 events, performed spoken word poetry at TEDxRougeRiver and in many schools. She is the recipient of the Yinnergy Award (2014), Volunteer Toronto Legacy Award (2015), Roger Fisher Scholarship (2016), and Write Your Self Scholarship (2017).

D.9 Systemic shifts needed to disrupt IPV: Standing Together

Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, Dr. Gale Burford, Lana wells

Standing Together: A Provincial Action Plan to Prevent Domestic Violence is the Province of Nova Scotia’s commitment to address the complexity of domestic violence with the overarching objective to prevent and disrupt cycles of violence. Over the next few years, the government will work with community and academic partners to build a provincial plan which will be informed by learning, innovation, and evidence. Local, provincial, and expert perspectives are critical in shaping a preventative policy environment in Nova Scotia that understands and addresses gender inequality and systemic barriers as foundational challenges in reducing violence against women and girls.

In this panel discussion, members of Standing Together’s International Expert Panel will bring their expertise and perspectives on what is required to make significant shifts that will have a transformative and lasting impact domestic violence prevention and the development of responsive systems. Based on emergent research, three priority areas for prevention research and action have been identified for Standing Together: Indigenous women and girls, children and youth, and men and boys. Panel members will address these topics from the perspective of national and international inspiration - highlighting initiatives, strategies, and culture shifts required to make a difference in this complex environment. This panel will be moderated by Stephanie Macinnis-Langley, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women

About the Presenters:

Dr. Gale Burford is an Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of Vermont and Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Restorative Justice at Vermont Law School. Until his retirement from the University of Vermont in 2014, Gale was Director of the University-State Child Welfare Training Partnership and Principal Investigator for the Vermont Community Justice Consortium.

Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard is the Director for First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University. She was President of the Ontario Native Women's Association and was elected President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada at the 41st Annual General Assembly.

Lana Wells is the Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, Fellow and Faculty Member of the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary. She is currently leading Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence; a large scale primary prevention initiative (www.preventdomesticviolence.ca). Her key areas of expertise include: Prevention of family and sexual violence, scaling evidence-based programs and policies, engaging men and boys in violence prevention and gender equality, collaborative social change efforts as well as leadership and organizational change within the not for profit sector. She is the recipient of several awards including the Alberta College of Social Workers’ John Hutton Memorial Award for Social Action/Policy, Alberta Inspiration Award in Leadership in Family Violence and PEAK scholar award from the University of Calgary.

D.10 Australian Defence Force Families and IPV

Rebecca Pollard and Claire Ferguson

This presentation focuses on research that links Australian Defence Force (ADF) employment and the occurrence of IPV. Problematic anger, mental illness, separation and substance abuse are four of the major risk factors for IPV perpetration. Each of these factors also appear to be linked to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel returning from combat. This study conducted a thematic analysis of secondary data to explore the existence of IPV risk-factors and instances. The presentation will also explore the possible causes for these behaviours among ADF personnel and the prevention or treatment options available.

About the Presenters:

Rebecca Pollard is a PhD student at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Rebecca’s work takes a critical perspective to explore the cultural and structural processes of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the impact these processes have on a member’s civilian life. Specifically, Rebecca’s research focuses on the relationship between the ADF and the occurrence of IPV within Australian military families.

Claire Ferguson teaches at the Queensland University of Technology, School of Justice, Faculty of Law

Concurrent Session E - Thursday, March 5, 2020

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

E.1 Queering responses to IPV

Sarah Tilley, Dr. Susan Scott, Dr. Angela Hovey

The research on  intimate partner violence (IPV) usually focuses on heterosexual, cisgender couples, relegating LGBTQ2S experiences of IPV  to the margins. To prioritize these experiences, this presentation will consider existing literature on LGBTQ2S experiences, and compare and contrast these with data from Domestic Violence Supplementary Reports (DVSR) involving same-sex couples. The original data was collected for all criminal and non-criminal IPV calls to police in a rural setting over a 2 year period. Recommendations included using assessment forms that include non-heteronormative risk factors, as well as increasing training for police on responding to LGBTQ2S-related IPV calls.

About the Presenters:

Sarah Tilley is Coordinator of Sex Work Outreach and Supportworks at the Gilbert Centre, an AIDS Service Organization (ASO) in Barrie, Ontario. As part of this work, they have engaged in front line and community level initiatives aimed at addressing gender-based violence, often experienced by people who identify as gender diverse. Sarah is the chair of Oahas, a provincial Indigenous-focused ASO in Ontario.

Dr. Susan Scott is an Associate Professor with the School of Social Work at Lakehead University. She teaches social policy and all areas of macro social work. Susan has extensive practice experience in a broad range of social work fields (e.g., justice, children’s services, mental health). She is currently engaged in research related to domestic violence and policing as well as the use of harm reduction approaches in women’s shelters.

Dr. Angela Hovey is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Lakehead University. Her current areas of research focus on domestic violence and policing practices, use of harm reduction approaches in domestic violence shelters, restorative justice, male survivor treatment evaluation, and student mental health accommodations. These research areas connect her with several community and government organizations, as well as interdisciplinary research teams.

E.2 Second Stage Shelters In Canada: Preliminary Findings of a Pan-Canadian Study

Dr. Krystle Maki

This presentation reports on the work of second stage shelters and how they differ from emergency shelters. There is a significant research and policy gap in understanding the scope of their work. Researchers from Women’s Shelters Canada explored how these shelters prioritize women’s safety, help women build a network of support and avoid homelessness, and prevent women from returning to their abusers. The research methods included an online survey; interviews with executive directors, current and former residents of second stage shelters, and various housing authorities; and a national focus group. This presentation explores some preliminary findings and areas for recommendations and policy interventions.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Krystle Maki is the research and policy manager at Women's Shelters Canada, a national network of violence against women shelters located in Ottawa. She recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa.

E.3 Les modèles de menace : un outil clé de l'intervention en violence conjugale à l'heure des technologies connectées

Lise Chovino

Avec le développement des technologies connectées, il a été démontré que la distance physique ne suffit plus à enrayer le cycle de violence. Face à cet enjeu, par où commencer pour établir des priorités d’action dans les ressources d’aide ? Comment chaque organisme d’aide peut-il déterminer les impacts potentiels des technologies connectées dans sa situation afin de dégager des pistes d’action ? L’étude des modèles de menace peut constituer un outil très pratique pour les maisons d’hébergement et autres ressources d’aide, car elle permet d’une part d’éviter de se sentir submergé·e par l’abondance des technologies connectées en déterminant les risques qui sont plus probables dans la situation propre de chaque établissement. D’autre part, l’étude des modèles de menace représente un outil stratégique pour les intervenantes, car elles pourront davantage anticiper les réponses à apporter aux problématiques numériques inhérentes à la violence conjugale à l’ère des technologies connectées.

À propos du présentateur:

Lise Chovino est formatrice et agente de développement en Condition des femmes au CDÉACF (Centre de documentation sur l’éducation des adultes et la condition féminine). Elle s’implique notamment dans le développement de formations et de projets touchant aux TIC.

E.4 IPV and children: Developing a trauma-responsive day care

Dr. Alma Fourie and Dr. Joy Johnson-Green

This presentation focuses on daycare services that helps address multiple issues such as a history of trauma, abuse or neglect, behavioural problems, and attachment disorders. The presenters are from Calgary’s Sonshine Children’s Centre, a daycare that provides wraparound therapeutic services to children who have experienced domestic violence and other forms of emotional trauma. The Centre uses the Attachment, Regulation and Competency   Framework (ARC), as well as the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) to guide its service planning with children, particularly those who have been exposed to significant trauma. This learning through play approach expands into Theraplay, which is a child and family therapy for enhancing and building attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement.

About the Presenters:

Alma Fourie the Principal Director of Programs and Operations at Sonshine Community Services in Calgary. She has 25 years of experience in leadership, mental health, program development, and facilitation and training. Her research interests include adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed practices. She has presented at conferences nationally as well as internationally.

Joy Johnson-Green is the Executive Director of Sonshine Community Services. She has over twenty-five years’ experience in the field of domestic violence prevention and has presented at national and international conferences. In 2003, Joy was awarded the prestigious Jerry P. Selinger award in recognition of her dedication towards eradicating domestic violence.

E.5 Practitioners working with perpetrators in Quebec: Constructing views on IPV

Dr. Normand Brodeur and Dr. Valérie Roy

This presentation will focus on the perspectives of those who work in Batterer Intervention Programs (BIP).  Between 2015 and 2019, the presenters partnered with à Coeur d’homme, Québec’s network of BIPs, to investigate how practitioners and directors define and explain IPV, how they view victims and perpetrators and how they envision solutions to the problem of IPV.  The research will demonstrate how workers’ personal experiences, clinical work with perpetrators, training, organizational culture and social discourses contribute to the construction of their point of view.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Normand Brodeur is a professor at the School of Social Work and Criminology, Université Laval. He has been involved in the field of intimate partner violence as a practitioner and research professional for 30 years. His research has focused on ethical dimensions of practice with perpetrators of domestic violence, the impact of public funding on batterer intervention programs' services, and the adaptation of intimate partner violence services to immigrants.

Dr. Valérie Roy is a professor at the School of Social Work and Criminology, Univesité Laval. She has also been involved in the field of intimate partner violence for more than 20 years as a practitioner and a researcher. Her research has focused on group work practice with male perpetrators, services to female perpetrators, and on violence in the LGBT community.

E.6 Part 1 Traumatic brain injury and women survivors: The Abused & Brain Injured Toolkit

Halina Lin Haag

This presentation will explore the prevalence of women with brain injuries from experiences of IPV. The significant research gap on this topic leaves women survivors of IPV vulnerable to increased rates of repeat violence, permanent disability, criminal justice system engagement, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, and mental illness. The presenter will introduce an educational toolkit that helps service providers support women survivors with a brain injury. She will also provide recommendations for future research agendas and highlight the need for targeted educational campaigns.

About the Presenter:

Halina Lin Haag is a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Social Work. Her work focuses on women survivors of intimate partner violence with resultant brain injury, exploring factors influencing mental health, return to work, and social inclusion. She has been a guest speaker addressing issues of disability, brain injury, and marginalization for a variety of international academic, professional, and community-based organizations.

E.6 Part 2 A rural, collaborative approach to safety assessment and risk management

Rhonda Fraser, Lisa Newell-Bain & Suzanne White

This presentation will focus on safety planning for women at risk from intimate partner violence. This process has been developed collaboratively with women, recognizing their efforts and skills at maintaining safety for themselves and their children. We have shifted from a traditional one-size-fits-all safety planning tool to a safety assessment and risk management approach that is responsive to individual women. This trauma- informed, strengths-based approach allows women to recognize their expertise in their own lives while helping them explore issues they may not have considered. During our presentation, we will also discuss the evaluation process, made possible with funding from Canadian Women’s Foundation.

About the Presenters:

Rhonda Fraser is an outreach worker with the women’s shelter, Juniper House in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Previously, she was executive director of Chrysalis House Association for over a decade. Rhonda is an accredited Appreciative Inquiry facilitator. As a member of Using Our Influence, Rhonda has had her community development work recognized at both the national and international level.

Lisa Newell-Bain is the Executive Director of Juniper House. She is also a co-chair of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (THANS). Prior to her work at Juniper House, Lisa has been involved with grass roots, community based organizations both locally and internationally, where she has been a volunteer, human resource manager and executive director.

Suzanne White is an outreach worker with Juniper House. She has been working in the field of violence against women for thirty years and was the founding executive director of a rural outreach service. Suzanne was recently recognized by the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women as a recipient of a Long Service Award.

E.7 “Post-feminism” and the neoliberalism turn in trauma work

Dr. Catrina Brown

This presentation will explore the conservative impact of “post-feminism” and neoliberalism upon trauma work with women. Taken in tandem, the reduced welfare state, limited community resources, the intensified focus on bio-medical discourse and the lack of focus on the sociopolitical context of women’s lives are producing a decontextualized and depoliticized focus on the individual. In response, feminist work needs to reassert its long-standing principles of practice which includes recognizing that the personal is political, making space for women’s trauma stories, and emphasizing that trauma work is relational and often requires time. Agencies and policies need to allow space for trauma counselling and therapy which is often long term and intensive work. This then involves shifts in policy, different funding structures and greater commitment to supporting people dealing with trauma and its effects. In this process, we need to reframe “symptoms” as “coping skills” and avoid viewing trauma as a disorder, but instead as “a reaction to a kind of wound” (Burstow, 2003).

