Never have I seen such a beautiful collection of voices, all unique, and yet all singing the same tune. The Everyday: Freedom from Gendered Violence Symposium put on by the Social Innovation Research Group, and brilliantly detailed by Jay Harrison here, was a phenomenal representation of the intersection of research, arts, and community work. While the Symposium had a particular focus on the university experience, its messages are equally applicable in our neighbourhoods and communities as we think about crime prevention and smart approaches to the gendered violence that occurs in those spaces.
I don’t think I could ever do justice to the amazing topics that were discussed – responding to disclosure, the particular experiences of gendered violence faced by racialized and LGBTQ students, engaging men in prevention, and more. So, I thought the best way was to provide some insight from the speakers themselves:
I sat and thought, ‘good question!’ How can we talk about safety without first talking about what that means? Discussions of violence and crime prevention should always start at the roots.
Dr. Woodford was speaking about the slurs and comments made to LGBTQ students. But for me, I was struck by the thought of how often we doubt ourselves, as well as our friends and our families when they tell us about something seemingly “minor” is said to them: ‘Oh come on, it’s not so bad…’
Tatyana amazed me with this beautiful comparison of street harassment to domestic violence: if a man was yelling derogatory names at his wife, we would call it abuse. When women have cat-calls yelled at them from across the street, however, we tend to brush it off and ignore it.
“The kind of terrorism I want to talk about in this country is domestic violence.” –Judah Oudshoorn
While the media and our governments continue to feed us horrible stories of the atrocities occurring under the umbrella of terrorism, sometimes we forget about the atrocities happening much closer to home – maybe in our homes, maybe in our neighbour’s home.
“Sexual violence is a strategy of war – it is not just against the women, but also the community – it is an attempt to demoralize the community.” –Dr. Eliana Suarez
At the Crime Prevention Council, we often talk about the role of community as a building block for crime prevention. If sexual violence is designed to demoralize a community, then we, as that community, must take a leading role in preventing it.
“Either you’re violent, silent, or creating meaningful change. And if you’re silent, you’re violent.” –Judah Oudshoorn
What a powerful statement. I know which role I choose to play.
“Women are not just resilient, they are resistant – they attempt to change their circumstance.” –Dr. Eliana Suarez
“Maybe there is more than one way to be a man.” –Stephen Soucie
I felt these two quotes belonged together. Discussions around gendered violence often leave me feeling sad and hopeless. But these two spoke of hope, optimism, and change for both men and women.
“It is easier to build stronger children than to fix broken men.” –Stephen Soucie
Again, I felt another ray of hope. Through my research at the Crime Prevention Council, I have learned that early interventions have astonishing success in reducing rates of crime. This is where I think we should be investing our time, energy, and dollars.
“Compliance is important, but compassion is more important.” –David McMurray
An important reminder to wrap things up: while being “tough on crime” continues to get lots of media attention, we would be wise to look at the evidence base and the fact that the majority of “tough on crime” approaches do nothing to reduce crime. Early intervention, prevention that is proven to work, and renewed focus on humane approaches to rehabilitation and reintegration, would go much further toward reducing incidents of crime and victimization.
There were a myriad of other speakers who had insightful comments, but unfortunately, I am only able to present a small portion here. The passion in the room from each and every speaker was evident – from the researchers to the artists to the community workers. They all shared with us their struggles, and yet I came out the other side feeling hopeful and fulfilled. If they can commit themselves to this struggle, they must feel that it is important and that change can be made. As I move forward in working on my Master of Social Work thesis next year, which touches on this topic, I feel like maybe I can contribute a small portion to this struggle. Maybe, someday, we could live in a world where everyday, we were free from gendered violence.
“The struggle is real… the struggle continues” –Janice Lee
How are YOU contributing to the struggle?
Eleanor McGrath
Author:Eleanor is a Master of Social Work student at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is completing her first placement at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, working on a narrative literature review of how crime mapping can be used to implement community-based prevention initiatives. Her favourite hobbies are laughing, rock climbing, and travelling.
Over the years, our crisis call numbers have fluctuated. In the last decade, there’s been a trend towards a moderate decline in the number of calls received, but the overall demand for our services has increased significantly. The explanation for this is simple; historically we provided more basic information related to services and supports on our crisis line. With much of that information now readily available online, the calls we most often receive today are supportive in nature or focused on crisis intervention.
