Family Violence Initiative

Projects funded by the Department of Justice Canada under the Family Violence Initiative
(April 2009 - March 2010)

Title: Beyond Shelter Walls: System Change, Best Practices and Policy Initiatives to Address Violence Against Women in Canada

Applicant/Beneficiary: YWCA Canada

DESCRIPTION: This project was phase III of a multi-year project called "Turning Points". Phase I included an environmental scan of YWCA shelter services for women leaving violent situations and examined emergency shelter services for women in Canada overall. Phase II resulted in a report entitled Effective Practices in Sheltering Women Leaving Violence in Intimate Relationships, which was completed in 2006, and recommended that all levels of government go "beyond shelter walls" and provide increased funding and services for women leaving abusive relationships. The third phase of the project involved conducting focus groups, regional consultations and cross-sectoral collaboration and developing a national policy paper focused on reducing violence against women in Canada in areas including criminal justice and policing, legal services, housing, income support, employment training, immigration, health and social services. The final report Life Beyond Shelter: Toward Coordinated Public Policies for Women’s Safety and Violence Prevention was successfully launched on October 13, 2009 in eight cities across the country.

Title: Domestic Violence Urgent Response

Applicant/Beneficiary: Family Service Regina Inc.

DESCRIPTION: As part of its Domestic Violence Programs, the organization worked with the Regina Police Service, Regina Probation Services, and the Crown Prosecutor’s Office to develop a tailored and immediate intervention for victims of domestic violence and abusers in extremely high-risk relationships. This involved developing an individualized intervention plan for each victim as part of a collaborative community response to facilitate and assist in the gathering of evidence. The project was co-funded by the Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the Family Violence Initiative of the Department of Justice Canada.

Title: Family Violence Information Package Project - Phase I

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the project was to hold ten focus groups across Newfoundland and Labrador to seek input into how timely, effective and necessary it would be to revise a family violence information package produced in 2004. The organization wanted to determine whether the information package is the most appropriate tool for reaching young Aboriginals and other minority groups and receive feedback from non-English, non‑French speaking minority groups into whether other translations were needed. The project ended in July 2008.

Title: Updating, Revising, and Printing Family Violence Materials

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

DESCRIPTION: The Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick did research to update, revise and print family violence materials in English and French. The materials aim to assist abused women who are going through the criminal justice process, share information about abuse with young couples who are preparing to get married and assist women in ending abuse in their relationships. Some other materials directed at victims of family violence were to be distributed in a unique medium. The project ended in June 2008.

Title: Family Violence Issues – How to Reach Minority Communities

Applicant/Beneficiary: Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia

DESCRIPTION: This needs assessment focused on identifying effective delivery methods that use non-traditional methods for communicating with new immigrants and Mi’kmaw peoples about legal issues relating to family violence. The project concluded in June 2009.

Title: Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI) and “We Can End All Violence against Women" B.C. campaign

Applicant/Beneficiary: Justice Education Society of British Columbia

DESCRIPTION: This project was undertaken to develop, implement and assess an innovative model of public legal education and information (PLEI) service delivery through partnership with the "We Can End All Violence against Women" coalition of B.C. The project introduced PLEI into campaign outreach materials and training programs and trained coalition members on their use, ensuring that PLEI was an integrated part of campaign activities.

Title: Translation, Printing and Distribution of a Criminal Law Publication for Victims of Family Violence

Applicant/Beneficiary: Legal Information Association of Newfoundland

DESCRIPTION: Five publications originally written in English in 2006-2007 were translated into Innu-Aimun (Natuashish dialect), Innu-Aimun (Sheshatshiu dialect), Inuktitut and French. They were then printed and distributed.

Title: 5^e Congrès international francophone sur l'agression sexuelle

Applicant/Beneficiary: Regroupement Des Intervenants En Matière D'agression Sexuelle

DESCRIPTION: The 5^th Congress provided French-speaking participants with an interdisciplinary forum to meet and share experiences and promote research partnerships to stimulate thinking about social and criminal policies related to sexual abuse and sexual assault prevention, including within the family.

Title: Presentation Kit for Family violence Public Awareness Campaign (Safer Families... Safer Communities/Familles en sécurité... Collectivités sûres)

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

DESCRIPTION: Five fact sheets, resource cards, posters and magnets were created for a bilingual public awareness initiative entitled "Safer Families... Safer Communities/Familles en sécurité... collectivités sûres". The campaign and identification of key messages was derived in part from a research study in NB and PEI looking at family violence and firearm victimization of rural women and the abuse of pets. Materials deal with subjects such as abuse, death by firearms, and safety of people and animals.

Title: Family and Dating Violence Resources

Applicant/Beneficiary: Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan

DESCRIPTION: The organization modified, reprinted and redistributed its resources on family violence and dating violence for youth, including the booklets tiled "Abusive Relationships" and "Abuse of Older Adults".

Title: Guide pratique sur les mariages forcés à l'usage des intervenants et intervenantes de terrain

Applicant/Beneficiary: Centre des Femmes De Verdun

DESCRIPTION: The Centre des femmes de Verdun in Montreal received funding to develop a practical guide for service providers to help identify and prevent forced marriages.