About the Presenter:

Catrina Brown is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and cross-appointed to Gender and Women’ Studies at Dalhousie University. Her research focuses on women’s health and mental health issues, including “eating disorders”, substance use problems, depression, trauma and post-trauma within a feminist postmodern/narrative lens. She has three co-edited books: Consuming Passions; Narrative Therapy. Making Meaning, Making Lives; and the forthcoming Critical Clinical Social Work.

E.8 Part 1 A toolkit to address IPV in the workplace: It's your business to care

Silke Brabander and Lindsay Manuel

This presentation will focus on helping workplaces respond to IPV using the recently revised “Family Violence: It’s Your Business – a Workplace Toolkit”. The training targets themes of inclusion, intersectionality, trauma-informed responses, and abusers in the workplace. There is also a training program for workplaces that incorporates scenarios for coaching employees and safety planning. The tool kit was developed by the Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence (D/IPV) in the Workplace Committee, which helps New Brunswick businesses take action to address D/IPV and its impacts on the workplace.

About the Presenters:

Silke Brabander is a Policy Advisor with the Women’s Equality Branch, who has spent the last year chairing the Domestic Violence in the Workplace Committee of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research. She worked for the government of New Brunswick as an advisor on the implementation of pay equity and was the coordinator of the provincial “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” campaign, raising awareness about intimate partner violence.

Lindsay Manuel is a Senior Policy Advisor with the Women's Equality Branch of Executive Council Office, Government of New Brunswick. Areas of her work with the Women’s Equality Branch include the Intimate Partner Violence Act, the Domestic Violence Outreach Program, Danger Assessment training, Family Violence in the Workplace, and the New Brunswick Silent Witness Project.

E.8 Part 2 DV as a core workplace Issue: Collapsing the private and public divide

Adriana Berlingieri and Barb MacQuarrie

This presentation demonstrates why domestic violence is a workplace issue, using findings from recent studies in Canada and internationally. Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between work and family life, but relatively little attention has been given by organizations to domestic violence as a serious workplace issue (Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2006). Domestic violence highlights the porous nature of the boundaries between the private and public spheres. Theoretically and practically, the presentation discusses an alternative view of organizations as social systems, thereby highlighting their critical role in preventing and responding to domestic violence at work.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Adriana Berlingieri is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto. Adriana is currently collaborating with the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children at Western University on projects related to domestic violence, and other forms of violence. Adriana’s primary scholarly and professional interests are centered on bullying and violence at work.

Barb MacQuarrie is the Community Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women & Children. Barb coordinates an initiative with Federally Regulated Employers (FETCO) and the Canadian Labour Congress to develop training and resources to prevent and address domestic violence. She collaborates with researchers from Canada, South America and Europe to measure the costs of DV to workplaces.

E.9 Supporting newcomers and immigrants: The Employment Security Alliance for Vulnerable Women Project

Fatima Narvaez

This presentation focuses on a project that seeks to increase the economic security of immigrant and refugee women leaving domestic abuse. The project focuses on organizational change as well as providing support for individual  immigrant women to sustain employment. The approach develops an alliance of employers, immigrant serving agencies, women’s organizations, and community agencies.

About the Presenter:

Fatima Narvaez is Family Services Manager at the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association. She has served the immigrant community as a settlement worker, literacy instructor, program coordinator and project lead. The Employment Security Alliance for Vulnerable Women is a project within Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association.

E.10 Creating Communities of Care Through Customary Law: Setting the Stage

Dr. Shiva Nourpanah, Pamela Glode-Desrochers, Brai Miller, Sarah Tremblay, Crystal John and Paula Marshall

Creating Communities of Care Through Customary Law is a historic and innovative project funded through an agreement between the federal government and the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women to address the challenges facing women who have experienced gender-based violence from urban Indigenous and African-Nova Scotian communities. This presentation will describe the context of project development, drawing on research and extensive stakeholder consultations, including focus groups with women who have experienced such violence at the partner sites of our contributing authors. We will cover the historic and structural racism embedded in our societal systems including criminal justice, education and welfare, which has led to the widespread and systemic failure of these systems to serve women from our populations of interest, and discuss the lived experience of these failures. We will then introduce the application of customary Indigenous law and Afrocentric worldviews as an alternative and complementary means to redress challenges in a culturally-sensitive and effective way. We will share our findings which call for the development of a wide range of meaningful programs and resources to support women from these communities, while working towards a deeper policy and system change, ultimately enabling a cultural shift of system responses to gender-based violence in urban Indigenous and African-Nova Scotian communities.   

About the Presenters:

Shiva Nourpanah, Transition House Association of Nova Scotia; Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence, University of Guelph Transition

Pamela Glode-Desrochers, Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre

Brai Miller and Sarah Tremblay, Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia

Crystal John, Association of Black Social Workers

Paula Marshall, Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network

Concurrent Session F - Friday, March 6, 2020

8:30 am - 9:25 am

F.1 Part 1 Late-life onset of disability: A long-term consequence of VAW

Dr. Roy Hanes

This presentation examines the invisible and long-term consequences of violence against women, consequences that may lead to disability later in life. The presentation explores the connection between VAW, brain injury, concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and subsequent disabling conditions such as memory loss and dementia. The topic of Dementia Pugilistica (punches to the head) will also be explored. There is little research focused on the connection between later life onset of dementia of women and earlier violence.

About the Presenter:

Roy Hanes is an author and educator on issues of disabilities and Violence Against Women. He has presented to numerous women shelters and social work departments.

F.1 Part 2 Traumatic brain injury and Women survivors of IPV

Paul van Donkelaar and Karen Mason

This session will explore the links between Intimate Partner Violence and traumatic brain injury (TBI)I, with a particular focus on a collaborative research study underway between the University of British Columbia and Kelowna Women's Shelter. The multi-disciplinary study explores the statistical incidence of TBI in survivors of IPV. In addition, VAW service providers, survivors, and health care and brain injury experts are working to develop and test screening, training and educational tools for workers, and a service support network for survivors. The goal? To create better outcomes for women who experience TBI in IPV. The presentation aims to provide education on the prevalence of TBI in IPV, how the related changes are likely to manifest in women survivors, and to provide an overview and examples of tools and best practices in incorporating a TBI-informed lens into trauma-informed work with survivors.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Paul van Donkelaar is Co-founder and Principal Investigator for SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research), and a Professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus. Since 2016, he has been working in collaboration with the Kelowna Women’s Shelter through the SOAR Project to understand brain dysfunction in women who have experienced intimate partner violence-related TBI.

Karen Mason is Co-founder of SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research) and former Executive Director of Kelowna Women’ Shelter. In collaboration with the University of British Columbia, the Shelter is engaged in the community-based SOAR research project to better understand the intersection of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intimate partner violence (IPV).

F.2 Part 1 Rural communities: A comprehensive approach to address IPV and sexual violence

Reave MacLeod and Connie MacDonald

This presentation focuses on the development of a comprehensive response to IPV and sexual violence for rural communities. The grassroots approach involves uniting community partners around the creation of crisis shelters, extensive preventative programming, strategies for dealing with sexual violence, a transitional housing program and an exapanded housing continuum. The program was developed by YWCA Banff, which is the smallest, non-conventional shelter program in Alberta.

About the Presenters:

Reave MacDonald is the Director of Programs and Services at the YWCA Banff. She has worked on the frontlines in the domestic violence sector as a college instructor for many years.

Connie MacDonald is the CEO of YWCA Banff. Connie has held leadership positions in both the non-profit and corporate sectors, including, Director of Communications at The Banff Centre.

F.2 Part 2 A rural model for addressing sexualized violence: Collaboration, emergence, and complexity

Annie Chau and Katherine Reed

This presentation will focus on a model for system change to address sexualized violence in rural communities. This approach was developed in rural Nova Scotia and involves public schools, St. Francis Xavier University and a local indigenous community. It focuses on both individual and system responsibilities for both perpetuating and resisting violence, as well as developing community relationships and leadership. The model was developed as part of a project named, Advancing Women’s Equality in Rural Nova Scotia: Partnering to Transform the Context and End Sexualized Violence (AWE Project).

About the Presenters:

Annie Chau is Advancing Women’s Equality Coordinator at the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre in Nova Scotia. She has worked within university, school, immigrant, and Indigenous communities to create safety and equality for diverse women. Annie has a Master of Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University and is from a Vietnamese immigrant family.

Katherine Reed is Advancing Women’s Equality Assistant at the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre. She has been an advocate for women and LGBTQ+ people. She received the Elizabeth Fry Society’s Rebels with a Cause award. Katherine has a Master of Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University.

F.3 Male victims of DV in same-sex relationships: The process of naming the violence

Olivier Pilon Rousseau

This presentation (in French) will examine specific problems facing both victims and service providers when it comes to identifying and intervening with male victims of domestic violence in a same-sex relationship. The research focuses on 10 men from the province of Québec, and explores their journey from becoming aware something was wrong, to understanding the relationship was dangerous, and then naming the violence. The men in the study used different strategies to deal with their partner's violence according to their evolving understanding of the relationship. The research also examines how the men came to the decision to leave and how they recovered afterward. Thoughout this presentation, we will explore how friends, family, service providers, stereotypes about masculinity, homosexuality and domestic violence influenced these men's experience.

About the Presenter:

Olivier Pilon Rousseau has been a crisis intervention worker at the Centre de Crise de Québec. His research was on how men in same-sex relationships become aware of the violence they endure.

F.4 Part 1 GBV amongst immigrants and refugees: National Settlement and Anti-Violence Partnership

Kathryn Bates-Khan, Natasha Beg, Thea Bracewell & Salina Abji

This presentation is focused on addressing GBV amongst immigrants and refugees. The project is a collaboration between four agencies: YMCA, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, Ending Violence Association of Canada, and The Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance. Through funding from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), this project will support settlement sector capacity building and a shared base of knowledge with a coordinated, comprehensive approach. Working together in partnership with the four organizations and engaging their members increases our ability to deliver GBV prevention and intervention and to better serve individuals and families experiencing violence.

About the Presenters:

Kathryn Bates-Khan is the manager of the Gender Based Violence Prevention Project for the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth Immigrant Services. She has led multiple programs over the last 20 years for immigrant children and youth, particularly priority youth. Kathryn is also working on a National Settlement sector strategy for increasing capacity to respond to GBV.

Natasha Beg is an Assistant Director in the Settlement and Integration Policy Branch at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada where she manages a diverse portfolio focused on settlement policy and programming for newcomer women, youth, seniors and areas related to mental health, community connections, and gender equality.

Thea Bracewell is a Policy Analyst in the Settlement and Integration Policy Branch at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with a focus on gender equality and gender-based analysis+.

Salina Abji, is a sociologist and research consultant specializing in grant-writing, needs assessments and evaluation for feminist and immigrant-serving organizations. She completed a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship on immigration detention at Carleton University in 2019. Her PhD focused on social activism in response to border securitization and citizenship rights, as well as the politics of gender, race, and immigration status in Canada. For the past eight years, Salina participated as an organizing member of the Rights of Non-Status Women's Network, a grassroots advocacy group in Toronto. Salina also brings eight+ years of experience in the community social services and public education sectors, where she contributed skills and experience in developing, delivering, and evaluating skills-based and experiential learning for a diverse range of learners. Salina has led the needs assessment of this national GBV Settlement project and is currently involved in research consultation for projects about gender-based violence.

F.4 Part 2 One size doesn’t fit all:  The complexities of risk, safety, and domestic violence within immigrant and refugee communities

Abir Al Jamal and Sarah Yercich

This presentation will explore the unique risks and experiences of immigrant and refugee populations related to the interplay between familial, cultural, and social structures. We will discuss the current tools and professional judgement frameworks used for assessing risk and promoting safety when working with immigrant and refugee populations. The research findings demonstrate that responding to domestic violence within immigrant and refugee populations requires an understanding of the complexity and intersectionality of the diverse factors shaping their vulnerability and risk. Key recommendations related to effective intervention, prevention, and safety strategies for immigrant and refugee populations with a focus on risk assessment, risk management, and safety planning will be shared. The research was conducted as part of The Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiatives with Vulnerable Populations.

