Publication, NCFV, Health Canada

To obtain more information on family violence, including the Family Violence Initiative, contact the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence at the following address:

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Centre for Healthy Human Development
Address Locator: 1909D1
9th Floor, Jeanne Mance Building, Tunney’s Pasture
Ottawa Ontario K1A 1B4
Telephone: (613) 957-2938 or 1-800-267-1291 Fax: (613) 941-8930
FaxLink: (613) 941-7285 or 1-888-267-1233
TTY: (613) 952-6396 or 1-800-561-5643
Internet home page: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/nc-cn
Email: ncfv-cnivf@phac-aspc.gc.ca

Many of the reports and resources referred to in this Report can be obtained, free of charge, from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence.

To obtain additional information on related programs of departments, agencies or Crown corporations participating in the Family Violence Initiative, visit each department’s Web site.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation	http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Citizenship and Immigration Canada	http://www.cic.gc.ca
Correctional Service of Canada	http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca
Department of Canadian Heritage	http://www.pch.gc.ca
Department of Justice Canada	http://www.canada.justice.gc.ca
Department of National Defence	http://www.dnd.ca
Health Canada	http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca
Human Resources Development Canada	http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada	http://www.inac.gc.ca
Royal Canadian Mounted Police	http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Statistics Canada	http://www.statcan.ca
Status of Women Canada	http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca

Please note the following edits have been made to the formatting of the Family Violence Initiative: Year Five Report, December 2002 since it was distributed to Ministers.

In addition, the following text serves as clarification of the text on p. 30 of the Report:

By 2002, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) provided over $40 million in operational funding to 39 First Nation shelters. First Nation shelters assisted an annual average of 3,700 people from approximately 200 First Nation communities between 1997/98 to 2001/02. Locating shelters within First Nation communities has improved First Nation people’s access to culturally appropriate services and provided a viable option for victims of family violence within their respective communities. For further information about INAC’s Family Violence Prevention Program, please contact the INAC office in your region or the Social Services and Justice Directorate at INAC headquarters.

The Family Violence Initiative Year Five Report presents an overview of the achievements of the federal investment in family violence prevention for the fiscal period April 1997 to March 2002. It provides:

The Family Violence Initiative, launched in 1988, is a long-term federal commitment to a long-term societal problem with myriad social, justice, and health dimensions. Since 1996, the Family Violence Initiative has been an ongoing commitment providing annual funding of $7 million to be shared among seven departments as a supplement to expenditures from their ongoing budgets that they and other departments, agencies and Crown corporations make to address the issue. This is used to coordinate the Family Violence Initiative, collect national data, address identified gaps and operate the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. Several programs developed in previous phases of the Family Violence Initiative were integrated into ongoing departmental programming and budgets.

The Family Violence Initiative is horizontally managed to ensure a shared federal perspective, foster collaboration, create partnerships and provide opportunities for joint action, thereby enhancing the federal capacity to achieve results. Health Canada leads the Family Violence Initiative. Twelve departments, agencies and Crown corporations take part. Of these, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Statistics Canada and Status of Women Canada share the annual $7 million and also apply funds that were integrated into departmental budgets. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Correctional Service of Canada, the Department of National Defence, Human Resources Development Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada apply funds from within their departmental budgets.

The Family Violence Initiative works with provincial and territorial levels of government, First Nations, non-governmental organizations and a range of other stakeholders. Without the participation, cooperation and collaboration of these other players, many federal departments would be unable to undertake family violence activities or deliver programs.

Family violence — which includes a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships based on kinship, intimacy, dependency or trust — continues to be a disturbingly commonplace occurrence in the lives of Canadians through all life stages. During the five years prior to the 1999 General Social Survey (GSS), 8% of women (690,000) and 7% of men (549,000) who had a current or former partner reported at least one incident of violence — ranging from threats to sexual assault.¹ In 1998, the Canadian Incidence Study (CIS) of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, found a rate of almost 10 substantiated cases of child maltreatment for every 1,000 children in Canada.² Family members or other relatives were the alleged perpetrators in the vast majority (93%) of substantiated maltreatment.³ Approximately 7% of older adults reported that they had experienced some form of emotional or financial abuse by an adult child, spouse or caregiver in the five years prior to the 1999 GSS.⁴ Aboriginal women and men experience higher levels of spousal violence, compared with non-Aboriginal peoples (20% compared with 7%). Aboriginal women were twice as likely as Aboriginal men — and three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women and men — to report having been assaulted by a current or former spouse during the five-year period prior to the 1999 GSS.⁵

With increased knowledge about the dynamics and consequences of family violence, new issues of concern have emerged — relating to the various forms, contexts and consequences of family violence. These highlights reinforce the need to focus even more intensely on factors that contribute to the problem and on effective strategies to prevent and respond to it. One of the most pressing challenges is finding ways to address family violence issues in a manner appropriate to the experiences, circumstances and needs of Canada’s diverse population and communities.

While it is clear that reducing family violence will take time, the Year Five Report shows that the Family Violence Initiative met its performance expectations for the reporting period. As a result, there have been advancements in the creation of a coordinated and increasingly collaborative approach to family violence. Highlights are presented below.

Performance Result: Effective, Efficient and Coordinated Federal Policy Development and Programming on Family Violence Issues

Over the past five years, the Family Violence Initiative achieved tangible success in advancing national coordination and collaboration on family violence policy and program development. Engaging in a continuing policy dialogue with provincial and territorial counterparts — including multilateral and bilateral efforts — has proven beneficial in areas such as advancing criminal law reform and researching, implementing and evaluating related policies and practices; fostering information exchange and knowledge transfer in areas such as the health consequences of family violence; developing strategies and policy frameworks to address specific forms of family violence (such as violence and the girl child); and developing federal-provincial-territorial partnerships to build or enhance existing shelters for victims of family violence.

The Family Violence Initiative continued to play a lead role in expanding the information base on family violence, through the development of national data, policy relevant research and evaluation needed to assist policy makers. Through the federal investment in national data collection, Canadians now have access to trend data on spousal violence, national baseline data on maltreatment and neglect reported to child welfare agencies, and information on violence against older adults. Baseline information on public attitudes on family violence issues has been created. These information sources widely inform policy development across all levels of government. Independent policy relevant research funded by the Family Violence Initiative also made important contributions to community and national level policy dialogue.

These performance results indicate that there is a continuing need — and demand for — credible and timely information on family violence, particularly for information that sheds light on the forms, dynamics and consequences of family violence, as well as information to fill gaps in understanding the particular experiences, concerns, and needs of special populations with respect to family violence issues. There is a continuing demand for policy relevant research and evaluations related to family violence issues. Such information also contributes to increased public awareness and understanding of family violence issues.

Community Response and the Development and Implementation of Community Activities

Over the past five years, the Family Violence Initiative made important inroads in enhancing the effectiveness of family violence prevention and responses through its multi-faceted research, evaluation and knowledge synthesis activities. These activities provided valuable information that contributed to improvements in policies, programs and practice in various sectors including health, social services, justice and housing and across all levels of government. The Family Violence Initiative supported a range of community activities that contributed to community capacity, networks and partnerships to address family violence. This included the production and provision of accessible resources and tools.

The Family Violence Initiative supported Aboriginal communities (on- and off-reserve) in their efforts to address family violence issues through a variety of means, including the use of holistic approaches that emphasized — among other things — the importance of teaching traditional values, culture and practices.

These performance results suggest that efforts to research, test and improve the effectiveness of family violence prevention and responses should be ongoing, and that more emphasis on learning and information sharing could result in greater cross-fertilization of ideas and approaches. They also underscore the importance of community-driven approaches to family violence, particularly in relation to Aboriginal communities on- and off-reserve, rural and remote communities and ethnocultural communities and in relation to addressing the needs of specific populations such as persons with disabilities.

Improvements to the shelter system — a vital part of the response to family violence in Canada — were achieved with support from the Family Violence Initiative and other sources of funding, including the National Homelessness Initiative. Highlights include:

Fifty new shelters with 677 additional units were created and 380 existing shelters with 2,100 units in family violence shelters were repaired or improved. Shelter clients identified shelter enhancements as a “success factor” in terms of helping them address their family violence situations. Enhancements also enabled shelters to better meet the needs of children and to improve access for persons with disabilities.

Fourteen new shelters were built in First Nations communities from 1997/98 to 2001/02. There are now some 50 shelters and related services available to victims of family violence residing in First Nations communities. An Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence, comprised of shelter representatives, was founded to address family violence issues in Aboriginal communities.

These performance results indicate that the Family Violence Initiative contribution to the Shelter Enhancement Program had positive impacts on strengthening and expanding the shelter system. At the same time, there is a continuing need for repairs and enhancements in existing shelters (in 2001, repairs and enhancements are estimated to cost $27 million). There is a continuing need for additional units or shelters in Canada in general and for many First Nations communities and for youth.

Over the past five years, important shifts in how the criminal law addresses family violence have occurred. Key amendments to the Criminal Code significantly improved the criminal justice legal framework for addressing family violence by offering better protection for the safety and security of victims; improving the protection of children from sexual exploitation; strengthening sentencing provisions (such as including a requirement that courts take into account the abuse of a spouse or a child as an aggravating factor in sentencing); and refining penalties related to the anti-stalking legislation created in 1993 (offence of criminal harassment). These efforts are the result of enhanced cooperation, coordination and collaboration with provincial and territorial officials to research, assess and evaluate the effectiveness of new legislative provisions and develop and implement appropriate instruments and measures to enhance the administration of justice in family violence cases. Efforts to provide public legal education and information on family violence in languages other than English or French, as well as innovative projects to reach Canadians living in rural areas, have had some positive impacts.

Over the past five years, empirically-based family violence prevention and treatment programs for federal offenders have been developed, tested and implemented, with preliminary evaluations showing promising results. Ongoing family violence awareness and training for criminal justice personnel, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and military police as well as others, increased the capacity of the criminal justice system — and its intersectoral partners — to respond effectively to family violence.

These performance results underscore the importance of continuing collaborative efforts to enhance the responsiveness of the criminal justice system and other legislative measures to current and emerging family violence issues.

Performance Result: Increased Public Awareness of Family Violence and Reduced Tolerance for Family Violence

Public awareness survey information collected in 2002 indicates that, consistent with the federal definition of family violence, Canadians define family violence in broad terms to include violence among immediate family members, including parent-adult child relationships, and most include violence occurring within relationships of trust. More than three quarters of Canadians believe that family violence should be an urgent priority for the federal government as well as at the community level.

Over the past five years, the Family Violence Initiative promoted public awareness of family violence by providing Canadians with information about the risk factors associated with family violence, the systemic factors that underlie it, the varied social, health, and economic consequences of violence, and insight into how to prevent violence and better protect victims when violence occurs. Much of this information is disseminated or made accessible to Canadians through the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. The Family Violence Initiative also created opportunities to stimulate public discussion and dialogue, including efforts directed to groups such as health and social service professionals and specific populations.