With new ways of communicating emerging, our Centre has begun to explore the option of incorporating live online support into our crisis and support services.
Who else is involved in addressing this issue?
Awareness of the prevalence and impact of sexual violence has begun to increase regionally, thanks to the commitment of community partners to work in a spirit of collaboration.
In 2007, our community began to mobilize on this issue. A number of service providers formed a network which evolved into the Sexual Assault Response Team of Waterloo Region (SART). SART is now a community coordinating committee made up of 18 partner agencies from the criminal justice sector, the health sector, and the social services sector.
In 2012, SART launched a community protocol for responding to sexual assault in our region. The first such protocol of its kind in Waterloo Region, its purpose is to give service providers a broader foundation for the work they do. The protocol establishes a common understanding and framework for the provision of services to survivors of sexual violence, enabling greater coordination and collaboration between community partners.
What should be done?
Sexual violence impacts people of every age and cultural background, and has devastating impacts on individuals, families and communities. Every survivor, regardless of gender, deserves access to specialized support services in our community to promote healing.
As a region and more broadly, we need to balance our investment in support services for survivors of sexual violence and with public education campaigns aimed at prevention. We have consistently seen that early-intervention and prevention are necessary and cost effective.
It is important to understand, however, that sexual violence is primarily perpetrated by men, against women, children, and trans people.
As such, we need to consider social constructions of gender when looking at the prevention of sexualized crimes. Sexual violence is about power and control, not sexual desire. It is about aggressively dominating someone else.
This knowledge was the impetus behind the creation our Male Allies Against Sexual Violence (MAASV) program in 2008. MAASV is a unique public education program focused on working with men in positions to influence male youth (such as coaches, faith leaders, teachers, and fathers). The program explores how popular conceptions of masculinity can limit men’s freedoms and harm others. MAASV encourages young men to treat women with fairness, equality and respect and to stand up and speak out on gendered violence. (More information on MAASV can be found here: www.MaleAllies.org)
Sexual violence is pervasive, but it’s not inevitable. Through public education, social change is possible. A better future exists for our daughters and our sons.
Author: Sara Casselman is the Public Relations & Operations Manager at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. In the anti-violence against women sector for more than a decade, Sara has been recognized provincially as a Leading Women, Building Communities Award Recipient (2011) and was featured in The Record’s 40 under 40 (2012).
Data Source: Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, Annual Report
Story Behind the Numbers
The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region calls for service have varied considerably since 2007. In the past year there has not been a noticeable increase in the number of calls to the crisis line. In 2012 there was no wait list for men but the wait list for counselling services for women reached an all time high of 40 despite an additional part time counsellor and reducing the number of sessions for some clients. This decrease in counselling availability is creating hardships for victims and may be one reason behind the increase in calls to the crisis line rather than indicative of an increase in sexual assaults.
I stood at the gate in the large fence waiting for someone to notice me. “How can I help you?” came the voice over the intercom. “My name is Andrew Jackson. I’m from the Accelerator Centre and I’m here to run the Entrepreneur Session.” I replied. The gate buzzed and I walked through the gate, went up the path and entered the building. I handed over my identification, signed in and then passed through a metal detector. Five minutes later I stood at the front of a classroom with 25 women waiting for me to start talking. “Good morning” I said. “Good morning.” came the reply from the women of Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVI).
This past Saturday was the third year I have gone to Grand Valley Institution as a representative of the Accelerator Centre in order to deliver four 2-hour sessions over two weekends to the women. It has quickly become a highlight of the year for me and the numerous volunteers that help teach the course.
The Accelerator Centre is a business incubator for tech companies where we are paid to provide facilities and programming in order to help start-up companies speed up the process of becoming large, sustainable, revenue generating entities. So the inevitable question is “Why do you go to Grand Valley?” The short answer is: “because the women let us.”
Three years ago Jessica Hutchison, a hard-working and passionate person from the Region of Waterloo, approached the Accelerator Centre to see if we would be interested in presenting an entrepreneurial course to the women at GVI. After some internal discussions we agreed we would do it.
Our first chore was to figure out what the content of the sessions would be. We have done presentations numerous times before on why people should become entrepreneurs and the skills and knowledge they need to do so. It was very important to us that we didn’t simplify our sessions for the women but instead we tailored the information to make it appropriate for women who would be looking to form their own company when they left GVI or would be looking to set themselves up for employment after some tough times.