About the Presenters:

Sarah Yercich is a Doctoral Candidate in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She is also an Instructor in Sociology and Criminology at Capilano University and sessional instructor in SFU’s School of Criminology. Sarah is the Associate Director of the FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children at SFU, and is working on the Immigrant and Refugee Populations Research Team for the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations.

Abir Al Jamal is a practitioner and Research Coordinator at the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration in London, Ontario. She is part of various research projects including the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations. Her research is focused on Domestic Violence, risk assessments, and social issues that affect collectivist newcomers’ communities.

F.5 Part 1 Re-defining masculinity: Practical conversations for assisting men

Melissa Graham Burke

This presentation will focus on helping men redefine masculinity in an effort to stop abuse. This process plays an essential role in re-inventing the culture of masculinity. The presenter will draw on conversations she has had with men in both court-mandated partner abuse response programs and in individual therapy sessions as a private practitioner. This session will include practical discussion of ways to engage with men and their masculinity through a Narrative Therapy lens. Others are invited to share their knowledge and experiences.

About the Presenter:

Melissa Graham Burke is a Registered Psychotherapist with specialized training and experience in working with men. She has spent many years providing individual therapy and leading groups for men who have used abuse in their relationships. Melissa has received professional training in Narrative Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.

F.5 Part 2 Why men hurt

James Maynard

This presentation explores the use of a trauma-informed therapeutic approach with men who have used violence in their relationships. The trauma-informed approach helps men to stop their violence, heal the harm they caused to victims, and reduce recidivism. Such a process also holds them fully accountable for their choices. This approach addresses how early experiences of trauma can negatively influence men’s ability to regulate their emotions, and teaches them to recognize and take responsibility for the harm they caused, and to build healthy and safe relationships.

About the Presenter:

James Maynard works as a domestic violence counsellor at Bridges Institute and New Start Counselling in Nova Scotia. James works primarily from a Narrative Therapy approach while also drawing on elements of mindfulness and grounding practices, CBT, DBT, somatic therapy and a psychodynamic model of practice.

F.6 Restorative conversations on gendered violence: Expanding the conversation

Dr. Verona Singer, Sue Bookchin, Dr. Diane Crocker, Paula Marshall, Pat Gorham

This workshop will explore the 12 month project of expanding the conversation around using restorative approaches for IPV and sexual violence in Nova Scotia. The project team interviewed providers involved in gendered violence service delivery, examined best practices of restorative processes in gendered violence and documented customary law work used by the Mi’kmaq Legal Support Network. The team held a series of workshops to share their findings with community partners from across the province. This workshop will highlight the findings from this project.

About the Presenters:

Sue Bookchin is the Executive Director of Be the Peace Institute.

Dr. Diane Crocker is a professor of Sociology at Saint Mary’s University.

Dr. Verona Singer an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Criminology at Saint Mary's University.

Paula Marshall is the Executive Director of the Mi'kmaq Legal Support Network.

Pat Gorham is the Director of Programs and Stakeholder Relations at the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

F.7 Part 1 Parental alienation, child protection and family court: Abused women’s experiences and perspectives on parental alienation

Simon Lapierre, Michèle Frenette, Patrick Ladouceur

This presentation focuses on a study that investigated the issue of parental alienation in the context of domestic violence. Using a feminist critical discourse analysis framework, this study gathered data from multiple sources (policy documents, case law, key informants, abused women, professional reports) in order to better understand how abused women are perceived as ‘engaging in parental alienation’. It also draws upon the accounts of women who have experienced domestic violence and have been seen as ‘engaging in parental alienation’ by either their former partners, family court professionals or child protection workers. The findings provide an insight into professional practices in this particular context, and show the negative impacts of such practices on mother-child relationships and on both women’s and children’s safety and well-being. The findings from this study also highlight women’s strategies to negotiate these practices, and to ensure their own safety, as well as their children’s safety and well-being.

About the Presenters:

Simon Lapierre is Full Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa. He is a founding member of the Feminist Anti-Violence (FemAnVi) research collective. His research interests include violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, children’s experiences and perspectives on domestic violence, and mothering and mother-child relationships in the context of domestic violence.

Michèle Frenette is a PhD Candidate at the School of Social Work, University of Ottawa and Co-ordinator of FemAnVi.

Patrick Ladouceur is a PhD Candidate at the School of Social Work, University of Ottawa and a member of FemAnVi.

F.7 Part 2 Media reporting, male athletes and sexual violence

Kim Dubé

This presentation focuses on understanding how print media represents sexual violence against women by male athletes. The research explores how social characteristics of the abuser and the victim influence media representations, and how such representations often emulate societal sexual violence myths. The purpose of this research is to serve as a tool for media when reporting on sexual assault, to raise awareness about how media report on sexual assault, and to prevent media coverage of sexual assault from re-victimizing survivors.

About the Presenter:

Kim Dubé is currently completing her doctorate in social work at the University of Ottawa where her research focuses on how the Canadian media represent sexual assault when committed by male athletes. She sits on the Women's Event Network Committee and the FemAnVi Collective. She is also Chair of Jeunesse Idem, an organization in the Outaouais that provides services to queer youth. Kim is an Acadian and a Métis person.

F.8 Music therapy interventions with men who perpetrate IPV

Eric L. Ross

This presentation discusses music therapy interventions used with men who abuse. The presentation highlights connections between music therapy interventions and critical components of intervention counselling aimed at helping men take responsibility for abuse. The interventions are used to complement a 16-week, strengths-based, client-focused, narrative therapy men’s intervention group at New Start Counselling. Each intervention focuses on an aspect of therapeutic process. First, group drumming supports the development of group cohesiveness and member interconnectedness. Lyric analysis provides opportunities for men to identify, explore, and talk about their emotions. Finally, music imagery paired with mental imagery supports men in deepening and broadening their experiences of positive, internal resources.

About the Presenter:

Eric L. Ross is a Registered Counselling Therapist and Accredited Music Therapist. He works at New Start Counselling in Dartmouth, NS, where his primary clinical focus involves counselling men who have used abuse and/or violence in their intimate partner relationships. His current research interests include the use of music in psychotherapy and the changing landscape of masculinities.

F.9 Children, mental health and IPV: Creating services for children across Canada

Mahamad Musa and Lorriane Oloya

This presentation will highlight the difficulty in navigating mental health services specifically for children and youth. The presentation will focus on the risks of untreated mental health concerns and their impact on children’s development. These risks will also be connected to the social determinants of health. The presenters will also discuss barriers to accessing mental health services for youth. By identifying these challenges, the presentation will underscore the need for children-specific services across Canada.

About the Presenters:

Mohamad Musa is a doctoral student at the University of Windsor’s School of Social Work. Her areas of research are mental health, mental illnesses, sexual assault/human trafficking, at-risk children and youth, and at-risk of homeless populations. She is also a clinical practitioner in the Youth Justice System for New Beginnings in Essex County, Ontario.

Lorraine Oloya is a counsellor at the women’s shelter, Hiatus House, in Windsor-Essex, Ontario. She is also a supervisor in the Youth Justice System for New Beginnings. She supports both staff and youth when the youth are in custody and upon release back to the community. She develops and evaluates programs and therapeutic approaches to practice for the agency.

F.10 Women, Trauma and IPV: Narratives of the body

Laura Boileau

This presentation will focus on blending narrative therapy and somatic psychotherapy with women who have been traumatized by IPV. Women who have experienced sexualized violence within the context of intimate relationships often present with post-traumatic symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning. Those who have also experienced abuse in childhood can find themselves particularly stuck in patterns of physiological and emotional reactivity, negative beliefs, and shame. This blended therapeutic process allows women’s stories of trauma to become an embodied sense of strength and safety.

About the Presenter:

Laura Boileau is a provisional psychologist working at the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. She specializes in helping clients heal from the trauma of violence and sexualized abuse. She was the coordinator of a counselling program in Yellowknife that primarily served Indigenous men who perpetrated abuse. Laura also works in private practice.

Concurrent Session G - Friday, March 6, 2020

10:00 am - 10:55 am

G.1 Part 1 DV informed child welfare system

Lórien Castelle

This presentation focuses on developing a Child Welfare System in which policy and practice, service delivery and collaboration all affect change to improve outcomes for children exposed to domestic violence. Participants will discuss the importance of fatherhood engagement, trauma informed practice, respecting culture and confronting oppression as part of a DV-informed system. This training will discuss the role of practice, policy and cross-systems collaboration that support child welfare’s mission.

About the Presenter:

Lórien Castelle is a trainer for the (American) National Center on Domestic Violence, a prevention consultant to the National Resource Center on Domestics Violence, a trainer and consultant for Major League Baseball (MLB) and currently a trainer for the Safe & Together Institute. She also was the Director of Prevention for the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and worked with the Pennsylvanian Coalition Against Domestic Violence to launch a statewide prevention initiative in Pennsylvania.

G.1 Part 2 Training informal supporters to respond effectively to IPV: A collective impact model

Carrie McManus and Kim Ruse

This workshop will examine how two agencies have developed a collective impact model to build the capacity of informal supporters to provide effective, supportive responses to IPV. These informal supporters include friends, family, neighbours and co-workers. The two agencies involved were the Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society and Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter. The presenters will share an evaluation of their work and how it has impacted the recipients and the organizations delivering the service.

About the Presenters:

Carrie McManus is the Director of Programs at Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society in Calgary. Carrie worked for over 18 years in strategic and program development, small business management, facilitation and education.

Kim Ruse is the Executive Director of Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter. She has over 25 years’ experience in program, service and organizational innovation, evaluation and outcome management. She has taught at the University of Calgary in the Faculty of Continuing Education. In 2017, Kim received an award for Leadership in the Prevention of Family Violence from the Province of Alberta.

G.2 Part 1 The crisis in Family Court: A gender-based analysis of IPV cases

Julie Young

This presentation will describe a study into the gendered ideas that contribute to bias against abused women in family court. The study relied on electronically available published opinions in child custody cases. Many family court professionals were skeptical of abuse allegations, believing that women were trying to gain a tactical advantage in family court proceedings. The courts automatically assume that a child’s best interests are served by a shared parenting model. Additionally, fathers can make false claims of parental alienation, which plays a role in the court’s evaluation of the mother’s claims for full custody. A court's response can (inadvertently) allow men to continue to exert power and control after the relationship has ended.

About the Presenter:

Julie Young is a Professor in the School of Leadership and Social Change at Brescia University College, as well as a member of the National Advisory Council on Gendered Violence. She served as chair of the London Race Relations and Advisory Council, Chair of the Royal Bank Equity and Diversity Council, and Governor with Opportunity International. Her current research focuses on women’s empowerment and gender-based violence.

G.2 Part 2 Disrupting traditional collaboration:  Applying a feminist lens to systems change

Corey Allison and Louise Pitre

This presentation describes how a rural Ontario women’s shelter applied a feminist lens to systems change. The goal was to disrupt traditional collaboration frameworks used by mainstream partners in the mental health and criminal justice sectors to better address the needs of women experiencing domestic violence. Strategies and tools to strengthen and amplify feminist leadership across sectors will be shared.

About the Presenters:

Corey Allison is the Executive Director of the Women’s Rural Resource Centre in Strathroy, Ontario, and a leadership consultant and coach, trained by the Co-Active Institute.

Louise Pitre is Principal of Louise Pitre Coaching & Consulting. She is an organizational development consultant, leadership and team coach, facilitator and trainer. Louise was Executive Director of Family Service, Thames Valley and Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Centre London, U.K.

G.3 Pratiques concertées pour optimiser la sécurité des femmes victimes de violence conjugale et de leurs enfants

Please note: This session will be available in English, French or bilingual, depending on the language of the participants. Slides will also be available in English or French, so welcome to all regardless of your language!