The importance of community engagement as a public awareness strategy was underscored by the results of a partnership with ethnic broadcasters and ethnocultural communities to raise awareness of family violence among ethnocultural communities in Canada. An evaluation confirmed that ethnic media are an effective way to reach specific communities and this approach can be used by other Family Violence Initiative departments to reach beyond linguistic and cultural barriers.

The performance results suggest multi-faceted efforts to increase public awareness are having an effect on public awareness of family violence issues and are contributing to reduced tolerance for family violence in Canadian society. Both nationally driven efforts aimed at specific audiences, such as professionals, and at the general population, and community-driven efforts which engage community members in the design, development and delivery of public awareness messages, are important. The performance results also suggest that a mix of information promotion, information technologies and dissemination strategies can broaden reach and increase public awareness and understanding of family violence. That is, better results are possible when information dissemination is comprehensive and actively promoted, targeted and shared through interactive methods, such as group discussions, workshops and training sessions.

The Family Violence Initiative continues to take significant steps toward its overarching, long-term key result of reducing occurrence of family violence. Over the past five years, together, all of the Family Violence Initiative activities helped to raise public awareness of family violence; improve the national information base; create and ensure access to knowledge, tools and resources; and implement specific reforms, programs and other measures to strengthen the justice and housing systems’ response. Although it is not always possible to isolate the impact of the federal investment, this five-year summary clearly indicates that, cumulatively, the federal investment is making a difference in Canada’s capacity to address this issue, from the community to the national level. At the same time, it is widely recognized that reducing occurrence of family violence in Canada will take time and will continue to be a long-term, incremental process requiring ongoing federal investment.

The Family Violence Initiative is horizontally managed to facilitate, among other things, efficient and coordinated federal policy development and programming on family violence. Horizontal management is an appropriate way for the federal government to effectively manage family violence issues, given the complexities of the policy environment, the importance of intersectoral and interdisciplinary partnership development, the diversity of populations at risk and the differences in community awareness and capacities to address family violence across Canada. There are continuing challenges which relate to the unique nature of family violence. They include the systemic and multi-faceted nature of the issue and the requirements of a multi-sectoral policy response (including involvement by the health, justice, social services and housing sectors); the policy environment, characterized by legislative and mandate differences across jurisdictions as well as intersectoral and cross-jurisdictional challenges — including resource constraints — in partnership development and implementation; diversity within populations at risk and differences in community awareness of, and capacities to address, family violence issues. Given the broad scope and nature of family violence issues and existing resource parameters and constraints, refining horizontal management mechanisms and tools to effectively coordinate activity across 12 departments presents the Family Violence Initiative with operational challenges.

The Family Violence Initiative will continue to refine and improve its operations and efficiencies to enhance its capacity to address its performance expectations.

The Family Violence Initiative — the key element of the federal strategy to address family violence in Canada — remains on a steady track and the performance results demonstrate movement in the positive direction of change. The Year Five Report performance results indicate that the current mix of programming, which includes a focus on coordination, public awareness, prevention and response at the federal level, has been successful. At the same time, there is an awareness of the need to address the family violence issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples, people living in rural and remote communities, persons with disabilities and ethnocultural populations. With increased knowledge about the dynamics and consequences of family violence, new issues of concern have emerged relating to the various forms, contexts and consequences of family violence. This in turn reinforces the need to focus even more intensely on factors that contribute to the problem and on effective strategies to prevent and respond to it.

The objective for the Family Violence Initiative is to reduce the occurrence of family violence in Canadian society.

The Family Violence Initiative will meet its objective by continuing to enhance awareness, strengthen the ability of the criminal justice, housing and health systems to respond, and build on the knowledge base through data collection and research. The proposed activities are consistent with current federal themes and priorities.

The Family Violence Initiative will revitalize its approach to horizontal management with a greater emphasis on collective activity that produces results and resources that reflect collaborative input. Studies of horizontal management — including the Family Violence Initiative — suggest that stronger links between the working level and the senior public service level within the federal government would increase the effectiveness of the Family Violence Initiative.

Refinement of horizontal management, leadership and coordination mechanisms and tools, with the continuing support of central agencies, will improve both processes and outcomes.

To advance collaboration, the Family Violence Initiative will also strengthen existing partnerships and advance collaboration with potential partners, including multilateral and bilateral liaison with provincial and territorial partners. It will strengthen ties with national and community-based organizations that represent specific populations (Aboriginal people, people living in rural and remote communities, people with disabilities and ethnocultural populations) with the view to increase partnerships.

The Family Violence Initiative will advance collaboration with potential partners and place renewed emphasis on strengthening existing links, including those with provincial and territorial governments. Provincial and territorial governments make an important contribution to efforts to reduce the occurrence of family violence. The Interdepartmental Working Group will meet annually with its provincial and territorial counterparts at the working level. As well, Family Violence Initiative member departments will seek further opportunities to work with relevant provincial and territorial partners through formal federal-provincial-territorial fora (for example, through meetings of the Ministers Responsible for Seniors) in the interest of collaborating on various projects. They will also, where appropriate, liaise bilaterally with selected provincial and territorial Ministries. For example, Health Canada will expand its efforts to liaise with Ministries of Health to promote recognition of family violence as a health issue.

One of the purposes of Year Five Report, as specified at the time of its approval, is to “recommend whether a reconfiguration among activities is required to address what may have emerged as priorities/gaps” after five years. The planning which Initiative members have carried out together in preparing this Year Five Report leads to the conclusion that, for many sound reasons, a reconfiguration of activities would not be appropriate at this time.

With regard to the related question of resource allocation, however, it is clear that, with increased funding, the Family Violence Initiative could have broader coverage and reach and accomplish more to address this pervasive social problem. Over the short term, the Family Violence Initiative will pursue cooperative cost-sharing arrangements between member departments to address needs.

The Family Violence Initiative Interdepartmental Working Group is pleased to present the

Family Violence Initiative Year Five Report. This report provides an overview of the achievements of the federal investment in family violence prevention for the fiscal period April 1997 to March 2002.

The Family Violence Initiative is a long-term federal commitment to a long-term societal problem with myriad social, justice and health dimensions:

In 1988, the Family Violence Initiative received $40 million in time-limited funding to provide shelters to abused women and their children and to establish a process for developing a long-term federal approach to family violence prevention.

In 1991, the Family Violence Initiative expanded to $136 million, again in time-limited funding, to increase public awareness and understanding of family violence; strengthen the criminal justice legal framework; provide prevention, protection and treatment services to Aboriginal and Inuit communities; provide emergency shelters and long-term housing; and enhance national information exchange and coordination.

Since 1996, the Family Violence Initiative has been an ongoing commitment with annual funding of $7 million shared among seven departments. This is used as a supplement to expenditures from their ongoing budgets that they and other departments, agencies and Crown corporations make to address the issue, to coordinate the Family Violence Initiative, collect national data, address identified gaps

and operate the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (NCFV). Other previously funded activities were integrated into ongoing departmental programming and budgets.

Fulfilling this mandate will take time. This five-year summary shows that important milestones on this segment of the journey have been reached.

Health Canada leads the Family Violence Initiative. Twelve (12) departments, agencies and Crown corporations take part.⁶ The Department of the Solicitor General of Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency are observers.

The Family Violence Initiative has links to other federal interdepartmental strategies, activities and mechanisms where family violence issues are of concern. All contribute to positive social change with regard to deeply rooted social problems, including family violence.

Family violence issues are addressed in the agendas of federal-provincial-territorial ministerial meetings such as the meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice and Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women. The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors’ Safety and Security Working Group also addresses family violence issues pertaining to older adults. Members of the Family Violence Initiative’s Interdepartmental Working Group consult, coordinate and collaborate with their provincial and territorial counterparts at the working level. Ad hoc working groups, such as Ad Hoc Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group Reviewing Spousal Abuse Policies and Legislation, address specific issues related to family violence. Through its Shelter Enhancement Program, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation collaborates and develops partnerships with provincial and territorial governments and First Nations communities.

The Family Violence Initiative encompasses a vast array of federal activities, well beyond those supported by the $7 million allocation. In fact, some federal departments that are not formally members of the Initiative also administer programs that address, to one degree or another, the issue of family violence. While it would be extremely challenging to put an accurate dollar figure to the amount of funds the government spends to address family violence, it would clearly be considerably higher than $7 million.

The following chart provides a five-year summary, by mandate element, of how the $35-million over five years additional allocation ($7 million per year) was distributed from 1997/98 to 2001/02. These figures relate to the allocation and do not necessarily reflect the actual pattern of expenditures.

As noted previously, federal funding related to family violence prevention extends beyond the $35-million allocation provided to seven departments of this Family Violence Initiative from 1997/98 to 2001/02. Related allocations that were integrated into departmental budgets as reported by Family Violence Initiative departments, include the following examples:

□ The Correctional Service of Canada invested $9.1 million in family violence prevention and treatment programs.

□ Status of Women Canada’s Women’s Program provided a total of $8,018,715 for initiatives aimed at eliminating systemic violence against women and the girl child. An additional $6,014,941 was allocated for initiatives that addressed the elimination of systemic violence, as well as one or both of the other areas of focus of the Women’s Program.

□ Human Resources Development Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative has committed $43 million over a four year period to enhance Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Shelter Enhancement Program.

From 1988 to 1996, the Family Violence Initiative was led by the Interdepartmental Assistant Deputy Minister Steering Committee chaired by Health Canada. From 1996 to 2001, it was led by an Interdepartmental Working Group chaired by Health Canada. Since 2002, an Interdepartmental Directors General Steering Committee chaired by Health Canada has supported, advised and provided direction to the Family Violence Initiative Interdepartmental Working Group. The role of other coordination mechanisms, including an Interdepartmental Evaluation Working Group and ad hoc working groups, is presented in Appendix A.

The Family Violence Initiative Intervention Model illustrates the Key Results that the Family Violence Initiative expects, over time, to influence and achieve.

It is important to recognize that the federal investment complements the efforts of Provincial and Territorial governments. Given their lead responsibility for service delivery, the range of activities that those governments support to both prevent and respond to family violence is quite broad. Similarly, efforts at the community level — initiated in many cases by volunteers who seek funding support from a variety of time-limited sources, including the corporate sector — cannot be minimized. Federal investment often provides partial or indirect support to these efforts, as well as frequently serving a leveraging function that stimulates support and action from other sources. The federal role — gathering, synthesizing and disseminating new knowledge about the nature of the problem and effective ways to respond to it — is generally welcomed by our Provincial and Territorial colleagues. Moreover, we engage in these functions in the context of ongoing consultation with officials at that level.

The Family Violence Initiative addresses the first Key Result — effective, efficient and coordinated federal policy development and programming on family violence issues — through a horizontal management approach to family violence issues and through the creation, synthesis and dissemination of knowledge that can inform and influence the work of all players.