The next thing to do was figure out who would come with us to present the material. Again, it was important to us to bring the same top-notch, experienced people that we would use for any of our presentations. We are very lucky to have CEOs and upper management level people volunteer their weekend time and join us at Grand Valley. As I tell the women, we bring the best available people because we believe they deserve the best available people.
The first year we attended GVI we had 12 women attend the course. The last two years we have had 24 and 25 women, respectively, attend. The women are respectful and polite and ready to learn. None of them have to be there but they choose to be and that means a lot to us.
It is our hope that we are providing the women of Grand Valley Institution with some knowledge that will empower them upon their release. We know that they are in GVI for a variety of reasons and the courts have decided they warranted some form of punishment. But we also know that when they are released from prison they deserve every opportunity to reintegrate into their communities in a positive way. I look forward to the day that I can enter a business that is owned by one of the women that attended our Entrepreneur Sessions.
What impact has this experience had on me personally? Well, this past Friday I had the opportunity to talk to the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council about our involvement with the Grand Valley Institution. I am proud to let everybody know about the awesome feeling I get when I see the smiling faces on the women as we shake their hands and give them a certificate of completion for our course.
I had to stop talking three times to choke back my tears. But please keep that part quiet.
Author: As Vice President, Client Services, Andrew Jackson leads the educational curriculum for Clients at the Accelerator Centre. In addition, Andrew manages the celebrated in-house mentorship program, an essential component of the Accelerator Program. As clients seek to grow their business knowledge and develop essential skills, Andrew connects them with the resources necessary for their business to achieve long term success.
Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region operates two emergency shelters for abused women and their children: Anselma House in Kitchener and Haven House in Cambridge (for a total of 75 beds) plus a regional Outreach program. We are the only agency of its kind in Waterloo Region.
Annually, Women’s Crisis Services provides assistance (shelter and outreach services combined) to about 2,600 women and their children; approximately one third of this number is children. According to Stats Canada, less than one quarter of victims of domestic violence report the incident to police. In Waterloo Region, with a population of approximately 550,000 residents, police respond to about 6,100 domestic violence calls per year. If this number reflects one quarter as suggested by Stats Canada, then 24,400 women in our community are being abused. Even for those of us who do not excel in math, one is easily able to decipher that these numbers are quite bizarre; especially when considering the number of abused women and their children that Women’s Crisis Services is assisting per year. Undoubtedly, we have much work to do in ending violence against women here in Waterloo Region.
Did you know that every six days, another woman in Canada is murdered by her current or former partner? And, every night in Canada, more than 3,000 women (along with their 2,500 children) stay in an emergency shelter because it’s not safe for them at home. This is beyond deplorable! Why is it that in 2013, after centuries of male domination that we are still tolerating abuse against women and children in our society and moreover in our community? Further, why doesn’t our government create a system whereby the women and children remain in the family home and the abuser is removed?
2013 marks the 35th anniversary of Women’s Crisis Services; having provided shelter and outreach services to our community since 1978. A few trends have been evidenced over the past decade. Our agency has experienced a steady decline in crisis phone calls and simultaneously a significant increase in shelter stays; to the point whereby in 2011 Anselma House opened its new 45 bed facility, replacing the previous 20 bed building. We are now planning to rebuild Haven House also, in order to continue meeting the needs of abused women and their children in Waterloo Region. Instead of building bigger shelters, we need to turn our minds to how we collaboratively eradicate violence against women.
One of our agency’s primary objectives is our commitment to continuous improvement; more so now than ever, in order to meet the needs of the younger generation whose methods of communication style are through social media. Abuse takes on many faces in addition to physical assaults. Stalking has and continues to be a serious misuse of power and control in relationships. This is exacerbated through the use of texting by abusers. Many of our young women do not view obsessive texting as abusive; but rather as a display of affection. This is just one example of how our awareness and education needs to shift in order to reach this and future generations.
With our 35 year history, comes the stark reality that we are now serving the third generation of abused women in the same families. Breaking the intergenerational cycle of abuse is critical to the eradication of violence against women. Doing so requires the input and assistance of our community…and that means each of us. Violence against women is a societal issue and therefore requires a community response. We need to be diligent and active. Each of us needs to make a pledge that abuse is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it…ever. And then we need to turn our commitment into action and when we become aware of an abusive situation, we need to intervene rather than view the matter as a private one and look the other way. It is only by working together in partnership that violence and abuse against women in our community will be reduced and eventually eradicated.