Dr. Geneviève LessarD, Dr. Katja Smedslund

Cet projet vise la mise sur pied d’une stratégie de concertation efficace et novatrice dans les situations familiales complexes où la violence conjugale se présente en cooccurrence avec des problèmes de santé mentale ou de dépendance chez les conjoints/parents ou de mauvais traitements envers les enfants. Les situations ont été référées à des agents de rayonnement qui organisent des rencontres de concertation impliquant des intervenants au dossier et des experts externes invités de divers secteurs selon les besoins spécifiques de chaque dossier (en maltraitance des enfants, en santé mentale, en dépendance, en violence conjugale). Cette présentation fournira des informations clés sur la méthodologie de la pratique de concertation, sur les résultats ainsi que les objectifs de diffusion et de pérennisation.

À propos des présentateurs:

Geneviève Lessard est professeure titulaire à l'École de travail social et de criminologie de l'Université Laval. Elle est responsable scientifique d'une équipe de recherche en partenariat sur la violence conjugale. Ses travaux portent sur l'exposition des enfants à la violence conjugale, la cooccurrence avec d'autres formes de victimisation et la collaboration entre les ressources d'aide concernées par la violence conjugale et familiale.

Katja Smedslund est coordonnatrice de projet à la Table de concertation en violence conjugale de Montréal. Elle travaille sur le projet « Pratiques concertées pour optimiser la sécurité des femmes victimes de violence conjugale et de leurs enfants », projet financé par Condition Féminine Canada.

G.4 Capturing queer and trans experiences: Assessing police assessments

Sarah Tilley and Dr. Susan Scott

This presentation focuses on the development of police assessment tools to meaningfully address queer and trans experiences of IPV. Research into current tools was conducted using the non-criminal Domestic Violence Supplementary Report (DVSR) and the criminal Domestic Violence Risk Management form (DVRM) used by policing bodies in Ontario to record details of IPV calls. The findings indicate that the tools lacked meaningful inclusion of queer and trans experiences and did not include stress factors related to being a minority. Recommendations include making the assessment tools more inclusive of LGBTQ2S experiences and increased training for policing organizations.

About the Presenters:

Sarah Tilley is Coordinator of Sex Work Outreach and Support at the Gilbert Centre, an AIDS Service Organization (ASO) in Barrie, Ontario. As part of this work they have engaged in front line and community level initiatives aimed at addressing gender-based violence, often experienced by people who identify as gender diverse. Sarah has recently completed an MSW at Lakehead University and is the chair of Oahas, a provincial Indigenous-focused ASO in Ontario.

Dr. Susan Scott is an Associate Professor with the School of Social Work at Lakehead University. She teaches social policy and all areas of macro social work. Susan has extensive practice experience in a broad range of social work fields (e.g., justice, children’s services, mental health). She is currently engaged in research related to domestic violence and policing as well as the use of harm reduction approaches in women’s shelters.

G.5 Indigenous women and Familial Violence: Moving away from perpetrator and victim identities

Dr. Jula Hughes, Dr. Elizabeth Blaney, Michelle Perley & Anthea Plummer

This panel critically examines the current public and justice discourses regarding the violent victimization perpetrated against Indigenous women. Despite the findings of NWAC (2010) and the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019), public discourse and legal proceedings alike continue to focus on Indigenous men responsibility and downplay or disregard systemic causes. The issue of familial and intra-group violence is foregrounded to sustain a deeply flawed gendered and racializing binary of perpetration and victimization. In these narratives, Indigenous men are solely perpetrators, women appear as only victims. Both perpetrator and victim identities continue to justify paternalistic state interventions, while at the same time absolving settler laws and institutions.

The panel brings media analysis and victimological insights into conversation with community voices gathered in sharing circles.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Jula Hughes is a Lawyer and Dean of Law at Lakehead University, Principal Investigator on the Looking Out for Each Other Project with the New Brunswick Aboriginal People's Council

Dr. Elizabeth Blaney is the Director at the New Brunswick Aboriginal People's Council and has many years of research experience working in Intimate Partner Violence and with Indigenous issues.

Michelle Perley has a Masters Degree from the University of New Brunswick and is the Project Manager of the Looking Out for Each Other Project with the New Brunswick Aboriginal People's Council.

Anthea Plummer is finishing a Masters Degree at the University of New Brunswick and is the Project Engagement Officer for the Looking Out for Each Other Project with the New Brunswick Aboriginal People's Council.

G.6 Part 1 Ottawa Partner Assault Support Team: A model for high risk case coordination

Andrea McCue and Vivian-Lee Stewart

This presentation will review the development and protocols of the Ottawa Partner Assault Support Team (PAST), a high risk coordination team founded in 1997. The purpose of the committee is to review high risk domestic violence cases and promote a coordinated criminal justice response to issues of domestic and family violence. The team is comprised of representatives from the Ottawa Crown Attorney’s Office, local police agencies, Victim Crisis Unit (VCU), Probation & Parole Services, Children’s Aid Society or Ottawa Carleton (CAS), the City of Ottawa, and the Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP). PAST has relied on coordination between provincial and municipal governments as well as community agencies.

About the Presenters:

Andrea McCue has worked with the Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP), Ministry of the Attorney General since 2004. VWAP offers information, assistance and support to victims and witnesses of crime throughout the criminal justice process. Prior to this, Andrea’s was the SupportLink Coordinator with Ottawa Victim Services, providing detailed safety planning and pre-programmed 911 cell phones for high risk victims.

Vivian-Lee Stewart has been an Assistant Crown Attorney since 2000 and has worked in the Ottawa Crown Attorney’s office since 2004. Vivian-Lee publishes and presents her work on a regular basis. Vivian-Lee was the Team Lead for the Domestic Violence Team within the Crown Attorney’s office as well as the coordinator of PAST.

G.6 Part 2 Halifax high risk domestic violence cases: A police approach to support victims and offenders

Tara Borden, Brad Kincade, and Jillian Gibson

This presentation focuses on a policing approach to high risk cases which supports both victims and the accused. Halifax Regional Police Victim Services created a pilot project to help the offender navigate the process in conjunction with victim. The team involves a Domestic Violence Case Coordinator, the Domestic Violence (Police) Officer, and the Domestic Violence Offender Navigator.This model reduces recidivism by helping to the victim and offender through the court process and by advocating for housing and immediate access to counselling and programs. The team will present their model and discuss case outcomes.

About the Presenters:

Tara Borden is the Domestic Violence Case Coordinator with Halifax Regional Police. She works closely with the client to safety plan, advocate with service providers and liaise with police on files involving potential lethality.

Cst. Brad Kincade is the Domestic Violence Officer with Halifax Regional Police. Brad focuses on the offender in the high risk file and meets with them in person to review release conditions, do breach checks. He also works with the victim to ensure safety.

Jillian Gibson is the Domestic Violence Offender Navigator with Halifax Regional Police. She works with an offender in a high risk relationship who has accepted responsibility and either wants to reunite with his partner or parent successfully with his ex-partner. The DVON advocates for the offender in matters such as housing, employment and counselling.

G.7 Older women and IPV: Identifying and responding to their unique needs

Dr. Lori Weeks and Christie Stilwell

In this presentation, we will present key findings on several aspects of the RESPOND study on the abuse and neglect of older adults in the Maritime Provinces. Research included an environmental scan, survey, and interviews with older women who have experienced IPV and those that support them. The presenters will discuss findings on Canadian initiatives to support older women who experience IPV and challenges related to these initiatives. The results highlight the specific needs and challenges faced by older women who are living in rural places, new immigrants, and official language minorities. The presenters will also share results of knowledge translation and community engagement strategies.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Lori Weeks is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University and is an Associate Research Scholar with the Healthy Populations Institute. Her primary research interests are care and support services for older adults and their caregivers, and factors affecting the health of seniors. Dr. Weeks has conducted research on the abuse of older adults, supports for older abused women, and training peer educators to raise awareness about elder abuse.

Christie Stilwell is a student in the PhD in Health program at Dalhousie University. She works as a research assistant on the RESPOND study, focusing on existing initiatives and supports for diverse older women who experience intimate partner violence. She recently finished her Master of Arts which explored how current government policies promote healthy aging among older Mi'kmaq in the Atlantic region.

G.8 IPV survivors living with HIV: Creating access to services

Ashley Slye

This workshop will provide organizations with information to better serve survivors of IPV who are living with or at risk for HIV. Victims of domestic violence are at an increased risk for acquiring HIV, and women living with HIV experience domestic violence at rates higher than the general population. In the United States, 55% of women living with HIV have experienced domestic violence. This experience can impact the survivor’s overall health, interrupt the effectiveness of medications, and increase the chance of developing an AIDS-related illness or condition. This presentation will focus on the role of advocates in helping survivors living with HIV access medical support and other services. For those not living with HIV, advocates can assist in linking survivors to HIV testing and provide resources on remaining HIV-free.

About the Presenter:

Ashley Slye is the Manager of the Positively Safe Project, an initiative of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She developed a training curriculum on the intersection between IPV and HIV. She presents her work internationally on a regular basis. Ashley supported the transitional housing program at the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, Virginia.

G.9 Part 1 Young Men Leading Change: A trauma-responsive and culturally relevant approach to engaging men in GBV prevention

Matt SchaaF (and youth facilitators)

Young Men Leading Change brings racialized and newcomer young men aged 15 to 25 together with immigrant-serving agencies and advocates working to end gender-based violence (GBV). Over the course of 12 weeks, young men participate in the Five MANifest Change Conversations and meet leaders in their community working to end GBV. They expand their leadership skills by developing a project that increases the safety of girls, women and LGBTQ2IS folks in the community.

Young Men Leading Change challenges racist stereotypes that men of colour are more aggressive and violent than others. We honour the ways that racialized communities resist oppression and offer young racialized men support as they become allies in preventing GBV and grow as leaders in community safety. This presentation will lay out the principles underlying our approach with examples of trauma-informed and culturally relevant program elements.

About the Presenters:

Matt Schaaf has coordinated the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women's male ally programs since 2014. Matt is the manager of the Ontario-wide Young Men Leading Change Project which supports young racialized and newcomer men to prevent gender-based violence. He has spent over two decades involved in community-based violence prevention and education in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Grassy Narrows First Nation, Colombia and Mexico. Matt will co-present with Youth Facilitators from the Young Men Leading Change Project.

Nelly Trussler - My name is Nelly and I'm a high school student - I go to Waterloo Collegiate Institute. I'm 18 years old and have a Ugandan background. I like watching movies with friends, hiking with my dog, and playing video games. I volunteered with Male Allies and YMLC because I like to lighten awareness about issues in our everyday life and make a difference.

Tokoni Edmund-tam'nabo - Hi, my name is Tokoni Edmund-tam'nabo. I'm an international student from Nigeria studying Business Administration at Trent University. I joined this program because I am very passionate about contributing in helping to end gender-based violence, domestic violence, rape and other issues of such nature. This is because it is becoming a norm in our society today and something needs to be done. I am a singer and songwriter and a barber who loves to share my creativity and personality with everyone!

G.9 Part 2 Honour-based violence: Bringing the victim into the room

Kamal Dhillon

This presentation will focus on a woman’s experience of being severely abused and the steps she took to break free. Along with examining her own experience, Kamal speaks about honour-based violence, mental health, domestic violence, empowerment and women’s issues around the country and abroad.

About the Presenter:

Kamal Dhillon is the author of Black & Blue Sari as well as I am Kamal: Survivor to Thriver. She trains professionals and victims globally about issues relating to IPV. She has appeared before the Parliamentary Citizenship and Immigration Committee and the Department of Justice to talk about honour-based violence and honour-based killings. Kamal is from Surrey, British Columbia.

G.10 Part 1 An Intersectional View of Systemic Change to Address Gender-Based Violence: Pathways to Justice

Sue Bookchin, Stacey Godsoe, Courtney Brown

Pathways to Justice is the name of a 3-year project exploring systemic change in the pursuit of justice for women subjected to gender-based violence. The partnership between Be the Peace Institute and the Association of Black Social Workers led to collaboration with survivors, government, community and academic partners, to unearth the system dynamics that thwart just processes and outcomes for survivors. This collaboration strengthened the allyship with African Nova Scotian women whose challenges are magnified by racial bias and marginalization, making them and their families significantly more vulnerable to harm.