The Family Violence Initiative works toward the second set of Key Results — enhanced prevention and improved community response and the development and implementation of community activities — by strengthening ties with other players, influencing the development and adoption of effective family violence policies and programs, supporting community-driven action, and encouraging the allocation of resources to address family violence issues.

The third set of Key Results — increased public awareness of family violence issues and reduced tolerance for family violence — is cumulative, long-term and based on concerted action at all levels of Canadian society. These results will be reached as the Canadian public increasingly comes to view family violence as unacceptable and supports community efforts to prevent and respond to it.

Attaining the overarching Key Result — reduced occurrence of family violence — will take cooperation, determination, perseverance and investment within, and by, all levels of society. This ultimate long-term Key Result is dependent on changing behaviour and societal norms and on achieving the other Key Results.

Fed eral leadership and partnership development — two cornerston es of th e Fa mily Violence Initiative — influence and contribute to the creation of an integrated, national approach to family violence issues. Working together with all sectors of Canadian society, the Family Violence Initiative enhances opportunities for joint action and opens the possibilities for change. Incrementally, but surely, the federal investment makes a sound contribution to the reduction of family violence.

Family violence includes a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships based on kinship, intimacy, dependency or trust. Current information reveals that family violence continues to be a disturbingly commonplace occurrence in the lives of Canadians through all life stages. Violence in relationships may include physical or sexual assault, as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada, and other forms of physical and sexual abuse and exploitation, neglect, emotional abuse, financial abuse and spiritual abuse. Family violence may be a single incident of violence, but more typically it consists of a pattern of violent or abusive behaviour.

Victimization surveys, police-reported crime data, and incident reports from other agencies provide estimates of the extent of family violence, but because of the difficulties in interviewing victims on this subject, they may not capture the full picture. Individuals who have experienced violence may not be able to — or may choose not to — report it. They may be dependent on the perpetrator, they may fear repercussions, or they may not know that help is available. Willingness to report may have increased, in part, because there is less social stigma attached to being a victim and seeking help, public awareness has increased, and training for police- and court-related victim support services has improved.⁸

According to the 1999 General Social Survey (GSS), spousal violence involves similar proportions of both men and women as victims. The 1999 GSS found that 8% (690,000) of women and 7% (549,000) of men who had a current or former partner reported at least one incident of violence — ranging from threats to sexual assault — during the five years prior to the survey.⁹ The violence experienced by women, however, tended to be more severe — and more often repeated —than the violence experienced by men. Being a young man or woman poses a higher risk of experiencing spousal violence. According to the 1999 GSS, women between the ages of 15 and 24 and men between the ages of 25 and 34 reported the highest one-year rates of spousal violence.¹⁰

In 2000, based on data from a subset of 166 police departments, representing more than half (53%) of the national volume of reported crime in Canada, 85% of victims of spousal violence reported to the police were women (28,633 out of almost 34,000 victims).¹¹ The over-representation of women in police statistics may be partly explained by data that indicate that women are more willing than men to report incidents of spousal violence to the police. According to the 1999 GSS, 37% of female spousal victims (compared to 29% in the 1993 Violence Against Women Survey) reported to the police in the previous five-year period compared with 15% of male victims.¹² Between 1995 and 2000, the number of spousal violence victims who came to the attention of a subset of 106 police agencies increased 27%, from 21,733 to 27,663 victims.¹³

Although the overall rate of spousal homicide has declined in recent years, women are still killed by their spouses at a much higher rate than men.¹⁴ Between 1974 and 2000, the rate of spousal homicide dropped by 62% for women and by more than half for men. Since 1974, the majority of spousal homicides in Canada have been against women.¹⁵In 2000, three in four victims of spousal homicide were women.¹⁶ However, spousal homicides

increased in 2001 — the first increase in six years. A total of 86 spousal homicides were reported in 2001, up from 68 in 2000. The majority of the increase involves cases of men killing their current or ex-spouses in Ontario. While firearms are the most frequently used weapons in spousal homicides against women, the rate at which both wives and husbands have been killed by firearms declined between 1974 and 2000 — a decrease of 77% for women and 80% for men.¹⁸ Between 1991 and 2000, the risk of spousal homicide was highest among young women (15–24 years) who were separated from their spouses — 12 times higher than that for separated women aged 55 and older. Among men, homicide rates of young separated men (15-24) were high (44.1 men per million separated couples 15-24 years old).¹⁹

Criminal harassment by intimate partners is also of increasing concern. In 2000, three quarters of the incidents of criminal harassment reported to police were directed at women. The number of male ex-spouses and boyfriends known to police for stalking has increased from 1995 to 2000. The number of females continue to represent a small percentage of those accused of criminal harassment.²⁰

Of the sexual assaults and physical assaults reported to 166 police agencies in 2000, almost one quarter (23%) of all victims were children and youth under the age of 18.²¹ Children and youth are most frequently victimized by an acquaintance: 52% of child and youth victims of assaults reported to the police in 2000 were assaulted by acquaintances, 19% were assaulted by strangers and 23% were assaulted by family members. Within families, parents are the most likely perpetrators in assaults against children and youth.²² Children and youth are most frequently killed by a parent or someone else close to them. Between 1974 and 2000, a family member was the perpetrator in almost two thirds (63%) of homicides of children and youth (boys and girls).²³

In 1998, the first national study of the incidence of child abuse and neglect reported to and investigated by child welfare services in Canada was conducted. The Canadian Incidence Study (CIS) of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect examined a sample of child welfare services across Canada during a three-month period in 1998 and found a rate of almost 10 substantiated cases of child maltreatment for every 1,000 children in Canada. In all four categories of substantiated maltreatment — neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse — the vast majority (93%) of alleged perpetrators were family members or other people related to the child victim.²⁴

In about one third of the child welfare investigations, physical abuse was the primary reason for the investigation. Most (69%) substantiated cases of physical abuse involved inappropriate punishment, such as hitting a child with a hand or an object in a manner that caused physical harm, or putting a child at risk of physical harm. In the same period, about one in ten investigations were of sexual abuse. Touching and fondling of the genitals was the most common form of substantiated sexual abuse (68% of cases), while attempted and completed intercourse occurred in more than one third of substantiated cases.²⁵ Many children and youth hear or witness a parent being assaulted by another parent: the 1999 GSS found that children in an estimated 461,000 households in Canada either heard or witnessed a parent being assaulted during the five years prior to the survey.²⁶

In 2000, according to police-reported data, the risk of physical assault for children and youth by both family and non-family members increased as children get older. However, as children age and become more independent, their sphere of relationships expands and the rate of physical assaults committed by non-family members becomes significantly higher than the rate for family members. Comparing physical assaults committed by family and non-family members, young children aged 5 years and under were more than twice as likely to be physically assaulted by family than non-family members (48 and 63 compared with 20 and 31 per 100,000 children). The reverse is true for older children; children aged 6 years and older were more likely to be physically assaulted by non-family than family members. Although there are no national data available, research indicates that violence in adolescent dating relationships is a serious problem.²⁷

Older adults also experience family violence, particularly emotional or financial abuse. Approximately 7% of older adults reported that they had experienced some form of emotional or financial abuse by an adult child, spouse or caregiver in the five years prior to the 1999 GSS. Very few older adults reported experiencing physical or sexual violence.²⁸Police-reported data for 2000 indicate that those aged 65 years and older have the lowest risk of experiencing violent crime. When older adults are victimized, they are twice as likely to be victimized by non-family members. In cases of family violence toward older adults, adult children and spouses are the most likely perpetrators.²⁹ In 2000, older men who reported family violence to police were most likely to have been victimized by their adult children, while older women were equally likely to have been victimized by their spouses (36%) or their adult children (37%).³⁰ Between 1974 and 2000, older women had a much higher risk of being victims of spousal homicide (52% of older female victims of family homicide were killed by their spouses compared with 25% of older men). With the rapidly increasing proportion of older adults in the Canadian population, there is concern that the extent of abuse of older adults will increase.

There is increasing recognition that a person’s vulnerability to family violence may be increased by factors such as dislocation, colonization, racism, homophobia, disability, poverty, and social and geographic isolation.³¹ Furthermore, lack of access to services and supports may further increase a person’s vulnerability to being abused — or compound the effects of the abuse.³²

Aboriginal women and men, according to the 1999 GSS, experience higher levels of spousal violence, compared with non-Aboriginal peoples (20% compared with 7%). Aboriginal victims of spousal violence were also more likely to report experiencing more severe forms of spousal violence (being beaten, choked, threatened with a gun or knife, or sexually assaulted) compared with non-Aboriginal victims (48% compared with 31%).³³

Aboriginal women, in particular, report experiencing much higher rates of spousal assault. According to the 1999 GSS, Aboriginal women were twice as likely as Aboriginal men —and three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women and men — to report having been assaulted by a current or former spouse during the preceding five-year period.³⁴ Between 1991 and 1999, rates of spousal homicide were more than eight times higher among Aboriginal women compared with non-Aboriginal women in Canada (47.2 per million compared with 5.8 per million). The rate of spousal homicide was 18 times greater among Aboriginal men compared with non-Aboriginal men (27.6 per million compared with 1.5 per million).³⁵ The Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples identified a number of factors that are linked to violence in Aboriginal communities, including economic and social deprivation, alcohol and substance abuse, the intergenerational cycle of violence, the breakdown of healthy family life linked to residential school upbringing, the loss of traditional values, and overcrowded and substandard housing.³⁶

In 2001, 30.4% of Canadians lived in rural, remote or northern communities.³⁷ Where people reside can influence how and whether they seek help. Solutions available to victims or potential victims of family violence may differ depending upon their geographic and social environment. However, few differences have been noted between urban and rural women in terms of rates of spousal violence, according to the 1999 GSS.³⁸

Preliminary research on violence in families and persons with disabilities suggests that women and children with disabilities are among the most highly victimized groups in Canadian society.³⁹ Research in Canada suggests that the risk of abuse to people with disabilities may be as high as five times greater than the risk to the general population.⁴⁰

Diversity has given Canada many advantages, yet it has also challenged institutions to respond to a complex range of needs associated with integrating ethnocultural populations into Canadian society. Issues relating to family violence in ethnocultural families include: additional stressors, fewer social resources, financial pressures, intergenerational conflict, trauma caused by separation, racism, language barriers, isolation, threats of deportation, and threats of separation from children. Foreign-born women abused by their partners may be less likely to report abuse because they may be unaware of where to seek help or unsure that help would be forthcoming. Difficulties in addressing the issue of family violence within specific ethnocultural communities may be further exacerbated by a lack of culturally appropriate services and/or a lack of knowledge of available services.