Author: Mary Zilney Mary Zilney has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University. For the past 8 years, she has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. Mary has worked in the area of family violence for almost 20 years.
Posted on: August 7th, 2013 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Less than one quarter of victims of domestic violence report the incident to police. Collecting information from the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region provides an additional method of tracking domestic violence rates independent of police data. The chart below measures the number of women and children who received support in a Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region shelter, the number of crisis calls received, and the number of women served through outreach by Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.
The Statistics
Source Data: Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Annual Report
The Story Behind the Numbers
The crisis calls for support recently dropped. The number of women served through outreach appears to be relatively stable over the past three years. In the past year the number of women and children living in shelters increased dramatically. This increase is believed to be associated with the opening of the new site for the shelter. The opening generated publicity and improved living conditions for women in the shelter which is believed to have made women more comfortable seeking service.
Being a leader doesn’t necessarily mean being at the front of a rally with a megaphone. There are many components to leadership. It’s important, especially for the guys reading this, to remember that we are all leaders, whether to our brothers and sisters, our partners, our friends, or to our sons and daughters.
The sexism, misogyny, transphobia and homophobia found in the media and in our everyday interactions can be overwhelming and confronting these issues can make us feel vulnerable or powerless. At the same time, many men (and women) do not know how to confront these issues in their own lives. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of us remain silent. However, when we remain silent about violence against women we are perpetuating a rape culture – whether we intend to or not.
What does rape culture mean?
Rape culture is a term used to describe a society wherein sexual violence is normalized through behaviours, attitudes and practices that tolerate rape. Okay… what does that mean? Rape is not the only action that perpetuates rape. How we act and what we say go a long way in telling those around us what is acceptable. For example, if we laugh or remain silent when a rape joke is told by one of our co-workers while we are not condoning the behaviour described in the joke – we are allowing the attitude expressed by the person who told the joke to remain unchallenged and spread.
While sexist and misogynistic attitudes may not physically harm women we know that language structures our thoughts and behaviours. The more prevalent these attitudes become, the more they are internalized by men and used as justification for their treatment of women. Admittedly, the intent of jokes that dehumanize women is generally not to encourage men to physically harm women. However, the impact of rape jokes is the creation of a rape culture that tells the men listening that their behaviours and attitudes towards women are acceptable.
Undoubtedly, this is a societal issue — but it also needs to be addressed individually. I want to encourage men to become accountable in their own lives and understand that they can make a difference simply by working to be the best version of themselves that they can be. One way we can do this is by leading with lollipops:
To end, I would like to say that while men need to become more active, we must continue to be accountable to women and women’s organizations such as the Sexual Assault Support Centre Waterloo Region (sascwr.org) who have been doing this work for decades and who make the work we do possible. Men who become involved in ending violence against women are often romanticized while the work of women goes ignored or unnoticed. As such, it is important to remember that while the dominant construction of masculinity may not work for all men – patriarchy does.
Author: Stephen Soucie is a MAASV Public Education Facilitator for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. Currently, he is a Masters student in the Critical Sociology program at Brock University. His research areas include: violence against women, men and masculinities, masculinity and sport, and engaging men in anti-violence activism.
Stand Up. Speak out. is the invitation MAASV extends to men and male youth to be part of the work of ending gendered violence in Waterloo Region. One in five men (21%) reported that they did not actively support community efforts to stop violence against women because no one had asked them to get involved.
Well, we’re asking!
A gendered analysis of sexual violence recognizes that women and children make up the majority of those who experience sexual assault and men make up the majority (98%) of offenders (Statistics Canada, 2003). Given the high percentage of male perpetrators, the significant percentage of boys who experience sexual abuse and the men whose lives are impacted when someone close to them experiences sexual violence, this is clearly a men’s issue too.
MAASV provides training and resources for parents, teachers, coaches and social service providers or will facilitate workshops with youth. Topics include: healthy masculinity, healthy relationships, respect, diversity and more.
Check out Jackson Katz – educator, author and filmmaker – internationally recognized for his ground-breaking work in the field of gender violence prevention education with men and boys. Katz speaks about men’s involvement in ending gendered violence.
In two upcoming guest blog posts you will hear from some of our male allies about their experiences and the strategies and tools they have learned and use in their lives.