About the Presenters:

Sue Bookchin is the Executive Director of Be the Peace Institute, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the roots and consequences of gender-based violence and advancing systemic change for gender equity and social justice. Sue is an active member of the Bridgewater Hub, Metro-Interagency Committee on Family Violence and Restorative Conversations, and the working groups for DV Court Programs in Halifax and Bridgewater.

Stacey Godsoe is a project officer with Be the Peace Institute. Her work focuses on efforts related to health equity and accessibility, community development, and research and project coordination in advancing gender equity, ending gender-based violence, and enacting justice reform for women and families.

Courtney Brown is Outreach Social Worker with the Association of Black Social Workers. She is involved in a number of collaborative projects focused on better serving African Nova Scotian communities.

G.10 Part 2 Survivors supporting survivors: A DV empowerment group

Kassinda Tolliver and Crystal John

This presentation will discuss a group where survivors help each other change patterns of behaviour, learn about women’s basic rights, and build self-esteem, self-determination and empowerment. The group meets in a series of formal workshops that happen weekly over 8-10 weeks. Some of the group themes include: the difficulty of ending a relationship; coping with grief, anger, fear and guilt; and becoming assertive. Women report that the sessions help them address feelings of shame, guilt and loneliness.

About the Presenters:

Kassinda Tolliver is the Executive Assistant of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. She is a survivor of domestic violence and left with the help of a women’s shelter.

Crystal John is the Executive Director of Mulgrave Park Caring and Learning Centre in Halifax. Crystal is current President of the Association of Black Social Workers and sits on the advisory committee for the Halifax Domestic Violence Court.

Concurrent Session H - Friday, March 6, 2020

11:05 am - 12:00 noon

H.1 Les défis de l’intervention en maison de 2e étape: la violence conjugale postseparation

Chloé Deraiche and Nancy Gough

Notre travail démontre les stratégies de contrôle qui cimentent la dynamique de violence conjugale postséparation (VCPS). La cueillette de données a permis de documenter les besoins, le vécu et les trajectoires de vie des femmes et des enfants violenté.e.s en contexte postséparation, d’identifier les caractéristiques spécifiques à la dynamique des violences conjugales après la rupture et de susciter une réflexion autour des pratiques en maison de 2e étape. Plus spécifiquement, nous avons identifié pour chacune des femmes rencontrées, la présence ou l’absence des phases de la VC en contexte post-séparation; nous démontrons la présence des différentes manifestations de VCPS par des exemples terrain nommés par la femme ou identifiés par l’intervenante et enfin, nous recensons les stratégies de contrôle utilisées par l’ex-conjoint, leurs effets chez la femme et les enfants ainsi que les facteurs de vulnérabilité.

À propos des présentateurs:

Chloé Deraiche a été directrice depuis 17 ans de maison d'hébergement 1e et 2e étape à Montréal, membre du Réseau Egalité Canada, présidente de l'Alliance provinciale, conférencière et formatrice en violence conjugale.

Nancy Gough a été directrice depuis 22 ans de maison d'hébergement de 1e et 2e étape en Gaspésie, Cofondatrice et co-ambassadrice de L’Alliance gaspésienne des maisons d’aide et d’hébergement, conférencière et formatrice en violence conjugale.

H.2 Evaluating domestic violence shelter practices: Building trust to conduct The Safety-Related Empowerment Study in Québec

Isabelle Cote, Mylène Bigaouette, Dominique Damant, Stéphanie Esprival, Lisa Goodman, Louise Lafortune, Joël Gagnon, and Simon Lapierre

This research project seeks to assess women’s safety-related empowerment in domestic violence shelters in the province of Québec, drawing upon the principles of feminist and participatory action research. The first stage of the study involved assessing the Measure of Victim Empowerment Related to Safety and the Survivor-Defined Practice Scale. These tools have been developed in partnership with shelter workers and pre-tested/validated with women seeking shelters’ services. They will be used in the second stage of the research to evaluate domestic violence shelters’ practices across the province of Québec. The presenters will argue that, despite some challenges, assessing shelter practices is relevant for the scientific community, for practitioners, and for abused women seeking services.

About the Presenters:

Isabelle Côté is a Professor at the School of Social Work at Laurentian University, where she teaches the theoretical foundations of social work practice. Her field of interest includes violence against women, domestic violence, children’s exposure to domestic violence, shelter’s practices, and qualitative research. Isabelle is a founding member of the FemAnVi Research Collective at the University of Ottawa and the author of several books about domestic violence.

H.3 A theatre prevention approach to stalking and IPV: No is a Complete Sentence

Marc D. Rich

This presentation will focus on a program designed to prevent stalking and intimate partner violence. The program is named “No is A Complete Sentence”, and was developed by interACT, an internationally recognized violence prevention theatre troupe based in California. Since 2000, the troupe has reached hundreds of thousands of audience members using a format the maximizes audience involvement. Audience members are invited on stage to intervene as effective bystanders, rather than passive observers. The interACT model has been proven effective in multiple quantitative, qualitative, and longitudinal studies. interACT has been invited to present on college campuses and U.S military bases worldwide.

About the Presenter:

Marc D. Rich is a Professor at California State University, Long Beach, Executive Director of the interACT Troupe, and an internationally recognized leader in the prevention of predatory violence. Marc’s pursuit and rape prevention programs that have been used on college campuses and military bases worldwide. As a researcher, he has published over twenty peer-reviewed essays, including the first empirical study of a role-player based approach to sexual assault prevention.

H.4 Part 1 Re-Imagining Healing Outside of Colonial Confines: Decolonizing Interventions to a Colonial Problem

Tiffany Walsh

This presentation will focus on the Truth and Reconciliation Committtee’s Calls to Action for front line and policy-level responses to family violence. In the context of Canada, the remnants of inter generational trauma and colonial genocide prevail within current systems of intervention to family violence. Indigenous women and children are over-represented in reported incidences of family violence, intimate partner violence, and/or femicide. To address IPV, this approach strengthens kinship, connectivity, and community accountability.

About the Presenter:

Tiffany Walsh is manager of WIN House, a women's shelter in Edmonton, Alberta. Her research interests involve examining alternatives to the criminal injustice and the child welfare systems for addressing and preventing harm done by sexual assault and family violence. She is especially interested in grassroots organizations and local community initiatives for ending violence outside of a carceral context.

H.4 Part 2 Indigenous Restorative Justice and Western Court System: Contrasting approaches to IPV and sexual assault

Annie Metatawabin

This presentation contrasts a traditional western court system approach to sexual assault and domestic violence and an Indigenous restorative justice approach. The traditional western approach focuses primarily on the offender, rather than on repairing the harm done to the victim and others. In fact, often victims report feeling further harmed by the court process. Alternatively, Indigenous Restorative Justice focuses on creating support systems, and working towards healing and repairing the harm. This approach provides victims with the opportunity to talk about how they and others have been harmed and what would be helpful to repair the harm. There is also a focus on helping the offender to understand how their actions have affected the victim and others. Finally, the approach invites the offender to consider how they may want to participate in mending the harm and move forward.

About the Presenter:

Annie Metatawabin works for Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Service Corporation in Thunder Bay, Ontario as the Restorative Sexual Assault & Domestic Justice Worker. She established Sarah’s Cross Culture & Language Camp, a land-based healing program guided by Mushkegowuk seasonal cycle of governance and Mushkegowuk inherent rights. She is from Fort Albany First Nation.

H.5 Part 1 Talking with those with whom we disagree about IPV: Engaging bravely men’s rights activists

Carrie McManus

This presentation will explore the possibilities of moving away from the current polarized, dichotomous discourse that influences the field of IPV. The presenter is from Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society in Calgary. She draws on her feminist agency’s experiences of engaging with Men’s Rights Activists. The presentation will explore how barriers to meaningful conversations were addressed. This process required clarity about the organization's values and beliefs, and being open-minded, non-judgmental and curious. The presenter will demonstrate the power of engaging bravely within group work as a way of moving toward understanding and away from an “us vs. them” mentality.

About the Presenter:

Carrie McManus is the Director of Programs at Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society in Calgary, Alberta. Carrie worked for over 18 years in strategic and program development, small business management, facilitation and education.

H.5 Part 2 Consulting with men who abuse to stop VAW

Michelle Thomas-Maison

This presentation will focus on research that consulted men who have perpetrated abuse about strategies for preventing abuse. Drawing on the work of Baumeister (1997), this presentation will explore the various themes men indicated are important to stop abuse and build respectful, safe relationships.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Michelle Thomas has taught a variety of courses in the behavioral and social sciences discipline during her lectureship at the University of the Southern Caribbean. Michelle’s teaching and research interests include men and domestic violence, gender based violence in the Caribbean and qualitative research methods.

H.6 Nova Scotia Domestic Violence Court Program

Judge Amy Sakalauskas, Carolyn Baker, Terri Lipton, Jane Donovan, James Maynard, James Owen Dubé, Heather Byrne

This presentation will focus on the Nova Scotia Domestic Violence Court Program (DVCP). The program is only for those who accept responsibility for their actions, usually by way of a guilty plea. The Domestic Violence Court Program uses a collaborative approach to develop meaningful Court Plans. Creating a Court Plan involves stopping the violence, identifying what could repair the harm, supporting the person to repair the harms identified, and creating an accountability plan. Members of the DV Court Program teams will discuss program model development and evaluation, challenges faced and how those challenges are being met, and highlights of the DVCP's work and its impact on families.

About the Presenters:

Judge Amy Sakalauskas is a judge of the Provincial and Family Courts of Nova Scotia. She presides over general criminal matters in Halifax and is the assigned judge for the Metro Domestic Violence Court. Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Judge Sakalauskas practiced family law in private practice before joining the child protection litigation team at the Nova Scotia Department of Justice.

Terri Lipton is a Senior Crown Attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. She has worked in specialized courts, such as the Dartmouth Mental Health Court and the Halifax Domestic Violence Court. Terri has been involved in policy development for both of these courts and has worked closely with the various agencies and community representatives that support these specialized courts.

James Owen Dubé is the Clinic Manager of Peoples’ Counselling Clinic in Halifax, where he counsels perpetrators and victims of sexual violence and IPV. James has experience in addictions and with children and youth in care. He has also developed the Male Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence project.

Carolyn Baker is the Coordinator of the Nova Scotia Domestic Violence Court Program (DVCP). She has worked as the Coordinator of the Family Law Information Centre at the Halifax Supreme Court (Family Division), and in program and policy compliance with the provincial Family Law Unit.

Jane Donovan is the Clinical Supervisor at New Start Counselling in Halifax. She works with both women who have been abused and men who perpetrate abuse. She worked for many years at the Bridges Institute in Truro, Nova Scotia. Her therapeutic approach includes Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Feminist Theory and Art Therapy. She has presented her work nationally and internationally.

James Maynard works as a domestic violence counsellor at Bridges Institute and New Start Counselling in Nova Scotia. James works primarily from a Narrative Therapy approach while also drawing on elements of mindfulness and grounding practices, CBT, DBT, somatic therapy and a psychodynamic model of practice.

Heather Byrne is the Executive Director of Alice House, a not for profit organization that provides safe housing and counselling for women and children fleeing intimate partner violence. She has worked closely with marginalized women and victims of crime as a crisis counsellor at the Saskatoon Sexual Assault Centre as well as The YWCA Crisis Shelter in Saskatoon and a harm reduction drop in centre for individuals impacted by HIV.

H.7 Part 1 Shelter Movers: Increasing the reach of services in the VAW sector

Amanda Levine and Yael Schwartz

This presentation will focus on different methods of service expansion for organizations in the VAW sector. Strategies will be explored to mitigate the challenge of serving individuals in suburban, remote, and rural areas. Presenters will also discuss how to ensure fidelity to the organization’s mission statement and the ongoing monitoring of service quality as services expand. The growth of Shelter Movers (SM), a volunteer-powered charitable organization that provides moving and storage services at no cost to women and children experiencing abuse, will be used as a case study. In three years of operation, SM has grown from an organization serving Toronto exclusively, to operating chapters in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Halifax.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Amanda R. Levine is a Registered Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. In addition to working as a psychologist with individuals in private practice, she is currently the Expansion Director at Shelter Movers. Dr. Levine’s program of research has been centered on the psychological sequelae of trauma, with an emphasis on intimate partner violence.