No national data are available on the prevalence of spousal abuse in same-sex relationships; however, a growing body of research indicates that spousal abuse is a serious problem among both lesbian and gay couples.⁴¹

Family violence exacts an enormous toll on victims, perpetrators, their families and communities. Victims of family violence may experience pain and suffering that affects every aspect of their lives — including serious consequences for their physical and mental health.⁴² For many victims, the psychological damage they experience may be more harmful and far-reaching than the physical injuries. In some cases, victims pay with their lives. Perpetrators also experience negative consequences that may include, for example, shame, rejection, depression, substance abuse or incarceration. Children who are exposed to family violence are at high risk for emotional and behavioural problems. The cycle of abuse can affect generations within families. Individuals and families whose lives are harmed by family violence and fear may be less likely to participate in and contribute to community life.⁴³

The consequences of family violence vary for women, children and older adults.

According to the 1999 GSS, women were three times more likely than men to report being physically injured in assaults by spouses.⁴⁴ Women victims reported experiencing more frequent emotional consequences of spousal violence. They also reported twice as much use of medications and drugs compared with male victims.⁴⁵Other research indicates that sexual abuse of a woman partner can result in unplanned pregnancy,⁴⁶ and abuse during pregnancy may result in serious health consequences for a woman and her baby.⁴⁷

Children who are abused, including those who are exposed to spousal violence, may experience physical injuries as well as other physical, psychological and behavioural problems that extend into adolescence and adulthood.⁴⁸ According to the CIS, children who have been sexually abused, may experience depression or anxiety, age-inappropriate sexual behaviour, behaviour problems, negative peer involvement and irregular school attendance.⁴⁹

For older adults, physical injury may exacerbate pre-existing or chronic health problems and make it more difficult to function independently.⁵⁰

In economic terms, the costs of family violence are staggering. Studies have attempted to measure the costs of violence against women. Each one found the annual price tag —related to health care, criminal justice, social services and shelter operation, among other services — is in the billions.⁵¹ Greaves et al. (1995) estimated that the partial social services/education, criminal justice, labour/employment and health care costs of violence against women amounted to an estimated $4.2 billion annually.⁵²

Family violence is no longer a hidden problem. It affects Canadians from all walks of life across the life span. As knowledge about family violence and its consequences becomes more widespread, Canadians have become more aware of and more concerned about this issue. In a recent national survey of public attitudes toward family violence, 62% of Canadians believed that family violence has become a more serious problem now than it was a decade ago. For two in five Canadians (41%), violence toward children was the greatest cause for concern, and 57% perceived children under 12 years to be at highest risk of experiencing family violence.⁵³

Findings from a national public awareness survey completed in 2002 indicate that Canadians are concerned about family violence, and approximately 75% consider that it should be a high priority for governments and communities.⁵⁴

EKOS Research Associates, Public Attitudes Toward Family Violence: A Syndicated Study—Final Report (Ottawa: EKOS Research Associates, 2002).

The issue of family violence continues to be a key issue for governments and communities. Individuals and organizations at all levels and in many sectors, notably education and public awareness, health, housing, social services and justice, are working together to respond to family violence through policy and program development, legislative reform, services for victims, research and public education. As a result of the resources allocated to family violence in the past three decades, intersectoral and interdisciplinary innovations in prevention as well as responses within institutions and communities are contributing to change.

In the education sector, the emphasis has been on school-based anti-violence programs, early childhood education programs, and training for professionals and front-line workers. Across Canada, there has been an emphasis on increasing public awareness combined with efforts to develop partnerships and enhance coordination of programs and services at the community level.⁵⁵

In the health sector, there is increasing recognition of the connections between family violence and health, including the physical and mental health effects of abuse, the effects of abuse on child development, and the importance of health care as a point of intervention.⁵⁶

In the housing and social services sectors, the shelter systems remain the mainstay of programming. As of April 17, 2000, a total of 508 shelters for abused women were operating across Canada in every province and territory.⁵⁷ Of these, only 18 existed prior to 1975, and 57 began operating between 1975 and 1979. The number of shelters expanded rapidly during the 1980s. During the 1990s, additional shelters were built, including shelters in Aboriginal and rural communities, and the number of admissions to shelters increased from 78,429 women and children in 1991/92 to 96,359 admissions in 1999/2000.⁵⁸ Many shelters now offer specialized services for older women and culturally sensitive services for Aboriginal and ethnocultural women. The range of shelter- and community-based treatment and counselling programs and advocacy and support services for victims and witnesses of family violence of all ages has also broadened.⁵⁹

In the justice sector, some of the major initiatives of the past two decades include the adoption of mandatory charging and prosecution policies in cases of spousal violence, the inclusion of criminal harassment as an offence under the Criminal Code, the enactment of family violence legislation in a number of jurisdictions to provide protection for victims under the civil law, and the creation of specialized domestic violence courts.⁶⁰ Responding to Specific Population Groups and Contexts

Meeting the unique needs of specific population groups is increasingly important. Examples of these efforts include:

Holistic community-based strategies to promote individual and family healing are helping to rejuvenate community life in Aboriginal communities.⁶¹ Between 1989 and 1998, construction of shelters in Aboriginal communities expanded.⁶² In 1999/2000, 63% of shelters for abused women in Canada reported they provided culturally sensitive services for Aboriginal women, including recognizing traditional healing methods, using spiritual elders and teachers, providing access to language interpreters and Aboriginal language materials and recognizing and understanding Aboriginal cultural norms and beliefs.⁶³ On-reserve options for First Nation family violence victims, such as safe, culturally appropriate services are also improving.

As part of its commitment to rural communities, the Government of Canada has adopted the practice of employing a Rural Lens as a way of viewing issues through the eyes of rural Canadians. Safe house networks and, in some provinces, rural family violence prevention centres are being implemented in rural and remote communities.⁶⁴Between 1989 and 1998, the number of shelters constructed in rural and Aboriginal communities increased.⁶⁵

In 1996, First Ministers agreed to make disability issues a priority and to work together to effectively address the needs of persons with disabilities.⁶⁶ Upgrades to existing shelters have improved access to services for people with disabilities.⁶⁷

Interpretation services and culturally specific services that reduce barriers to services for immigrant and new Canadians who are victims of family violence are improving.⁶⁸

Strategies to address violence issues within same-sex relationships are being developed.⁶⁹

In Canada, child welfare laws require that all cases of suspected child abuse must be investigated to determine if a child is in need of protection. If protection is needed, child welfare authorities may provide family counselling and support, remove the child (temporarily or permanently) from the home, or remove the perpetrator(s) from the home. In cases of sexual or physical abuse, criminal sanctions may apply. In the past 40 years, responding to child abuse has included the introduction of mandatory reporting laws, the creation of child abuse registries, changes to the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act, extension of the time limits for laying charges in child sexual abuse cases, and shifting of the administration of child protection legislation for children on-reserve from provincial jurisdiction to First Nations communities. Addressing the sexual exploitation of children has become a priority.⁷⁰ As the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People heard in their community consultations, the breakdown in Aboriginal family structures and functions has contributed to serious social problems. Healing individuals and families creates the path that leads to community healing. The federal government has supported implementation of a community-based healing strategy to support Aboriginal people and their communities in dealing with the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in residential schools.⁷¹

Most provinces and territories now have special adult protection or guardianship legislation to protect older adults who experience abuse or neglect.⁷² However, there are ongoing concerns about balancing the need to respect older adults’ independence with this legislation.

There is an ongoing need to develop more knowledge about family violence⁷³ including the risk and protective factors associated with violence, and the impacts of exposure to violence across the life span within the global population and specific populations at risk.

Efforts to improve the effectiveness of prevention and response strategies require ongoing support. The importance of collaborative, innovative, integrated, multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary responses continues.

Since its inception, the Family Violence Initiative has been horizontally managed to ensure effective, efficient and coordinated federal policy development and programming on family violence issues. Horizontal management is the “process of managing work across organizational boundaries in a coordinated and collaborative manner in order to achieve mutually agreed-upon objectives.”⁷⁴

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada has noted that horizontal management processes are based on a set of common objectives, apply results-oriented performance measurement strategies, use information to effectively report on and improve performance, and operate with effective coordination structures.⁷⁵ While the Family Violence Initiative possesses these fundamental elements, like most horizontally managed initiatives it has experienced some implementation challenges. Some of these challenges relate to the substantively unique nature of family violence, such as the systemic and multi-faceted nature of the issue and the requirements of a multi-sectoral policy response (including involvement by the health, justice, social services and housing sectors). Others relate to the policy environment which encompasses a number of legislative and mandate differences across jurisdictions; intersectoral and cross-jurisdictional challenges — including resource constraints — in partnership development and implementation, diversity within populations at risk, and differences in community awareness of, and capacities to address, family violence issues.

Other challenges are more operational in nature. For example, the current configuration of the Family Violence Initiative includes activities funded wholly through the Family Violence Initiative annual allocation as well as other activities funded wholly or in part through departmental programs. The Initiative involves consultation and coordination across departments and with related initiatives to develop strategies to address the myriad interrelated factors that contribute to family violence. In addition, over the past five years, staff turnover has posed an ongoing challenge. This approach to funding, and the numbers

of departments and strategic linkages required, combined with the persistence of vertical lines of authority and accountability, add a layer of complexity to strategic planning. It has also tended to blur lines of accountability. Streamlining the strategic planning process, clarifying accountability requirements and simplifying performance reporting are continuing challenges. Finding appropriate mechanisms and tools to effectively coordinate activity within existing resource parameters is also an ongoing challenge.

The Interdepartmental Working Group remains confident that horizontal management of family violence issues is an appropriate way for the federal government to address family violence issues. Continual refinement of horizontal management leadership and coordination mechanisms and tools, with the support of central agencies, will continue to improve both process and outcomes.

The Family Violence Initiative planned to efficiently and effectively coordinate family violence prevention across all federal departments with programming that directly, or indirectly, addressed the issue, commensurate with resources. To reach this result, the Family Violence Initiative undertook to:

In 1996, the Interdepartmental Working Group was given the authority to manage the Family Violence Initiative. Since that time, two case studies on horizontal management processes within government (including one study specifically commissioned by the Family Violence Initiative)⁷⁶ have found that effective horizontal management strategies have strong links between the political realm, the senior public service and the working level. Interdepartmental senior-level governance has been found to provide high-level leadership and direction that facilitates decision making on priorities and resource allocation. This in turn helps to build and sustain initiative momentum and secure the issue’s profile on the policy agenda. These studies note that senior-level involvement is particularly important for policy and program design and delivery oriented initiatives, such as the Family Violence Initiative, which must transcend vertical barriers to achieve results. To facilitate senior level support for this Family Violence Initiative, in winter 2002, the Directors General Steering Committee was established to strengthen the bridge between the working level and the senior level.