Author: Joan Tuchlinsky is the Public Education Manager at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region and coordinates the MAASV program. She is inspired by her five children and three grandchildren to work with others to create a safer and more equitable world.
Posted on: December 11th, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
I know a woman whose husband hit her so hard that he broke all of the bones in her face.
I know a woman who was raped repeatedly by her own father while she was growing up.
I know a woman who lived in a town house where the wall in the living room rotted through so she could see her neighbours but the landlord wouldn’t fix it.
I know a woman who carried her baby for 9 months only to be forced to give her up not knowing if she would be deported.
I know a woman who discovered her husband was sexually abusing their daughter.
All of these women live or have lived in our community but not in a women’s shelter as one would assume after hearing their stories. All of these women have served or are currently serving time at Grand Valley Institution for Women, the federal prison for women here in our Region. Whether or not we like to admit it, we are a prison town. As residents of the Waterloo Region, we are fortunate to house one of the six federal prisons for women in Canada. I say we are fortunate because we have been provided with the unique opportunity to support women like the ones I just described as they go through their journey from being incarcerated to rejoining the community and building a life for themselves.
It is through the dedication of local agencies like Community Justice Initiatives and their Stride program that community volunteers provide much needed support for federally sentenced women. Stride brings community volunteers into the prison every week to do activities such as crafts and sports, growing friendships and showing the women that the community cares about them, even though they have committed a crime. Let me provide you with an example of how we, as residents of this amazing region, can truly make a difference in a woman’s life by doing one very simple thing: caring about her.
Missie, one of the women I just described, started drinking alcohol and doing drugs when she was 12. Her father was very abusive and her mother left them when she was 11. She hung with the wrong crowd and eventually ended up in a relationship and had two children. This relationship was extremely abusive and it got so bad that she turned to drugs. Missie became addicted to crack cocaine. She started selling, got caught for dealing and was sentenced to 3 years in a federal prison.
Missie did her time at Grand Valley Institution for Women. She followed her correctional plan and when the time came, she was released with virtually no support and guidance. She was expected to be “rehabilitated” and know how to manage on her own.
As is often the case, Missie had to spend some time in a halfway house after her prison time. It wasn’t long before she was getting high and hanging out with old friends. Missie felt very judged and alone so it was hard to reach out and make new friends and accept the fact that she needed support. For Missie, it was easier to go back to her old ways because that’s what she knew best. She had never had any positive support when she got out and it made her feel like she wasn’t worth it and nobody cared. Missie was caught for being high at the halfway house and was sent back to prison.
This time, she decided that she was going to seek out support for herself and that is where she discovered the Stride program. Through Stride, Missie cultivated some amazing relationships with volunteers who went into the prison each week to see her. Each week, these three volunteers sat with Missie in the prison and listened to her, shared with her, laughed with her, cried with her. They cared about her.
While Missie was getting ready to leave the prison, these three volunteers helped her plan and prepare. When it was time to leave the prison, Missie’s circle of friends picked her up at the prison and drove her to the halfway house. After completing her halfway house time, Missie’s circle of friends picked her up again and drove her to her apartment. They had groceries and flowers waiting as well as household items so that Missie could start working on making her apartment her home.
One of the biggest challenges Missie faced upon leaving the prison was trying to regain custody of her two children. They had visited her every week while she was in the prison and she was able to visit them on the weekend once in the halfway house. Missie’s circle members attended Children’s Aid appointments with her and held her hand throughout the very difficult and challenging process of getting her kids back. One of the most challenging barriers to overcome was that of housing – Children’s Aid required Missie to have specific housing that she couldn’t afford and when Missie tried to get financial assistance, they said she had to prove that she already had housing in order to qualify for assistance. The perfect catch 22
With the support of her circle, Missie was able to figure out how to obtain housing that met Children’s Aid’s requirements and after a very long process, Missie finally received full custody of her two children.
Missie has been out of prison for 5 years now and is completely finished her sentence. She got married, she is a homeowner and she recently had a new baby, a beautiful girl. She is also giving back to her community by volunteering at a Youth Custody Facility in order to help the young men feel connected to their community as her circle did for her. By all accounts, Missie has “reintegrated” back into our community.