Yael Schwartz serves as the Operations Manager at Shelter Movers where she oversees the operations of the organization in Toronto, as well as providing training and support to additional chapters.

H.7 Part 2 Rural solutions to support survivors

Jocelyn Lirette and Samantha Fernandes

This presentation focuses on an approach to addressing the needs of rural communities dealing with IPV. Odyssey House, a women’s shelter in Grande Prairie, Alberta has developed the Community Support Program, in which the shelter has worked with various rural communities to establish trained, specialized support workers to travel to communities to offer on-site support which includes court support, housing, safety planning, etc.

About the Presenters:

Jocelyn Lirette works as a domestic violence counsellor at Odyssey House in Grande Prairie, Alberta. She also works as a child and youth counselor.

Samantha Fernandes is a client support supervisor at Odyssey house in Grande Prairie. Samantha's educational background is in the community and justice field where she has also done some field work in Corrections at a men's detention centre and at various school working with children . Originally from Toronto, Samantha had moved to Grande Prairie in 2017. Since moving she has continued with her education in the Human Services field. Samantha is passionate about the work that goes into the shelter and working towards creating a safe, trauma-informed, and culturally inclusive space. Samantha loves travelling and exploring different cultures. Samantha is a huge advocate for women and children's rights and LGBT+ community.

H.8 Part 1 Familicide in Canada

Ciara Boyd

Familicide is defined as the killing of multiple family members by another member of the family. Using data collected as part of the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations (CDHPIVP), this presentation will describe what the data show regarding familicide in Canada, in order to inform academics and the general public on the issue. There is a particular focus on common characteristics, risk factors, and potential motivations for familicide. The findings from this research will contribute to existing literature as they will draw attention to familial mass killings and hopefully aid in preventing them from occurring in the future. This research is conducted with Myrna Dawson, Danielle Sutton, Julie Poon, Peter Jaffe, and Anna-Lee Straatman.

About the Presenter:

Ciara Boyd is a MA student in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on exploring and understanding different types of mass killings. Ciara is currently comparing characteristics of mass killings in Ontario that involve both family members and non-family members as victims. She is also working on the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative.

H.8 Part 2 Firearms use in domestic homicides: Exploring risk factors for Canadian women

Angelika Zecha

Although shootings are one of the most common methods for committing domestic homicide, research exploring the contexts of firearms-related domestic homicides in Canada is limited. Drawing from data collected as part of the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations (CDHPIVP), the goals of this presentation are to summarize what is known about the prevalence rates for firearms-related domestic homicide, and to identify the characteristics of firearms-related domestic homicides. Some risk factors examined will include prior non-lethal firearm use in intimate partner violence (IPV), access to firearms, and the role of separation and rurality. The findings for this research will highlight the need for future prevention initiatives and risk assessment measures, especially in Canadian rural communities.

About the Presenter:

Angelika Zecha is a research assistant at the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence and works on various research projects, including the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations. She is a Master of Arts student in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy program at the University of Guelph..

H.9 A wrap-around approach with women and children: Healing Hearts

Patricia Arnoldin and Kira Kelly

This presentation explains a wrap-around, trauma-informed program specifically for women and children who have experienced DV. Wraparound healing involves a team of professionals and natural supports responsive to women’s choices. This program, named Healing Hearts, extends beyond traditional therapeutic intervention. The approach emphasises the importance of women’s agency in navigating their own healing and choosing the services they want to enhance their safety, confidence, and familial connections.

About the Presenters:

Patricia Arnoldin is the Children & Family Counsellor at Alice House, a second-stage housing and counselling centre in Halifax. She provides counselling, parental support, group programming, and advocacy to children, single women, and mothers. Patricia also facilitates community education to youth and adults.

Kira Kelly is the Senior Counsellor at Alice House. She provides counselling, programming, case management and advocacy to women, and drives program evaluation and delivery for other Alice House departments. Kira also facilitates parenting programming in the community, through the IWK Children’s Hospital Incredible Years program.

H.10 Parents and Child Protection Workers: The outcome of specialized DV training

Dr. Katreena Scott, Dr. Angelique Jenney, Michelle Ferreira, Danielle Lim, Alena Lawrence and Dan Zamfir

This session involves evaluating the outcome of specialized DV training for parents and for child protection workers. The research project was called Safe and Understood, and discusses Mothers in Mind, Caring Dads, and professional training programs. The presenters will outline implications for ongoing development of collaborative child protection and specialist DV services.

i. Effects of the Mothers in Mind program: More confident, knowledgeable and less distressed

Dr. Angelique Jenney, Alena Lawrence

This presentation focuses on research involving 36 mother-child dyads involved in child protection who attended the program Mothers in Mind (MIM). MIM is a 10-week group for mothers and children under age four. Mothers reported greater parenting self-efficacy, healthier parenting and enhanced psychological well-being.

ii. Effects of the Caring Dads program: Less conflict, anger, distress and more child-centred

Dr. Katreena Scott, Dan Zamfir

This presentation will focus on research that involved 79 father’s who attended the Caring Dads program. Caring Dads is a 17-week group for fathers who have abused or neglected their children or exposed their children to domestic violence. Fathers reported that they became more child-centered, had greater parent-to-child warmth, better anger management, and that there was less exposure of children to adult conflict. Fathers who complete Caring Dads also report significantly lower psychological distress. These data augment results from a recent review of child protection outcomes for fathers who did and those who did not complete Caring Dads.

iii. Engaging vulnerable parents in programming: Low rates of referral, mediocre uptake

Dr. Angelique Jenney, Dr. Katreena Scott, Danielle Lim and Michelle Ferreira

This presentation will focus on training offered to child protection workers to help them effectively engage, refer and retain parents in the DV groups. Despite this training, a minority of families were successfully engaged. This presentation explores the complex path from identification to referral to successful engagement and retention in intervention. We will discuss the additional practice developments needed within child protection and specialist DV services if such programs are to reach parents of highly vulnerable children.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Katreena Scott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto. She leads an applied research program aimed at reducing violence in family relationships, with specific expertise is addressing violence perpetration in men and fathers. Her research has influenced practice in child protection, domestic violence perpetrator programs, policing and in child and family services in Canada and internationally.

Dr. Angelique Jenney is the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health at the University of Calgary and Associate Director of the Safe & Understood Project. Her research and program development has been devoted to understanding and responding to the impact of relational violence on children and families, particularly within the context of child protection practice.

Michelle Ferreira is the project manager for the Safe and Understood research project. Her interests include ecological, person-centered models to support child, youth and young adult development, cultural relativism, and gender roles and biases.

Danielle Lim is an MA student in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University. She is interested in the influence of environmental stressors, trauma, and violence on the mental health of children and families, along with associated prevention and intervention strategies.

Alena Lawrence is a graduate student in the School of Clinical Child Psychology at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. She has completed facilitator training for the Mothers in Mind program and was a research assistant for the Safe and Understood project.

Dan Zamfir is a graduate student at the University of Toronto completing a Masters of Education in developmental psychology and education. His research has focused on program evaluation for Caring Dads with the Safe and Understood research project, as well as with various other sites across Canada.

Concurrent Session I - Friday, March 6, 2020

1:00 pm - 1:55 pm

I.1Pro-arrest, Pro-Charge and Pro-prosecution policies: Weighting the effectiveness four decades later

Cary Ryan and Dr. Nancy Ross

This presentation will focus on a scoping review of pro-arrest, pro-charge and pro-prosecution policies as a response to domestic violence. These policies were credited for criminalizing domestic violence and raising awareness of these issues within the public. However, four decades after their introduction there are significant critiques regarding their ability to effectively address and reduce domestic violence, particularly with respect to those who are socially, racially and economically marginalized. The scoping review included 297 articles published between 1983 and 2018. Half of the articles either failed to support these policies, or recommended significant revisions; and only a small number of articles favoured these policies in their current form. The presenters will review a thematic analysis of the literature and conclude with suggestions for more effective intervention and policy responses.

About the Presenters:

Cary Ryan is involved in the domestic violence community in Halifax, and is active in the Metro Interagency Committee on Family Violence and the Domestic Violence Court Working Group. She worked in the criminal justice system in British Columbia, as a police officer, youth probation officer and restorative justice facilitator.

Dr. Nancy Ross is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University. Her previous work as a clinical therapist in Mental Health and Addiction Services informs her research interests, which include a focus on the role of social work in mental health, gender-based violence, adverse childhood experiences and resilience.

I.2 Part 1 Art Therapy: Fostering resilience and healing

Evie Dunville

This presentation will introduce an Art Therapy approach to fostering resilience and healing with survivors of IPV. Art Therapy uses non-verbal communication to support resilience. This approach builds the capacity to reverse physiological changes associated with trauma, expanding individual’s capacity to recover, adapt and problem solve.

About the Presenter:

Evie Dunville works in private practice as an Art Therapist in Halifax. She is a graduate of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design as well as the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute, British Columbia. Evie intertwines the written word with her art, creating a body of work with non-traditional materials, where the form is either emphasized or accentuated by prose.

I.3 Désengagement de l’État : à quand des services équitables pour les femmes immigrantes violentées ?

Marie Hélène Senay

Lorsqu’elles sont violentées, les femmes immigrantes doivent, selon les législations, être protégées. Les maisons d’hébergement au Québec dépensent 5,3 M$ annuellement pour offrir des services adaptés pour ces femmes. Or, des services adéquats et complets pour les femmes immigrantes en maisons d’hébergement en coûteraient 12,5 M$ par année (IRIS, 2017). S’il est évident que les maisons se démènent pour offrir la même qualité de services et d’intervention à toutes les femmes, il est tout aussi clair que les femmes allophones, immigrantes et issues des communautés ethnoculturelles, sont les grandes perdantes du jeu. Après l’octroi de sommes non récurrentes à certaines maisons, le gouvernement du Québec ne souhaite plus investir dans une démarche à long terme répondant réellement aux besoins des femmes et des maisons. Comment faire changer les choses pour plus d’équité?

À propos du présentateur:

Marie Hélѐne Senay est coordonnatrice communication et analyse politique à la Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes depuis 2013. Elle a auparavant œuvré à titre de chargée de communication dans une organisation française d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile et des migrants, visant toujours la défense des droits de plus vulnérables.

I.4 Part 1 Men’s experiences of victimization from IPV: Needs, challenges, and recommendations

Stefan de Villiers

This presentation focuses on men’s experiences of being abused and on programming designed to help them. Drawing on the narratives of men who have accessed the Calgary Counselling Centre’s Male Domestic Abuse Outreach Program (MDAOP), the presenter offers recommendations for workers active in the field of family violence, to better serve men who have experienced abuse. Learning objectives include increasing awareness of the forms of abuse that men experience and best practices for working with disclosures of abuse from men. Collaboration between service providers, researchers and community members is key in ending family violence, including violence against men.

About the Presenter:

Stefan de Villiers is a counsellor and the coordinator of the Male Domestic Abuse Outreach Program at the Calgary Counselling Centre. Stefan has experience providing counselling services for individuals, couples, and groups, with particular expertise in providing outreach support and counselling to men who have experienced domestic abuse.

I.4 Part 2 Discussing masculinity, sex, dating and consent with male university students

Daniel Abar, Sarah Morris & Bryn de Chastelain

The presentation will demonstrate a 4-session group which explores the themes of ‘Being a man’, ‘Toxic Culture’, “Porn, sexuality and consent’ and ‘Take action’. These sessions are held in a facilitated conversation format that incorporates peer modeling around healthy masculinity and sexuality. The group supports students with the skills to rethink gender-based violence, and learn to support friends to develop healthy views of masculinity and respectful relationships. Along with providing an overview of the program, a past participant of the program will comment on his experience in the group. Engaging male students in this work is a unique and exciting opportunity to create a safer campus community. Uniquely, members of this group are provided with experiences of how to have open discussions about their worries, body image concerns, pressure to date or control relationships and learn that unspoken concerns are shared with their fellow male students.