Several types of coordination are involved in the Family Violence Initiative, including interdepartmental coordination to promote the Family Violence Initiative’s model of intersectoral, multidisciplinary partnership and collaboration. In addition, coordination within each Family Violence Initiative member department is required to ensure that each department’s policies and programming is coordinated with the mandate and objectives of the Family Violence Initiative so that funds can be efficiently and effectively utilized. Coordination also occurs between the Family Violence Initiative and related provincial and territorial policies, programs and services. Coordination is key to achieving the key results of the Family Violence Initiative.

As understanding of the nature, extent, dynamics and consequences of family violence has grown, the Family Violence Initiative has played an important role in shaping federal policy and program and programming direction on family violence issues. This includes a direct role in legislative and policy areas that pertain to federal jurisdiction, such as criminal law reform, as well as a facilitative and influencing role in policy areas such as health and social services. As a result, the Family Violence Initiative contributed to the development and implementation of policy and program measures to strengthen both prevention and the response to family violence incidents, particularly in areas such as health, justice and housing.

Initiative found that participants in the 37 key informant interviews were largely supportive of having a coordinated interdepartmental approach to family violence. The issue was characterized as being “complex”, having a multitude of causes and consequences, and therefore requiring a holistic response. Key informants also viewed the interdepartmental approach as providing a way for the federal government to craft a strong, coherent and consistent approach to family violence and as a means to avoid duplication.⁷⁷

The Family Violence Initiative maintains an ongoing policy dialogue with key players and stakeholders. Between 1997 and 2001, this included four consultations (all departments) at the working level with federal-provincial-territorial counterparts which provided opportunities for knowledge transfer and fostered complementary policy and programmatic approaches to family violence issues across jurisdictions. Other examples include:

Health Canada hosted policy expert groups to obtain guidance on approaches to addressing health issues associated with violence against women, children and older adults.

Department of Justice Canada hosted two federal-provincial-territorial spousal abuse forums that brought together senior criminal justice officials from across the country to exchange and update best practices related to policing, prosecutions, victims’ services, corrections and policy on spousal abuse. Thirty-one of 34 participants responding to the second forum’s feedback survey agreed that the materials and contacts were very beneficial and that the forum met its objectives in terms of sharing information on research, best practices and innovative ideas to address the issue of spousal abuse.

The Family Violence Initiative has had success in building national level collaboration, including collaboration that has levered resources and thereby expanded federal capacity to address family violence. For example, the 1999 General Social Survey — Victimization Cycle (Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, Status of Women Canada and Statistics Canada) and the Transition Home Survey (Statistics Canada) and a syndicated national baseline survey of attitudes to family violence⁷⁸ (Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Council on Social Development and the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare) were facilitated by collaborative partnerships.

Efficiencies in federal monitoring of emerging issues and trends in family violence prevention and responses across the country have also been realized. This included coordinating federal-provincial-territorial meetings on family violence as well as commissioning special studies on information gaps, print media analysis and a public opinion survey on family violence and an environmental scan of family violence activities in Canada which have been used to inform policy and program development.

Federal-provincial-territorial consultation, cooperation and collaboration within the criminal justice sector on specific issues has also yielded positive results. An Ad Hoc Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group Reviewing Spousal Abuse Policies and Legislation, chaired by the Department of Justice Canada and Nova Scotia Department of Justice, was established in 2000. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Statistics Canada also participate in this working group. The Working Group submitted its first report to Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice in September 2001. A second report reviewing spousal abuse policies and legislation will be submitted in November 2002. The Final Report will address the policies themselves. The results and recommendations of the working group will provide a basis from which to further strengthen the criminal justice system’s response to family violence.

The Department of Justice Canada, in collaboration with its provincial and territorial partners, also coordinated policy responses on a key issue, criminal harassment which led to a new Criminal Code provision and a Handbook on Criminal Harassment that provides practical support to police and Crown prosecutors to investigate and prosecute criminal harassment cases. In addition, the Child Victims and the Criminal Justice System Project, in consultation with other federal, provincial and territorial officials and experts, is exploring opportunities to strengthen the criminal justice system’s response to the exploitation and abuse of children, by examining issues such as children’s testimony, age of consent to sexual activity, and sentencing to protect children.

Federal-provincial-territorial collaboration focussed on populations at risk has also advanced. In July 1999, the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women (Status of Women Canada) released a Strategic Framework on the Prevention of Violence Against Women which sets out best practices and innovative anti-violence programs from all jurisdictions. In September 2000, Status of Women Ministers further agreed to develop, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, indicators on violence against women that would provide benchmarks to track trends in the prevalence and severity of violence against women.

Internationally, members of the Family Violence Initiative continue to play a role in contributing to the Government of Canada’s efforts to eliminate violence against women and children. For example, at the United Nations, Status of Women Canada works with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the General Assembly on issues related to the elimination of violence against women including the girl child. In 1998, at the 42nd session of the CSW, the Government of Canada obtained agreement among member states on the need to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of existing policies, programs and legislation geared to eliminate violence against women. The Department of Justice Canada also participated in negotiating the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, which was adopted in May 2000. Statistics Canada has provided substantive and technical expertise

to many countries who have subsequently adopted and implemented the methods developed through the Violence Against Women Survey (1993). Currently, the Family Violence Initiative (Statistics Canada, Justice Canada, Health Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Status of Women Canada) is also participating in and lending technical expertise to the first inaugural International Survey of Violence against Women.⁷⁹ This survey will improve cross-country comparisons and Canada’s contribution will help to provide many developing countries with methods and tools to estimate the prevalence of violence against women.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, the Family Violence Initiative made significant advances in enhancing the national capacity for policy-relevant data collection and analysis as well as research and evaluation. As a result, policy makers are better equipped with timely, accessible and relevant information to support policy and programming action on family violence. This enhanced capacity has also addressed many of the information needs of other governments, researchers, community groups and other stakeholders and has contributed to public awareness.

Family Violence Initiative departments conducted baseline research, such as collecting, analysing and disseminating family violence benchmark and trend data (Statistics Canada, Health Canada). They also commissioned research studies on policy issues such as the health consequences of experiencing and/or witnessing family violence (Health Canada), criminal harassment (Department of Justice Canada), family violence and homelessness (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation⁸⁰) and other issues including violence and the girl child (Status of Women Canada⁸¹). The results of these studies have informed specific legislative reform (such as criminal law) and program development on issues such as homelessness (the National Homelessness Initiative, Human Resources Development Canada); and on policy development concerning violence and the girl child (Status of Women Canada) and personal security issues concerning women and girls (Department of Justice Canada, National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention).

Of particular note, Statistics Canada, through the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, in collaboration with its federal Family Violence Initiative partners and other stakeholders, undertook concept and data development, data gathering and processing, analysis, publication and dissemination activities to strengthen national benchmark and trend data on family violence issues. Since 1998, the key results of these efforts have been published in the annual series, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile. Since April 1998, through the National Justice Statistics Initiative (NJSI), provincial and territorial governments partners in the NJSI have been able to access this publication (and all other Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics products) through the Statistics Canada’s Extranet site, a protected Internet site. NJSI member demand for family violence data is high: they downloaded Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile 2000, 1,720 times. This publication as well as the Transition Home Survey national-provincial-territorial fact sheets are also publicly accessible through the Statistics Canada Web site. As of April 2002, the public had downloaded Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile 2000, 45,755 times. In 2001, Statistics Canada undertook a performance assessment consultation in which 96% of the consultation respondents indicated that they were “somewhat” or “very satisfied” with Statistics Canada’s family violence activities and products. Almost all (93%) of consultation respondents stated that it was very important to them that these activities and publications continue. Almost half (44%) stated that they have no alternative data sources to access quantitative information on family violence. Each year, the release of Family Violence in Canada also resulted in media coverage, which also contributes to broader public awareness and understanding of the issues.

National information on child abuse and neglect has also improved. In 2001, in collaboration with its provincial and territorial counterparts, and with the advice of child welfare organizations and researchers, Health Canada released the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect.⁸² This study provides, for the first time, national estimates of child abuse and neglect as reported to, and investigated by, child welfare services in Canada. It provides a foundation for a national surveillance system on child maltreatment.

The Child and Family Services Information project, a joint federal-provincial-territorial initiative co-led by Human Resources Development Canada, develops and distributes comprehensive information on provincial and territorial child and family services and programs. This is used in support of federal-provincial-territorial policy development. Child Welfare in Canada 2000⁸³ provides information on child welfare programs across Canada, with a focus on allegations of child abuse.

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (Human Resources Development Canada, Statistics Canada) provides a national data base on the characteristics and life experiences of children and youth as they grow up in Canada.

Survey results and related studies on topics such as characteristics of social environments (parenting styles, family income, child care) and behaviours (such as aggressive behaviour, bullying) are being used to inform the development of various policies and strategies related to youth.

The Family Violence Initiative has contributed to the development of a cross-Canada research infrastructure on family violence and a critical mass of research expertise of family violence⁸⁴ to facilitate policy and program development. In 1992, the Family Violence Initiative and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council established five Research Centres to “stimulate and support research on family violence and violence against women with applicability to policy development.” Since 1997, the Research Centres have operated as an “Alliance,” conducting policy-relevant, integrated and participatory action research of interest to a range of stakeholders. The Research Centres are affiliated with over 600 government and community agencies across the country. The Alliance’s work has contributed to national policy dialogue and direction with regard to violence prevention and the girl child (Status of Women Canada). A Research Centre partnership funded by the Department of National Defence Canada and Status of Women Canada studied the issue of violence within military families. It has provided policy-relevant information on a variety of topics.⁸⁵ The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has used the Alliance’s partnership model to develop its Community/University Research Associates Program.

Since its inception, the Family Violence Initiative has focussed on enhancing the effectiveness of family violence prevention through research, development and the evaluation of prevention and response strategies. By improving access to state-of-the-art knowledge, resources and tools, the Family Violence Initiative has helped to strengthen community capacity to address family violence in ways that will help to sustain positive

change. In Aboriginal and in other cultural communities, Family Violence Initiative efforts have contributed to strengthened cultural identity and practices that contribute to healing and positive development.

Research and Knowledge Synthesis to Inform the Prevention and Response to Family Violence

The Family Violence Initiative supported a range of interdisciplinary and intersectoral research and evaluation activities that provided Canadians and their communities with information on the risk factors associated with family violence, the systemic factors that underlie it, the consequences of violence, and insight into good policies and practices that will improve family violence prevention and better protect victims when violence occurs. Evaluations of model interventions have helped to refine various aspects of prevention practice and response. For example, in 2001 Health Canada funded an evaluation of the Domestic Violence Program (Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Department, St. Paul’s Hospital and Mount Joseph’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia), a hospital-based screening and follow-up support program for victims of family violence,⁸⁶ which found that the program had positive impact on raising awareness of family violence among physicians, introduced appropriate protocols for screening and disclosure, and provided support and assistance to a diverse group of clients. The Department of Justice Canada produced a range of research and evaluation products that contribute to improvements in the effectiveness of the policy and programs related to family violence and the criminal justice system.

