Family Violence Initiative

Projects funded by the Department of Justice Canada under the Family Violence Initiative
(April 2006 - March 2007)

Title: French Language Professional Development Pilot Project

Applicant/Beneficiary: Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, Office of the Coordinator of French Language Services Justice Sector

DESCRIPTION: This project is co-funded under the Access to Justice in Both official Languages Fund and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. The project consists of the preparation of course material and curricula and the delivery of advanced language training for justice professionals (police officers, lawyers, court personnel, prosecutors and judges) who already have a fluency in French but do not have experience using French in a court setting or are in need of improving their justice vocabulary. The project also aims at increasing awareness of minority language rights and issues such as family violence and developing strategies within the various operational divisions of the Ontario justice system to more effectively deal with requests for French services and developing partnerships. The project will increase the capacity of the Ontario court system and the Ontario Provincial Police to deliver French language services.

Title: Legal Information on Child Sexual Abuse and Youth Protection

Applicant/Beneficiary: Éducaloi — Le carrefour d'accès au droit

DESCRIPTION:This project aims at producing and disseminating legal information regarding children and youth protection in Quebec, particularly as it pertains to child sexual abuse. The information materials will be available online (in both official languages) through the Éducaloi Internet portal. As well, the materials will be transformed into audio format for distribution to people with limitations affecting their ability to read.

Title: Fair Justice for the Deaf

Applicant/Beneficiary: La maison des femmes sourdes de Montréal (MFSM)

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this project is to develop resource materials for judges of the Cour du Québec who participated in the training program on accessibility (financed by Status of Women Canada).  This post-training material is complementary to a training project administered by judges of the Cour du Québec. This project will assist judges in developing resource materials aimed at facilitating access to justice for deaf people victims of domestic violence in Quebec.

Title: Inter-personal Relationship Abuse and Violence Prevention Initiative for Aboriginal Communities

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick

DESCRIPTION: The Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick in partnership with Gignoo House is proposing to create a comprehensive package of tools and resources that would empower Aboriginal women, children and men in New Brunswick who are dealing with abuse and violence in their personal relationships and in their communities. The goal is to develop a variety of culturally appropriate abuse and violence prevention materials that can be promoted and made available in a variety of accessible formats. These resources would be designed to help people better recognize the signs of abuse and to take action to break the interconnected cycles of interpersonal violence.

link: www.thehealingjourney.ca/main.asp

Title: Francophone Women in Minority Situations: United in the fight against violence against women

Applicant/Beneficiary: Fédération nationale des femmes canadiennes-françaises

DESCRIPTION: To deal with the isolation of Francophone women in minority situations and Francophone family-violence intervenors in minority situations, the organization wishes to implement the Networking/training and information sharing component of its action plan to fight violence against women. This action plan was established during the national convention, Femmes Francophones en milieu minoritaire : Solidaires dans la lutte à la violence faite aux femmes, held in November 2003, and set out three components: 1-Claims and promotions; 2-Networking/training and information sharing; 3-Research and studies.

Title: “A Full and Candid Account”:  Using Special Accommodations and Testimonial Aids to Facilitate the Testimony of Children

Applicant/Beneficiary: Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. The purpose of the project is to develop seven concise booklets to aid implementation of the Bill C-2 measures: overview of issues related to children as witnesses and testimonial aids; closed circuit television; sequestration screens; video recorded testimony; guidance for identified support persons; introduction of hearsay evidence; and children testifying in domestic violence court.

www.lfcc.on.ca/full_and_candid_account.html

Title: Yellowknife Family Violence Protocol

Applicant/Beneficiary: Young Woman's Christian Association (YWCA) of Yellowknife

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department.  The YWCA will continue the development of an Interagency Protocol—Phase II & III—for service providers in the city of Yellowknife who serve victims of family violence.  The development process will be used as a model for other communities in the NWT.

Title: Canadian Woman Studies Special Edition "Ending Woman Abuse"

Applicant/Beneficiary: Inanna Publications and Education, Inc.

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this project is to publish and distribute a special issue of the Canadian Women Studies on "Ending Woman Abuse".  The publication will identify best practices/models to reduce the problem and effect of family violence and identify and assess effective strategies to prevent further incidence of violence with a particular focus on the needs of women from vulnerable and marginalized communities. The issue, which will contain articles in French and English, will be distributed to organizations, shelters and legal clinics across the country.

Title: Joining Together—Child Abuse Conference

Applicant/Beneficiary: The Canadian Society for the Investigation of Child Abuse

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. Its purpose is to hold a three-day conference in May 2006 to highlight new research and forensic related strategies that will assist those involved in the investigations of child abuse under the age of ten years.

Title: Conference—Violence Against Women :  Diversifying Social Responses

Applicant/Beneficiary: Laval University, Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Family Violence and Violence Against Women (CRI-VIFF)

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to host an international conference on violence against women that will be held in Montreal from October 22-24, 2006.  The conference will be an opportunity to share knowledge, experiences and reflections by gathering together researchers, academics, interveners, policy-makers and experts from various subject matters and from various countries who are specialists in the area of violence against women.

Title: Public Legal Education and Information

Applicant/Beneficiary: Association des juristes d'expression française de la Colombie-Britannique

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Access to Justice in Both official Languages Fund and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. It aims to increase the amount of French language resources available for public legal education and information, with the intention of providing tools to service providers and of increasing awareness among francophones in British Columbia on issues related to access to justice in both official languages, family violence and family law.  Activities include the editing and adaptation in French of legal information.  Brochures produced will be distributed to the francophone community and will be available on the Internet.

Title: Do you know a woman who is being abused?  Increasing usability for victims and service providers

Applicant/Beneficiary: Community Legal Education Ontario

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. Its purpose is to develop a new edition of the handbook entitled "Do you know a woman who is being abused?" and a related trainer's toolkit for community agency staff. The project will conclude in March 2008.

Title: Development of a National Mobile Training Module for Shelter Workers in Inuit Communities

Applicant/Beneficiary: Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association

DESCRIPTION: The project is co-funded under the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department. It will support the design of a national mobile training module for frontline workers who work in women shelters in Inuit communities across Canada and subsequent train-the-trainer module that can be adapted to the unique needs of each community. This will assist frontline workers in delivering effective support to victims of abuse and family violence. The project will conclude in March 2008.

Title: Updating, Revising and Printing Family Violence Materials

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to update and reprint the "Peace Bonds" and "No Means No" publications.

Title: Updating and Reprinting of “Domestic Violence: Getting Help” Brochure/Poster

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to provide victims of family violence, or those at risk, with general legal information including a glossary of terms, as well as a listing of resource telephone numbers, including police and community supports.

Title: Web access to information and resources concerning family violence issues

Applicant/Beneficiary: Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to adapt existing materials on family violence issues and make it available online in both official languages.

Title: "Let's Talk About It!—The Risk of Elder Abuse of Residential School Survivors—What you Should Know, Where You Can Go for Help!"

Applicant/Beneficiary: A.S.H. (Aboriginal Survivors for Healing) Inc.

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to hold three workshops to bring together existing resources to inform residential school survivors and elders, their supports and community mental health providers on strategies and resources available to address elder abuse, particularly arising from past, present and future payments of lump sums to survivors under the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.

Title: Violence Against Women Resource Outreach

Applicant/Beneficiary: Victim Services of Peel

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to print additional copies of the booklet entitled "Creating a Safety Plan".

Title: Family Violence Resources

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project is to reprint the Family Violence Intermediary Training Guide and four pamphlets that deal with topics related to family violence.