About the Presenters:

Sarah Morris, MEd., is the Assistant Director of Student Affairs and Services with Saint Mary’s University. In this role she oversees, Accessibility (Fred Smithers Centre for Support for Students with Disabilities, Chaplaincy (Holy Cross Chaplaincy) and Counselling (The Counselling Centre). Sarah has been involved with Student Discipline along with Community Relations for the University and sits on various off campus committees representing the interests of mental health and disability issues related to students.

Daniel Abar, MEd, is a counsellor with Student Affairs and Services, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Daniel has experience working with children, youth, adults and families. Daniel has a background in trauma informed care and uses cognitive-behavioural and motivational interviewing. His areas of interest are wide ranging but include anxiety, depression, and men’s mental health issues.

Bryn de Chastelain is the Vice-President Academic and Advocacy, Saint Mary’s University Student Association (SMUSA) He is also a Politics and Economics student with a keen interest in addressing toxic masculinity and male mental health.

I.5 Consulting IPV victims: Co-constructing the meaning of men taking responsibility

Dr. Yoshiyuki Takano

This presentation will explore the meaning of men taking responsibility for their behaviour in cases of IPV. Men need to move beyond taking responsibility for their sexist ideas or “cognitive distortions,” and include women’s and children’s perspectives on what they need to do to meaningfully repair the harm they have caused. This process also focuses on supporting men to face their shame, which is a critical component of the transformational process.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Yoshiyuki Takano is a therapist at the John Howard Society of Grande Prairie, Alberta working for court-mandated domestic violence intervention programs. He has been working in the field of forensic psychology for over 20 years and has expertise in various psychological assessments, including violence risk, personality and cognitive assessments.

I.6 Part 1 A group therapy approach to ending IPV

Katherine Bridge

This presentation focuses on a group therapy approach to helping frontline workers respond effectively to IPV. This approach draws on equine assisted experiential learning, a learner based educational approach. The approach has been used with abused women, suicide, adoption, divorce, addictions, and children’s mental health.

About the Presenter:

Katherine Bridge is a social worker and counsellor in private practice in Essex, Ontario. For over 8 years she was a group therapist at Hiatus House, a social work agency providing comprehensive services and programs for families experiencing domestic violence. Katherine has published a book entitled What Are You Here To Heal? A Deeper Conversation. She presents her work internationally.

I.7 Part 1 Research, communities and policy makers: Collaboration to improve the outcomes of prevention and intervention with IPV

Harold Pliszka

This presentation will focus on a women’s shelter’s efforts to invest in research to improve outcomes for women and children escaping domestic violence. This presentation will explain how Discovery House, a women’s shelter in Calgary, has partnered with researchers on Working For Kids and ATTACH, both projects funded by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Discovery House is also working with researchers, Indigenous Elders and community organizations to adapt the programs Mom’s Empowerment and Kid’s Club for Indigenous families.

About the Presenter:

Harold Pliszka is the Discovery House Manager of Programs and Clinical Services. He has worked in the areas of violence, homelessness, inner-city health, community-based palliative care and trauma informed practice.

I.7 Part 2 Music and rural women: Giving a voice out of the silence

Leslie Monaghan

The presentation will focus on the complexity and unique nature of rural IPV, responses to victims and best practice suggestions. Artistic expressions, including original songs, will illustrate innovative ways to educate, challenge assumptions and encourage action. The music addresses various themes, including: illuminating the paradox of public vs private knowledge in isolated communities; examining the barriers to leaving an abusive relationship; and breaking the “cycle” in the hope of a better life for children.

About the Presenter:

Leslie Monaghan is a provincial trainer with New Brunswick Social Development. She is a founding member of the New Brunswick Silent Witness Project and a board member of Silent Witness International. Leslie is an award winning songwriter.

I.8 Women perpetrating abuse: Does Michael Johnson’s Typology of Violence reflect women’s experience

Dr. Julie Poon

This presentation investigates whether women’s interpretations of their own use of force were captured within Johnson’s (2008) typology of violence. Johnson argues that there are three types of intimate partner violence: intimate terrorism, violent resistance, and situational couple violence. This typology is often recommended to determine which interventions would be most effective for women and men who perpetrate abuse. In this research, nineteen interviews were conducted with women who were mandated to attend Ontario’s Partner Assault Response (PAR) program. The results highlight some of the complex reasons that women engage in IPV and suggests that differentiating between the types of force requires further research and refinement before it is used to inform criminal justice programs for women who perpetrate IPV.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Julie Poon is a Postdoctoral Fellow and National Research Coordinator for the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative for Vulnerable Populations. Her research interests include violence against women, intimate partner violence, and intimate partner homicide.

I.9 Part 1 The early stages of a violent relationship

Dr. Stephanie Lang

This presentation will provide an overview of the warning signs that often emerge in the early stages of relationships that eventually become violent. Understanding this period is an important aspect of preventing relationships from escalating into abusiveness. An extensive qualitative study (with non-violent comparison cases) was conducted for that purpose. This presentation will prepare participants to help clients recognize such warning signs at a point in their relationships when they can effectively act upon them to prevent later violence.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Stephanie Lang specializes in providing consultancy and training in behavior analysis, abuse prediction and prevention. She is a professional counselor with expertise in chemical dependancy, family therapy, and sex offender treatment. She appears in the documentary, Terror at Home: Domestic Violence in America. Dr. Lang has worked with both women and men in domestic violence and sexual abuse situations.

I.9 Part 2 Speak Out. Get Out. Stay Out: An approach to help women go from abuse to abundance

Gina Lusardi

In this presentation, Gina will offer an approach to help women move away from abuse and toward freedom and abundance. She draws on over 27 years experience of working in the domestic violence field. This presentation will focus on practical tools she used to overcome the challenges of moving away from abuse. She presents a coaching model, which includes an assessment tool to identify abuse; an escape plan; and helpful online resources.

About the Presenter:

Gina Lusardi is the author of the book, When Happily Ever After Doesn’t Happen. Gina is the CEO and Founder of Speak Out. Get Out. Stay Out, which is based in Illinois.

I.10 A trauma-informed work environment: Creating possibilities

Dr. Alma Fourie and Dr. Johnson-Green

This session will focus on applying trauma informed principles to the work-place and the broader organizational culture. The workplace plays an important part in assisting those negatively affected by IPV by maintaining and promoting security, belonging, and self-worth. Addressing the effects of IPV in the workplace creates a psychologically safe work environment that creates staff well-being and job satisfaction. This will result in risk mitigation, cost effectiveness, improved ability for recruitment and retention of workers, and organizational excellence and sustainability.

About the Presenters:

Alma Fourie is the Principal Director of Programs and Operations at Sonshine Community Services in Calgary. Her research interests include adverse childhood experiences, and trauma informed practices. She has presented at conferences nationally as well as internationally.

Joy Johnson-Green the Executive Director of Sonshine Community Services. Under her leadership, the organization opened the Sonshine Children’s Centre, the first of its kind in North America. This unique centre provides wraparound therapeutic services to children who have experienced domestic violence and other forms of emotional trauma.

Concurrent Session I - Friday, March 6, 2020

2:05 pm - 3:00 pm

J.1 Part 1 Children and youth in transition houses

Dr. Shiva Nourpanah and Habiba Cooper

This presentation focuses on the needs of children and youth who have sought the services of a Transition House because of family violence. The research was developed through a partnership between the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia,, SeaStar Child and Youth Advocacy Centre at the IWK Children’s Hospital and the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. The presentation will give an overview of the programs and resources currently available to children and youth in Transition Houses across Nova Scotia. The research helps identify the gaps and challenges facing this extremely vulnerable population and the staff-members who serve them, as well as some best practices. The research also underscores the importance of a consistent practice and transparent relationships with Child Protection Services.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Shiva Nourpanah is the Coordinator of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (THANS) and is affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence, University of Guelph.

Habiba Cooper works for the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (THANS).

J.1 Part 2 Child domestic homicides in Canada: Understanding the context, and recommendations for effective risk assessment and management

Anna-Lee Straatman

This presentation will focus on children killed in the context of domestic violence and will highlight preliminary findings from three stages of the research: (1) the development of a national domestic homicide database, which currently documents cases involving more than 600 adult and child victims; (2) a national survey with 1,400 stakeholders regarding risk assessment, risk management and safety planning practices; (3) in-depth interviews with 370 policy and service professionals; and (4) in-depth interviews with adults exposed to domestic violence during childhood and women’s stories of negotiating the safety and survival of their children. This research is conducted by The Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations.

About the Presenter:

Anna-Lee Straatman is Project Manager for the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative with Vulnerable Populations, working at the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children at Western University. She is an expert panel member of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability.

J.2 Northwest Territories and family violence: Exploring strategies through a scoping review

Dr. Pertice Moffitt, Sandy Little, Heather Fikowski and Allison Forbes

This presentation will share a scoping review that involved seventy-three articles. Evidence-based and other promising interventions were identified as a contextual fit for the northern, remote, and Indigenous context. Findings were grouped under five major themes: educational interventions, cultural integration, clinical response, justice response and system transformation. A synthesis of the articles identifies promising directions within a comprehensive approach.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Pertice Moffitt is Manager/Instructor, Health Research Programs, Aurora Research Institute, Aurora College and a Sessional Instructor for Athabasca University. She has lived and practiced nursing in the NWT for over 30 years. Her research focuses on Indigenous health and northern health issues, including IPV and sexual violence.

J.3 Part 1 Maternité et relation mère-enfant en contexte de violence conjugale : illustration du programme Mothers in Mind au Québec

Anaïs Bertrand Robitaille

Le programme Mothers in Mind (MIM), qui a plusieurs fois été expérimentés au sein de milieux anglophones, a été récemment implanté dans un contexte québécois francophone. Ce programme est en aide aux mères et aux enfants qui en sont victimes de violence conjugale. De 2016 à 2019, trois cohortes du programme ont été offertes dans une maison d’hébergement pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale de la province de Québec. Une recherche qualitative visant à évaluer cette implantation et les résultats du programme a été réalisée auprès d'un échantillon d'informateurs directement concernés par le programme, soit des participantes, des intervenantes et des coordonnatrices. Les résultats révèlent plusieurs apprentissages et changements sur le plan de la maternité et de la relation mère-enfant, tout en mettant en lumière les effets positifs de l’intervention de groupe. La réalisation du programme MIM au Québec illustre une démarche d’intervention de groupe prometteuse pour venir en aide aux mères victimes de violence conjugale et leurs enfants. Des recommandations sont suggérées au regard de cette expérience de groupe.

À propos du présentateur:

Anaïs Bertrand Robitaille est professionnelle de recherche pour le Centre de Recherches Appliquées et Interdisciplinaires sur les Violences intimes, familiales et structurelles de l'Université Laval. Elle travaille depuis 2016 sur le projet Safe and Understood dont l'objectif est d'évaluer l'implantation et les résultats des programmes d'intervention Mothers in Mind et Caring Dads dans la province de Québec.

J.3 Part 2 Paternité en contexte de violence conjugale : évaluation qualitative de l’implantation du programme Caring Dads dans la province de Québec

Anaïs Bertrand Robitaille

Le programme d’intervention de groupe Caring Dads (CD), dont l’objectif est de favoriser de saines interactions entre les pères, leurs enfants et leur mère, a vu notamment le jour en 2001. CD a depuis démontré sa pertinence et son efficacité en milieu anglophone. De 2016 à 2019, ce programme a été implanté dans un organisme communautaire en milieu francophone au Québec et quatre cohortes d’hommes y ont participé. Une recherche qualitative visant à évaluer cette implantation et les résultats de CD a été réalisée auprès d'un échantillon d'informateurs directement concernés par le programme, soit des participants, des conjointes, des intervenants et des coordonnateurs. Les résultats révèlent plusieurs éléments facilitateurs et contraignants à l’implantation, liés notamment à l’approche d’intervention, à l’adaptation du contenu à un nouvel environnement culturel et à l’organisme. Malgré certaines difficultés d’implantation, CD a suscité des apprentissages et changements positifs relatifs à la parentalité et à la relation parent-enfant. Des recommandations sont discutées afin d’améliorer les implantations futures dans des contextes similaires.