The Family Violence Initiative investments have also contributed to methodological innovation in community-based, participatory action research for both urban and rural areas (Health Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Status of Women Canada). These innovations have underscored the value of community-based research approaches and provided appropriate methods and protocols to respectfully engage individuals affected by family violence and abuse with community researchers and other stakeholders in the research process.

The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence resources, which include easy-to-read fact sheets, booklets and videos for victims of family violence, also helped communities. Staff are also equipped to refer clients seeking services such as counselling, advocacy, legal information, shelter and treatment programs, to programs and services in their communities.

Federal support for community-driven and community-focussed workshops, seminars and programs on family violence also stimulated community dialogue, building networks and participation (Department of Canadian Heritage, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Status of Women Canada).

Resources, Tools and Networks to Strengthen Community Capacity to Address Family Violence

Community capacity is ... the combined influence of a community's commitment, resources, and skills which can be deployed to build on community strengths and address community problems.⁸⁷

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, the Family Violence Initiative created a range of resources and tools to help communities address family violence issues. This included evidence-based practice guidelines, intervention models, training curricula and other tools created for health care workers, social workers, the police, prosecutors and victim support workers (Health Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Correctional Service of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Evaluations of a number of these resources indicate that many of these resources and tools are regarded as high quality products and—most importantly — they are being used to improve practices and strengthen community prevention and responses to family violence.

In addition, a 2002 case study⁸⁸ of sample projects funded through the Family Violence Initiative showed that the Family Violence Initiative has contributed to capacity building by fostering a strong sense of ownership and commitment to addressing family violence, whether the community is defined by geography or community of interest (linguistic, cultural, ethnic). Local talent and leadership have been nurtured, and in many cases, in-kind and financial resources have been leveraged.

Several networks have emerged that are finding innovative and appropriate responses to family violence prevention. Health Canada funded the Circle of Prevention, a Network to Community Networks to Sustain Capacity &

Prevent Family Violence in Atlantic Canada, an evaluation of which concluded that the Circle’s • Circle of Prevention - a Network to Prevent

isolation among individuals involved in addressing • National Committee on Elder Abuse

of Justice Canada also supported a project Centres undertaken by the Canadian Association of Sexual • National Aboriginal Circle Against Family

Assault Centres which encouraged the development of communications and computer linkages among women’s shelters and assault centres to standardize and improve services for victims.

At its public hearings, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples listened to many presenters who spoke of the breakdown in traditional Aboriginal family structure and functions as a main factor in the social problems that Aboriginal peoples and their communities are facing. The Commission identified abuse and violence within the family as the “tip of an iceberg” that formed when Aboriginal communities lost their independence and Aboriginal families were deprived of authority and influence over their children. The Family Violence Initiative assists Aboriginal communities in their efforts to address family violence issues. It does so by providing them with resources to undertake community-based family violence prevention projects.

Over the past five years, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has supported 335 community-based family violence prevention projects in First Nations communities. Funds were used for workshops, information sessions and counselling dealing with a variety of topics, including:

Department of Canadian Heritage, enables Aboriginal women’s groups in on- and off-reserve communities to address family violence. In so doing, it recognizes the unique role that Aboriginal women play in shaping and contributing to the health and vitality of their families and communities, and recognizes that cultural distinctiveness and the preservation of cultural identity are key to the prevention and reduction of incidences of family violence. Many of these project activities incorporate traditional approaches, such as holistic healing methods, as well as innovative approaches such as the use of art. An evaluation of the Family Violence Initiative component of the Aboriginal Women’s Program found many positive, short-term outcomes were realized.⁹⁰

Above all, it is important that people recognize and understand that Aboriginal ways of seeing and articulating the world are different from mainstream Canadian culture. The recognition of this is critical to addressing issues such as family violence. The use of holistic traditions and practices and the need to strengthen connections between women, their families and communities is essential. We are turning our communities into healthier communities by viewing things through a holistic perspective.⁹¹

Many of the Aboriginal Women’s Program family violence projects that directly or indirectly addressed public awareness helped to heighten awareness and knowledge of family violence issues and strengthen intergenerational connections in communities. Others employed traditional healing methods and supports that enabled women living in abusive situations, or coping with abuse from the past, to strengthen their social connections, acquire new skills, develop positive relationships with their partners, children and families, and achieve self-sufficiency. Training and skills development projects helped to enrich the assets available to communities to address family violence, such as knowledge and skills (e.g. leadership, conflict resolution, crisis management). Information gathering, planning and strategy development projects contributed to community capacity to identify problems, open up community dialogue, develop plans and solutions and mobilize.

The evaluation also found that knowledge about Aboriginal approaches to address family violence is growing and should be shared to build promising practices. Information sharing and exchange can inspire, lend support and motivate others, and foster ongoing innovation.

AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES — STRENGTHENED ABILITY OF THE SHELTER SYSTEM TO RESPOND TO FAMILY VIOLENCE

The shelter system is a vital part of the response to family violence in Canada. Over the past 25 years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has, through various housing programs⁹², assisted in the acquisition, construction and enhancements of family violence shelters. Since 1995, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has provided financial assistance for shelters and second-stage housing under the Shelter Enhancement Program (SEP). The SEP provides capital funds to upgrade existing shelters for women and children who are victims of violence and, in certain circumstances, provides additional emergency units and second-stage housing where there is a service gap and where sponsors have obtained operating funding. This includes facilities in First Nations communities. Since 1999, with funding provided through the National Homelessness Initiative, the SEP was expanded to provide assistance for shelters and second-stage housing for youth who experience family violence.

The SEP has contributed in significant ways to the development of a more collaborative, coordinated and effective community response to address family violence. Family Violence Initiative and other sources of funding for the SEP have contributed to the development of partnerships and collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and First Nations; facilitated leveraging of other funding; and encouraged the combination of federal funding with other sources of funding to strengthen community responses to family violence.

One of the continuing challenges is the lack of shelters and culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal peoples living on-reserve or in rural or remote communities who are victims of family violence. Consequently, many Aboriginal victims of family violence living in rural or remote settings (including on-reserve communities) still have had to leave their home communities in order to escape from violent situations. Over the past five years,

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation continued to partner with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to begin to address the ongoing need for shelters and related support services within First Nations communities.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, with funding from the Family Violence Initiative and other sources, planned to provide financial assistance to upgrade existing shelters and second-stage housing, and in certain circumstances, provide additional emergency shelter units and second-stage housing, where there was a service gap. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada planned to support the operational costs of on-reserve shelters and covered the costs of off-reserve shelters and services used by First Nations people who ordinarily reside on-reserve.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation approved 50 additional shelters for victims of family violence (including First Nations communities and youth), creating 677 new shelter spaces. During the same period, through the SEP, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation made financial contribution commitments to enhance 75% of existing shelters and second-stage housing (380 shelters with 2,100 units). From 1997/98 to 2001/02 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation committed $51.34 million ($9.5 million funded from the Family Violence Initiative)⁹³ on new shelters and shelter enhancements for victims of family violence (including shelters for youth as well as shelters and shelter enhancements in First Nations communities).

Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Quebec and Saskatchewan) entered into cost-sharing agreements that contributed an additional $4.458 million toward more shelters and enhancements. These partnerships increased the reach of the SEP, and the Family Violence Initiative, in terms of the number of shelters that have received funding and improved community responses to family violence.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation constructed 14 on-reserve shelters, which increased the stock to some 50 shelters. Locating shelters within First Nations communities has improved First Nations people’s access to culturally appropriate services and provided a viable option for victims of family violence within their respective communities. From 1997/98 to 2001/02, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provided over $30 million in operating funding to these shelters. From 1997/98 to 2001/02 on-reserve shelters assisted 20,000 people from 176 First Nations communities. In addition, over the same period Indian and Northern Affairs Canada provided $2.3 million in funding that enabled 1,000 people annually to access provincial/territorial emergency shelters located off-reserve.

Following a meeting of managers of transition houses on reserve, sponsored by the Family Violence Initiative in 1999, a National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence was founded to address family violence issues in Aboriginal communities. The Circle, including its Web site, is currently supported by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Status of Women Canada.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Evaluation of the SEP⁹⁴ found that from 1995/96 to 2000/01, over 70% of family violence shelters applied for SEP funding for repairs and enhancements, and 93% of these shelters had obtained SEP funds. SEP expenditures substantially improved family violence shelter conditions — from 20% rated “good-to-excellent” by shelter staff in 1995, to 50% rated “good too excellent” by shelter staff in 2001. As a result, 58% of shelters reduced their maintenance costs and 50% of shelters had fewer physical breakdowns. Two thirds of shelters that received SEP funding indicated that the repairs would not have been possible without SEP funding. The evaluation further found that the condition of shelters is a success factor for clients, in terms of helping them address their family violence situations, including improving their feelings of personal security and their sense of self-esteem and well-being. Enhancements also enabled shelters to better meet the needs of children and to improve access for persons with disabilities.

Surveys of provincial, territorial and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada partners conducted as part of the SEP evaluation found high levels of collaboration and coordination among partners in addressing family violence problems, including formal coordination committees. More than half of those surveyed reported that the Family Violence Initiative had strengthened partnerships and coordination and half reported that the SEP specifically had contributed to the development and/or adoption of more effective family violence policies and programs.

Although the SEP has had significant positive impacts over the past five years, there is a continuing need for additional funding. Over half of the family violence shelters in Canada indicate a need for basic repairs⁹⁵ and other enhancements, such as improvements to security (45%) and children’s play areas (45%). Ninety per cent of provincial, territorial and Indian and Northern Affairs funders regard security improvements as the highest priority. Improving access for persons with disabilities (58%) also remains a high priority.⁹⁶In addition to the need for basic repairs and improvements, there is a need for security enhancements (such as alarms, surveillance equipment, intercom systems, access controlled doors, bullet-proof glass) and improvements to indoor and outdoor child play areas.

The SEP evaluation also found that there is still a high need for additional units or shelters in Canada. Of 391 shelters responding to the SEP evaluation survey of shelters, 23% identified a need for more first-stage beds/units and 35% identified a need for more second-stage units. Provincial/territorial and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada partners also indicated that there are “significant” needs for new shelters and shelter units (both emergency housing and second-stage).

Youth homelessness in Canada has emerged as a significant issue. An environmental scan of youth homelessness commissioned by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation found that while the problems of homeless youth vary regionally, family breakdown was identified as one of the first three primary causes of homelessness nationwide.⁹⁸ The SEP evaluation⁹⁹ of the first two years of the youth component of the SEP found that most youth shelters surveyed identified family violence as the primary presenting problem of their clients, with 79% of their clients having experienced some form of family violence. The evaluation of youth shelters found that one quarter of SEP-funded youth shelters had increased their bed space; over 90% improved the shelter’s physical condition; 80% made upgrades to fire safety and other safety features; 40% had improved other security features; and 20% had improved wheelchair accessibility. In some cases, SEP funding helped to improve shelter capacity to obtain other program funding dollars, by improving the amount of useable space and bringing the spaces up to the standards required to access municipal funding.¹⁰⁰ Although the need for youth shelters has not been quantified at this time, the evaluation findings suggest that there is a continuing need for program funding for additional shelters as well as improvements in existing shelters to meet the needs of youth, including youth affected by family violence.