However, if Missie was here tonight, she would tell you that it was not easy. She would tell you that she would not have been able to make it through those dark, hopeless moments without the support of her circle. She would tell you that while there are some nice people at the halfway house and parole they are authority figures and if you are struggling they are the last people you want to tell because they can send you back to prison. She would tell you that her circle provided her with hope and helped her believe in herself that she could do it. When she was feeling down and feeling like her world was going to collapse, she would call her circle members and they would support her through any rough patch. Without these supports, Missie would tell you, she would have landed back in prison. To this day, Missie is still in contact with her circle members. Only now, it is because they are genuine friends.
The reason I am telling you this story is because the simple act of caring for another human being can never be underestimated. People often look at those in prison as evil, or as people who deserved to be punished and ostracized from society. However, embracing these individuals and helping them to feel connected to the community is the best tool we have to prevent them from ending up in trouble with the law again.
If this “heart-tugging” story isn’t doing it for you, how about this – community approaches come with a far cheaper price tag. The cost of running a program such as Stride is a fraction of the astronomical $220,000 it costs to incarcerate one woman for one year in federal prison in Canada. There are approximately 200 women at GVI. You can do math on that one.
One of the most important learnings for me over the years is that the women at GVI could be my neighbour, my sister, my mother, my friend – it could be me. Their stories make me realize how fortunate I am to have grown up in a two parent home with enough food to eat. I was not abused as a child or as an adult. I do not have a mental health concern nor do I struggle with problematic substance use. I have obtained my Master’s degree while most of them are still trying to get their GED. On the surface I seem to be the opposite of these women. However, after getting to know these incredible women it became apparent to me that if any one of these things were different my life could have taken a drastically different direction and I could have ended up in prison just as they are. These women are not the monsters the media depict. They are ordinary, everyday women who have been dealt a bad hand in life. Their crimes are often normal responses to abnormal and desperate circumstances. I have learned that a woman in prison is so much more than her crime. Missie admits she has made mistakes in the past but her crimes do not define who she is.
I work with women in prison in order to bring some normalcy into their lives and to bring some reality into mine. As a citizen of the community in which this prison is located, I feel a moral obligation to support these women in any way I can as I have been afforded privileges in my life that they have not.
Never underestimate the difference you can make in someone’s life by simply showing them that you care.“People do not want to be fixed. They want to feel valued”. I firmly believe this and try to live it out each day.
Author: Jessica Hutchison is Coordinator, Community Development & Research at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. She coordinates the community mobilization activities and initiatives of the inREACH Street Gang Prevention Project.
Posted on: October 22nd, 2012 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
When the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council talks about everyone having a role to place in crime prevention, we really do mean EVERYONE, including doctors and all health care providers! Drawing on the recommendations from The Missing Pieces report, an assessment of services and gaps for victims and offenders of interpersonal violence (2010, WRCPC), many sectors in our community have been taking action on the 44 recommendations that were developed. Several of the recommendations addressed the need for screening for abuse in health care settings:
Begin screening for domestic violence at the triage stage at Grand River Hospital
Encourage physicians region wide to screen for domestic violence, elder abuse and child abuse and neglect
Offer more training for teachers about how to recognize and respond to abuse and neglect
Screen for elder abuse at hospital admission or emergency department visits
To help educate primary care professionals in health care settings about their role in preventing violence, several community partners collaborated to present this webinar on “Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in Health Care Settings”.
This training was led by Dr. Robin Mason, a scientist and academic research expert at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and Dr. Patricia Mousmanis a community based clinician and trainer with the Ontario College of Family Physicians. In just one hour, they covered:
the prevalence of abuse and the potential health effects on the victim and children exposed to violence
a discussion on the prenatal period when women may be more vulnerable to abuse and the potential for serious harm to the mother and her developing fetus are very great.
the role of health care providers in screening for abuse
ALPHA Forms for health care professionals providing primary care
the importance of being aware of and facilitating good relationships with community organizations providing support to people experiencing intimate partner violence
availability of online education for health care providers on domestic violence. This interactive, case-based education may be accessed free of charge and completed at your pace. CME credits are available. For more information go to www.DVeducation.ca.
Health care providers are key partners in the community in assisting people experiencing domestic violence and their children. Together we can make a difference.
What do you want to know about the role of health care providers in screening for personal violence and abuse? Our presenters are happy to answer some more of your questions.
Author: Sara Casselman is the Public Relations & Operations Manager at the 
Sharing the story of the Accelerator Centre with 50 
Author: Mary Zilney
Source Data: Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Annual Report