À propos du présentateur:

Anaïs Bertrand Robitaille est professionnelle de recherche pour le Centre de Recherches Appliquées et Interdisciplinaires sur les Violences intimes, familiales et structurelles de l'Université Laval. Elle travaille depuis 2016 sur le projet Safe and Understood dont l'objectif est d'évaluer l'implantation et les résultats des programmes d'intervention Mothers in Mind et Caring Dads dans la province de Québec.

J.4 Part 1 Men’s victimization by IPV in post-secondary education

Dr. D. Gaye Warthe, Dr. Peter Choate, Dr. Cathy Carter-Snell

This presentation will focus on men’s experience of dating violence and the significant barriers that discourage them from disclosing these events. This presentation will focus on early results of a qualitative examination of men's experiences, and an environmental scan of programs and policies on Canadian post-secondary campuses. We will also discuss the results of a quantitative analysis of a health and wellness survey distributed to a random sample of students, including questions on experiences of dating violence and help seeking behaviours.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Gaye Watson Warthe is an Associate Dean in the Faculty of Health, Community and Education at Mount Royal University. She is the principal investigator on a dating violence prevention project, a multi-year dating violence incidence and prevalence study, and a study to explore the experiences of intimate partner violence of men in post-secondary institutions. Gaye is the President of the board of Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.

Dr. Peter Choate is an Associate Professor in Social Work at Mount Royal University. His research is currently focused on child protection practice errors, the examination of how deaths or serious injury of children are reviewed when child protection is involved, parenting capacity assessment in child protection systems and youth addiction. As well, Peter is a co-investigator on a study exploring men’s experiences of dating and domestic violence.

Dr. Cathy Carter-Snell is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University. Her research focuses on the prevention of violence and early effective intervention to reduce the consequences of violence. Cathy has developed and evaluated multidisciplinary training programs for delivery of trauma-informed sexual assault services, predictive models of risks for injury with sexual assault, injury classification scales, and co-developed a dating violence prevention program.

J.4 Part 2 Collaborative Practice: Does it result in safe relationships and safe children?

Margaret Coombes

Local agencies and government entities such as the criminal justice system, child welfare, mental health, substance misuse, faith-based, and women’s shelters and IPT supports have established formal collaborations to decrease domestic violence/intimate partner violence. In Western Canada, a provincial pilot continued several years after the BC Provincial government initiative withered away. The community acknowledged that we have the resources to prevent some women from being murdered. The mission of the Safe Relationships and Safe Children’s pilot is to remove barriers so families can easily access resources, improve how providers share information, discourage agencies from working in silos, and to partner with victims. The community has made safety a priority regardless of which came first, the violence, the addiction, mental issues, or the trauma. The session will present the changes in the courts, agencies’ policies, interventions, sharing of specific client information and educational presentations in the school and local Lunch N’ Learns. The recent data and analysis will reflect how the various initiatives are creating a safer community for children and women, along with the existing and on-going challenges.

About the Presenter:

Margaret Coombes, Ph.D., RCSW is an Associate Professor at University of the Fraser Valley. She has extensive experience in the child welfare system and mental health services in the USA and Canada. Her research has focused on community collaborations and interventions in the child welfare system.

J.5 Part 1 Domestic homicide prevention: The Homefront Calgary collaborative leadership approach 

Melanie Sawatzky

This presentation will focus on a collaborative leadership approach to domestic homicide prevention developed by Homefront Calgary, a community organization responding to family violence. The program identifies high-risk domestic offenders, and works collaboratively to provide risk assessment, risk management and intense intervention strategies for these offenders, while creating an umbrella of support and safety for the victims. This service is a partnership with Alberta Health Services, Calgary and Area Child and Family Services Authority, Calgary Counselling Centre, Calgary Police Service, Community Corrections, and YWCA Sheriff King Home.

About the Presenter:

Melanie Sawatzky is the Program Director at HomeFront Calgary, and is responsible for the coordination of the High Risk Management Initiative Committee.  Her recent studies have explored the intersections between collaborative leadership practices and domestic homicide prevention.

J.5 Part 2 Women with disabilities and DV: The Not Without Us Project

Suzanne Rent and Sherry Costa

This presentation will focus on the The Not Without Us Project, which collects first-voice stories of women with disabilities who have experienced domestic violence. This research was conducted with women shelters across Nova Scotia. Women were asked about their accessibility needs in transition houses, as well as other resources that might be important to them. The stories and ideas shared in the meetings are documented in a final report called What We Heard, which can be used to inform provincial standards on accessibility. Topics discussed in the meetings include transportation and public transit, housing, accessibility at transition houses, communication and technology barriers, policing and healthcare, and more.

About the Presenters:

Suzanne Rent is the coordinator of the Not Without Us Project, a partnership between Easter Seals Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunity. Suzanne is a journalist in Halifax. Her work has appeared in The Chronicle Herald, Halifax Examiner, Halifax Magazine, The Coast, Canadian Business, The Globe and Mail, and Native Traveller.

Sherry Costa is the provincial coordinator of the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities and co-chair of Nova Scotia Disability Partnership. She chaired the Partnership for Access Awareness Nova Scotia (PAANS) committee and was a member of the Nova Scotia Persons with Disabilities Employability Table.

J.6 Part 1 Girl house servants and DV: A Nigerian study

Chukwuleke Cletus Chijioke & Kelechi Igbojionu

This presentation focuses on the domestic abuse of girl house servants in Nigeria. House servants or maids are normally girl children between the ages of 5-15years, hired to help with household chores, including babysitting, cleaning and general housekeeping. The girls work in exchange for food and education. Domestic violence against house servants in Nigeria has become accepted as a norm without recourse. This research focuses on the types and patterns of abuse, including starvation, long work hours, and forced labour.

About the Presenters:

Chukwuleke Cletus is a social worker in Nigeria. He works with the World Bank HIV/AIDS fund (World Bank HAF) to generate uptake of health care services for HIV,TB,and malaria. He has worked as an independent Monitoring & Evaluation Officer for the World Health Organization on oral administration of polio vaccine to children in Nigeria.

J.6 Part 2 Community theatre to address Sexual GBV among adolescent girls and young women in Uganda

Patience Kyebitondo and Patrick Segawa

This presentation will focus on a project that trained community groups in use of community theater to address issues of HIV/AIDS, Sexual Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health. The project was sponsored by Public Health Ambassadors Uganda (PHAU). Community groups comprised of adolescent girls, young women and men were developed to discuss GBV and take action. The trained groups went on to conduct theater events, which involved fostering dialogue in their respective communities. The program reached 15,382 adolescent girls and young women, and 321 cases of SGBV were identified, followed and resolved using our trained community champions with support from the local leaders.

About the Presenters:

Patience Kyebitondo is the Senior Programme Officer for Public Health Ambassadors Uganda.

Patrick Segawa is the Team Leader for the Public Health Ambassadors Uganda. He is an advocate, public health practitioner and social entrepreneur in family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS/STI prevention in developing countries. Patrick received the 2019 120 Under 40 Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

J.7 Part 1 Youth and IPV: “Making it Easier to Talk with Youth About the Tough Stuff"

Marie Lang

This presentation will focus on a program designed to help youth talk about abuse, relationships and other challenging topics. The program is named “Making it Easier to Talk with Youth About the Tough Stuff” and was developed by the emergency women’s shelter, Yellow Brick House, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. There is an online training program that prepares group leaders to lead discussions about healthy relationships, either in the classroom or other group settings. The program teaches youth about abuse and healthy relationships in an interactive, engaging and accessible manner, as well as offering support and coaching to those who need it. To date, over 2500 people have completed the training modules.

About the Presenter:

Marie Lang is the manager of Direct Services at Yellow Brick House. She manages all clinical services as well as the public education program. Marie has been a social worker in the field of mental health for over 35 years.

J.7 Part 2 A program for parents: Through my child's eyes

Priscilla Pitre

This presentation is describes "Through My Child's Eyes,” a program to help parents understand their children’s experience of abuse and stress. The program works collaboratively with parents, building on their strengths and knowledge. This approach empowers parents to help their children through times of distress and transition. “Through My Child’s Eyes” is designed for groups but can be tailored to use one on one.

About the Presenter:

Priscilla Pitre is the Children’s Support Counsellor at Leeside Transition House in Nova Scotia. She works with children 0 to 12 years of age and their moms, both in the shelter and on an outreach basis. Priscilla has been an early childhood educator for the last 20 plus years.

J.8 Part 1 An Italian approach to DV: Legislation and culture

Dr. Vitulia Ivone

This presentation will focus on legislation addressing domestic violence in Italy, and the fact that high levels of domestic violence persist. Current legislation includes interventions within the family, such as removing the person who uses violence, and criminal interventions, such as the law on stalking. The current problem seems to be cultural: gender inequality, educational inequality, and wage inequality being transmitted from generation to generation. The jurists’ task is to examine existing laws and work towards a more just, sensitive, and attentive society.

About the Presenter:

Dr Vitulia Ivone is Associate Professor of Private Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Salerno, and Lecturer of Civil law at the Specialization School for Legal Professions. He chairs the Scientific Committee of the Fondazione Scuola Medica Salernitana and is a member of the academic board and professor in the Ph.D. Programme on “Legal Sciences”, University of Salerno.

J.8 Part 2 Employment and gender: Sustainable solutions to address IPV In Nigeria

Louisa Eikhomun Agbonkhese

This presentation will focus on research suggesting that strategies to end VAW must include creating employment opportunities for women. This approach also identifies the importance of adopting a gender-based analysis of VAW. The sustainable livelihoods and gender analysis approaches are people-centered approaches. Applying theses approaches will reduce the prevalence of gender injustice and provide realizable opportunities for decent and productive employment to both men and women.

About the Presenter:

Louisa Eikhomun Agbonkhese is the project coordinator for a world bank assisted project for women’s empowerment in Edo State, South Nigeria. She founded the Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives. Louisa is the author of Surviving Domestic Violence and Related Laws on Protection in Nigeria (2019). In 2018, Louisa was a Shelter City Guest with Justice and Peace Netherlands (2018).

J.9 Part 1 A self-defense approach: Preventing sexual violence and IPV

Yehudit Zicklin-Sidikman

This presentation will focus on preventing domestic violence or sexual assault by empowering women through a model of self-defense. The approach was developed by the El HaLev non-profit organization in Israel. El HaLev is dedicated to the prevention of domestic and sexual violence among the most vulnerable of populations. El HaLev’s method of Empowerment Self-Defense has been crafted over the past forty years by women with backgrounds in various academic fields, including education, psychology, and social work, with curricula that can be adapted to meet the needs of specific communities such as: survivors of sexual and domestic violence, children, teenage girls at-risk, religious minorities, seniors, the LGBTQ population and people with special needs.

About the Presenter:

Yehudit (Yudit) Zicklin-Sidikman is also co-founder and CEO of El HaLev, a nationally recognized non-profit organization in Israel dedicated to providing self-defense and martial arts training to women and girls. She is a fourth-degree black belt in Judo, as well as a certified self-defense instructor.

J.9 Part 2 Relationships with government: From paternalistic to a symbiotic relationship

Monica Riutort

This presentation will explore an alternative political perspective for survivors of violence adapted from Paulo Freire's educational philosophy outlined in his book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Violence against women has decreased by only a small percentage during the last 30 years in Canada despite government investment in services and programs. Why is the decrease not comparative to the resources expended? The presentation will explore the development of an alternative network of support services focusing on social and political transformation for women through conscientization, dialogue, critical reflection, and collective action.

About the Presenter:

Monica Riutort is the manager and principal investigator of the Peel Institute on Violence Prevention. She was a lecturer at the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto and now holds a preceptor/tutor appointment at the Faculty of Medicine. She is a founding member of Shirley Samaroo House, a women’s shelter in Toronto.

J.10 Financing for gender based violence in developing countries: The case of Uganda

Diana Tibesigwa

This presentation will focus on the status of GBV in Uganda, in comparison to developing countries in East Africa. The presentation will examine major GBV cases and causes. The presenter will also share the policy environment on GBV and policy gaps. She will present a strategy to fundraise for efforts address GBV, which includes understanding the financial landscape for GBV in the country and exploring multi-sectorial funding.

About the Presenter:

Diana Tibesigwa is a public policy specialist working with Kampala Uganda c/o World Vision Uganda. She has worked a budget analyst, focused on gender budget advocacy for 9 years.