Insights: Strengthened ability of the shelter system to respond to family violence

Since its inception, the Family Violence Initiative has focussed on strengthening the criminal justice system by working together with its provincial and territorial counterparts and its partners in other sectors and disciplines. The Department of Justice Canada is responsible for ensuring that the Criminal Code of Canada effectively addresses family violence. The Department of Justice Canada works in partnership with provincial and territorial justice and law enforcement officials as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Correctional Service of Canada, and the Department of the Solicitor General to improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system through legislative and policy review and reform, public and professional education, research and support for programs and services. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police follows a collaborative and cooperative approach to addressing family violence in the many communities it serves in seven provinces and three territories. It links with local community organizations, including victim support services and shelters, and frequently leads or partners in community-based public awareness efforts. The Correctional Service of Canada contributes to the reduction of family violence perpetrated by federally sentenced offenders through risk assessment, case supervision and programming. The Department of National Defence provides military policing services as well as family and victim support services for Canadian Forces personnel.

In the past five years, the Department of Justice Canada, working with its provincial and territorial partners, effected important shifts in how the criminal law addresses family violence. Key amendments to the Criminal Code significantly improved the criminal justice legal framework for addressing family violence by offering better protection for the safety and security of victims; improving the protection of children from sexual exploitation; strengthening sentencing provisions (such as including a requirement that courts take into account the abuse of a spouse or a child as an aggravating factor in sentencing); and in refining penalties related to the anti-stalking legislation created in 1993 (offence of criminal harassment).

Provincial and territorial support to improve the criminal justice response to family violence is strong, although not all jurisdictions follow the same approaches. Since 1995, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Alberta, and the Yukon territory have proclaimed specific legislation and measures to address family violence. Some jurisdictions have implemented dedicated family violence courts and are exploring alternative measures and restorative justice approaches.

The Department of Justice Canada works very closely with its provincial and territorial counterparts to research, assess and evaluate the effectiveness of new legislative provisions and related measures that pertain to family violence.¹⁰¹

Public and Legal Education and Information (PLEI) and Program/Service Development

The Department of Justice Canada continued to support the development, testing, translation and printing of family violence public and legal education and information (PLEI) materials and also supported a number of innovative projects that provided legal information relating to family violence. One such project provided female victims of spousal abuse in rural or small communities with relevant legal information in a lipstick tube, providing them with access to information on how to safely get out of a violent relationships without alerting the abuser. Twenty-two thousand tubes were produced for distribution in Saskatchewan. The Department of Justice Canada also supported the development of an interactive Web site with tools that help youth assess their dating relationships and address unhealthy relationships. To further promote access to family violence law information, the Department of Justice Canada also developed an inventory of strategies and methods used by PLEI providers to get appropriate family violence related information to people living in rural areas. Intended to help PLEI providers, this inventory categorizes the various methods and makes recommendations regarding most promising practices.

A review of the effectiveness of some of the Department of Justice Canada’s own PLEI publications¹⁰² found that 96% of service providers and 82% of potential end-users of the information materials said the booklets were a useful way to get information across to those who may need help with respect to family violence.

Prevention and Treatment of Family Violence within the Federally Sentenced Offender Population

Over the past five years, the Correctional Service of Canada further refined its approach to offender assessment and family violence prevention and treatment programming. The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Tool (SARA) is now incorporated into the Service’s

Offender Management System, which will improve the quality and availability of accurate risk assessment to inform the case management, supervision and treatment needs of offenders at risk for spousal assault. Correctional Service of Canada also developed and implemented national High and Moderate Intensity Family Violence Prevention Programs, which have been internationally accredited. It has also developed a follow-up maintenance intervention program. Preliminary evaluation results of the High Intensity Family Violence Prevention Program suggest the program is successful at changing attitudes associated with intimate partner abuse and in improving prosocial skills use and relapse prevention planning; approximately 95% of the program participants in both the high and moderate intensity programs said that they would be able to use the skills learned in the program upon their release in the community. In 2002/03 the Correctional Service of Canada will begin a more comprehensive analysis of program outcomes, including impacts on recidivism. The Correctional Service of Canada’s family violence expertise and programs have been shared with other jurisdictions within Canada and internationally.¹⁰³

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, training remained a central focus of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s efforts to improve its capacity to respond to family violence incidents and prevent its recurrence. In addition to core cadet training on spousal assault, police sensitivity to victims and problem-solving techniques, the RCMP trained police officers, victims services coordinators and community volunteers on family violence issues and related topics.¹⁰⁴ It also created training resources, including An Investigative Guide for Sexual Offences. From 1997/98 to 2001/02, 270 police officers and other community professionals were trained in sexual assault investigations.¹⁰⁵ The RCMP shared its expertise with many visiting delegations. In addition, in 2002, the RCMP convened a national workshop on spousal/partner abuse for police officers from all RCMP divisions.

The Department of National Defence established a Military Family National Advisory Board, which includes the spouses of military personnel, to address Canadian Forces policies that affect military families, including family violence policy. The department conducted 18 family violence workshops across the country, aimed at military police, social workers, chaplains and Military Family Resource Centre staff. These workshops will enhance the response capability when incidents of family violence occur. The department has also developed a Victim Assistance Program and implemented a Canadian Forces member assistance program with access to a 1-800 line that offers confidential counselling services for members and their families.

The Family Violence Initiative promotes public awareness of family violence by providing Canadians with information about the risk factors associated with family violence, the systemic factors that underlie it, the consequences of violence, and insight into how to prevent violence and better protect victims when violence occurs. Much of this information is disseminated or made accessible to Canadians through the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (NCFV) which was created in 1982 to collect, develop and disseminate resource materials and other information on behalf of the Family Violence Initiative. The Family Violence Initiative also fosters open dialogue, through support for presentations, national and international conferences, workshops, training seminars and community programs. It creates awareness and promotes the adoption of best practices. Public discussion, including efforts targeted to specific population groups, helps Canadians plan, establish networks and mobilize to address family violence.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, the Family Violence Initiative planned to foster public awareness of family violence and reduce tolerance for its occurrence by:

Over 90% of respondents agree that the fact sheets are accurate, up-to-date, easy to understand and relevant (Impact Evaluation of the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence Fact Sheets, SPS Research and Evaluation, 1998)

99% of respondents stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received (Report on a Client Satisfaction Survey of Users of the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, CPR Associations, Inc. 1999)

95% of clients rated service levels good or excellent; 95% rated staff knowledgeable and helpful and materials useful, current and arriving on time (Report on the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence Client Satisfaction Postcard Survey, SPS Research & Evaluation, 2000)

The NCFV is the major national resource centre for Canadians seeking information and resources on family violence. It develops and maintains a resource collection of over 100 items such as fact sheets, reports, discussion papers and information kits. Information is available free of charge in English and French and in certain cases in other languages and alternative formats (Braille and audiocassette). It also offers an extensive reference collection, housed in the Health Canada departmental library and on-line bibliographic searching of approximately 10,000 items on family violence. It partners with the National Film Board and 34 libraries across Canada to offer over 100 family violence videos and provides an information directory and referral service (available through a toll-free line). The NCFV Web site, launched in this phase of the Family Violence Initiative, links to hundreds of local, provincial, national and international Web sites, including Family Violence Initiative partner Web sites and to the Canadian Health Network, facilitating easy access to federal information about family violence. Since the inception of the Canadian Health Network in 1999, the NCFV has been an affiliate partner that provides leadership, identifies, develops and reviews content, and helps to build networks. An enhanced version of the Web site was launched in August 2002, in compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat’s Common Look and Feel Initiative. The enhanced site is more interactive, with improved structure for files and a streamlined look within Health Canada, and it is expected to further increase the public access to federally maintained family violence information. NCFV users include governments, professionals, social service workers, educators, non-governmental organizations, researchers and the general public. Information is used for research, policy and program development, and education, training and awareness.

In 2002, a performance review of the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence was conducted.¹⁰⁶ Periodic client satisfaction surveys demonstrate that the NCFV quality of service and products remains high. While it has been successful in reaching out to all parts of the country, additional promotional work (especially in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta) would further expand reach. Partnerships, for example with the affiliates of the Canadian Health Network and with the National Film Board, have been an essential component of the NCFV Clearinghouse. The NCFV has also developed a framework for

evaluating the production, dissemination, knowledge uptake and knowledge transfer of family violence print materials. The performance review suggests that additional interactive dissemination strategies could increase the effectiveness of the NCFV in reaching intended audiences.

The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence requires Family Violence Initiative departments to deposit all information materials funded by the Family Violence Initiative with the NCFV. Many departments also disseminate materials through their own mechanisms and distribution strategies. For example, the Department of Justice Canada has created a Family Violence Initiative Web site that provides the justice perspective on key family violence issues and profiles the work that the department is undertaking to address these issues. Web site links between the NCFV and the Family Violence Initiative ensure access to all Family Violence Initiative materials. These complementary links ensure that Canadians who access federal family violence information via the Internet have multiple points of access. At the same time, NCFV will continue to review its operations to ensure it continues to provide cutting edge products and services.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, the Family Violence Initiative supported the research, development, production and dissemination of a range of professional and public education and awareness print products on family violence for professionals and service providers. For example, Health Canada undertook a range of strategies to further engage the health care sector in responding more effectively to violence. This included the development of resources and tools as well as providing opportunities for information exchange and networking, such as the March 2002 meeting that brought together representatives from key medical associations and researchers involved in child abuse, woman abuse and abuse of older adults to share information and network.

Evaluations of selected products suggests that information produced through the Family Violence Initiative has had a positive impact on raising awareness and changing practices. Survey respondents gave high ratings to the clarity, relevance and usefulness or helpfulness

that the resources provided in their everyday practices. The evaluations suggest that expanded efforts to address diversity issues could be considered. In addition more active and strategic dissemination strategies, such as interactive marketing through focus groups, workshops, information sessions, as well as the more commonly used dissemination methods (mail and Web) could expand reach and increase uptake.

In an evaluation of a series of three handbooks for service providers and educators that offer practical guidance in responding to children exposed to woman abuse and family violence, abuse during pregnancy, and woman abuse and the criminal justice system (Health Canada and the Department of Justice Canada), respondents rated the handbooks as As one respondent said, the comprehensive, accurate and important source handbook was a “great documents for both training and research. The learning tool... I am better evaluation found that 28.7% of respondents able to assess women and completed the survey. Of these, 49% said they understand the problem were “somewhat useful” and 50% said they were better.” “very useful.” Overall, respondents were pleased with the high quality, accuracy and usefulness of the materials and had, as a result, incorporated the knowledge into their practices. Almost 50% said that the handbooks had made “some” improvements to the better detection, intervention and management of victims exposed to family violence and at least 20% said that the handbooks had contributed “quite a lot” to these three types of improvements.¹⁰⁷

A five-year follow-up evaluation to the Abuse Prevention in Long Term Care Project

(Health Canada),¹⁰⁸ a cross-country effort to train trainers to raise awareness and education on abuse prevention in long-term care facilities, showed that this training had both immediate and long-term success in raising awareness and education and is still in demand for use as a companion training tool to new provincial legislation; as part of in-service and orientation training programs within health and social service-oriented education programs; and as part of presentations and workshops.

Case study evaluations of handbooks for professionals and other service providers on family violence topics, prepared by the Department of Justice Canada are generally positive. The Handbook on Criminal Harassment, produced in 1999, was a follow-up to the creation of the new offence of criminal harassment in the Criminal Code in 1993 and its strengthened amendments in 1997. It provides police and Crown prosecutors with guidelines to assist them in investigating and prosecuting criminal harassment cases and to promote an integrated and uniform approach to dealing with this crime. The handbook was very highly rated by those who responded to a feedback survey. Highest ratings are for the clarity of the document. One third of respondents strongly agreed that the handbook is easy to understand. Nine in ten agreed or strongly agreed that the overall quality of the handbook is excellent. About 87% of respondents

agreed that the overall quality was excellent. The family violence awareness training kit, The Silence is Deep, produced by the Métis National Council of Women, Inc. with the support of Department of Justice Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage, Health Canada and Status of Women Canada is a source of culturally appropriate effective, family violence intervention information for Aboriginal communities and service providers.

From 1997/98 to 2001/02, the Family Violence Initiative undertook and supported a range of activities to raise public awareness of family violence issues. At the national level, the

Statistics Canada series, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, has become one of the Family Violence Initiative’s major public education tools, with extensive media coverage.

The Department of National Defence included family violence issues in its Strengthening the Forces Campaign, an educational initiative focussing on healthy lifestyles. The department also developed and distributed a booklet, Canadian Forces Communities: Working Together to Prevent Family Violence (Department of National Defence in collaboration with the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Health Canada).

Department of Justice Canada provided support to Public Legal Education organizations across the country to update and print booklets, brochures or posters in languages in addition to English and French. These products include Caring for Children¹¹⁰ and Abuse is Wrong in Any Language.¹¹¹ Two key studies have suggested ways to improve the quality of and access to public information materials, including balancing national and locally relevant content; enhancing sensitivity to diversity issues; addressing a range of forms of abuse and focussing on the positive aspects of taking action and the use of effective presentation.¹¹²

The Family Violence Initiative also supported a range of community-driven projects that have raised public awareness of family violence. This included support for community demonstration or pilot projects, workshops and conferences aimed at education and increasing public awareness, and the development of guidebooks, community-based research and other resources (Department of Canadian Heritage, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Status of Women Canada). Although most information on the effectiveness of these activities is anecdotal, there is wide agreement among stakeholders that such activities contribute to raised awareness, to partnership development and capacity building, and to sustaining community momentum for action.

The importance of community engagement as a public awareness strategy is underscored by the work of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s public awareness initiative carried out in partnership with ethnic broadcasters across Canada. An evaluation¹¹³ of this initiative found that it had produced “outstanding” results, notably:

A series of 97 original television programs and 174 radio programs about healthy families and family violence prevention produced in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver for 48 ethnic/linguistic communities. The television programs were aired 502 times and the radio programs were aired 261 times.

An award winning multilingual public service announcement (PSA), “Violence hurts us all,” was produced by Rogers CFMT, Canada’s largest multilingual television station in partnership with the Shield of Athena, Montreal. Rogers produced the PSA in 14 languages and distributed it to 30 ethnic broadcasters and specialty channels across Canada. In the nine months following production, the PSA had a minimum of 600 showings by CFMT and 1,500 showings by key ethnic broadcasters across the country. This resulted in an estimated 3 million viewers.

This initiative has had further positive spin-offs. Social service organizations, including women’s shelters, police and ethnic groups continue to request the tapes for use in training. Six ethnic groups and one multi-ethnic group have asked the People’s Law School (Vancouver) to provide 18 seminars on a variety of family violence topics as a result of the school’s involvement in this public education initiative. These efforts have also helped to improve community capacity to address family violence¹¹⁴ and underscored the evaluation findings that prevention messages for ethnocultural communities are most effective when they are community specific, in the first language of each community and when people who are known and respected by the community deliver them. Ethnic media are an effective way to reach specific communities and overcome the suspected denial factor concerning the occurrence of family violence that persists in some communities. The communication strategy, partnership approach and lessons learned from this initiative can be used by other federal departments as a successful way to reach beyond linguistic and cultural barriers when delivering sensitive messages and information and is in keeping with the Department of Canadian Heritage’s commitment to oversee cross-government implementation of the Multiculturalism Act.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s orientation resources and educational materials continue to help newcomers understand Canadian values, laws and societal expectations and to understand that family violence in all its forms is against the law. The Canadian Orientation Abroad Program for prospective newcomers also includes information on Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and highlights information on women’s and children’s rights.

In 1996, the Immigration and Refugee Board updated Guidelines on Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution. These guidelines provide for the protection of women who fear persecution, including fear resulting from severe discrimination on grounds of gender or from acts of violence at the hands of private citizens where the state is unwilling or unable to provide adequate protection.

Canada’s new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, proclaimed on June 28, 2002 reduces the sponsorship duration for spouses, common-law and conjugal partners from 10 to 3 years to address concerns that domestic violence is aggravated by the dependency implied by sponsorship. The Act will also help to prevent domestic violence by banning individuals who have been convicted of a sexual or domestic violence offence from serving as a sponsor for a period of five years after completion of their sentence. The new legislation also requires the department to report annually to Parliament on gender impacts of the Act, which may provide future opportunities for the government of Canada to assess progress in addressing violence against immigrant and refugee women in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, through its community policing work in Aboriginal communities, continues to increase awareness of family violence in partnership with the communities it serves. In collaboration with the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, the RCMP prepared a review of family violence in Aboriginal communities.¹¹⁵ This partnership is now focussing on the implementation of a National Action Plan and includes a focus on raising public awareness.

Since its inception, the Family Violence Initiative has had a steady focus on the implementation of an intersectoral, multidisciplinary approach that will, over time, contribute to reduced occurrence in family violence in Canada. Over the past five years, it was expected that the Family Violence Initiative would continue to make steady, incremental progress toward this overarching Key Result through the Family Violence Initiative’s efforts to realize effective, efficient and coordinated federal policy development and programming on family violence issues, enhance prevention and improve community responses to family violence as well as enhance the implementation of community activities, increase public awareness and reduce societal tolerance of family violence.

The Family Violence Initiative continues to make significant steps in reducing occurrence of family violence. Over the past five years, together, all of the Family Violence Initiative activities helped to raise public awareness of family violence; improve the national information base; create and ensure access to knowledge, tools and resources; and implement specific reforms, programs and other measures to strengthen the justice and housing system’s response. Although it is not always possible to isolate the impact of the federal investment, this five-year summary clearly indicates that cumulatively, the federal investment is making a difference in Canada’s capacity to address this issue, from community to national levels. At the same time, it is widely recognized that reducing occurrence of family violence in Canada will take time and will continue to be a long-term, incremental process requiring ongoing federal investment.

The Family Violence Initiative — the key element of the federal strategy to address family violence in Canada — remains on a steady track and, according to survey findings, has continuing relevancy to Canadians.¹¹⁸ This Year Five Report shows that the Family Violence Initiative met its performance expectations for the reporting period. As a result, there have been advancements in the creation of an increasingly coordinated, collaborative approach to family violence.

Horizontal management remains an appropriate orientation for the government’s activity on the issue. However, there is need to refine the horizontal management process to ensure optimal efficiency and effectiveness and to improve collective accountability for results. Efforts to create better linkages with related federal initiatives, strategies and programs should continue. Performance reporting and evaluation information is also needed to refine the Family Violence Initiative strategy.

Although the Year Five Report clearly shows that progress has been made, family violence continues to exact a heavy toll on Canadian individuals, families and communities, and it continues to impose a high economic cost on Canadian taxpayers. With increased knowledge about the dynamics and consequences of family violence, new issues of concern have emerged — relating to the various forms, contexts and consequences of family violence. This in turn reinforces the need to focus even more intensely on factors that contribute to the problem and on effective strategies to prevent and respond to it. The abuse and neglect of children, for example, as well as the myriad consequences of children’s exposure to family violence, are today seen as being of even greater concern than was the case in the past.

One of the most pressing challenges is finding ways to address family violence issues in ways appropriate to the experiences, circumstances and needs of Canada’s diverse population and communities. The Family Violence Initiative will continue to focus its attention on the unique needs and circumstances of specific populations. The results of the past five years underscore the need to address the family violence issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples, people living in rural and remote communities, persons with disabilities and ethnocultural populations. Diversity is recognized as one of Canada’s strengths and there is commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive society.¹¹⁹ It is also appreciated that Canadian communities — whether distinguished by geography, ethnocultural background or physical abilities — face diverse challenges and have very distinct needs.¹²⁰

It is recognized that investment in families and children strengthens Canadian society.¹²¹This is why the federal government — through the Family Violence Initiative and related strategies — has been a key player in initiating and supporting efforts to address family violence, an issue that erodes the integrity of the most basic unit of Canadian communities — the family.

The Family Violence Initiative will build on earlier accomplishments and lessons learned. Given that aspects of the problem identified as requiring attention are already reflected in the Family Violence Initiative’s base documents,¹²² the core activities, objective and strategy of the Family Violence Initiative will be maintained over the next phase.

The Family Violence Initiative will continue to measure its achievements according to the following Key Results:

While social services are a provincial responsibility, it is notable that the social service sector accounts for the largest clientele seeking tools, information and resources developed and/or disseminated by the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. The Family Violence Initiative will continue to support the vital family violence prevention work of social service providers through such means as resource development (e.g., training manuals, inter-agency protocols, literature reviews).

Proposed activities of the Family Violence Initiative are consistent with current themes and priorities outlined in key government visioning and planning documents: “Feeling secure in our homes and on our streets [is] a fundamental right of Canadian citizenship...”

; “...focussing on prevention as much as punishment,...”

; “...[helping] Canadians make their urban and rural communities safe, liveable and self-sustaining”

; “...[ensuring] that families are given the support they need for the healthy development of their children”

; “...[striving] to ensure that, wherever possible, [the Government of Canada’s] actions and programs are coordinated....”

Family Violence Initiative member department mandates for the next phase are summarized in the chart below.

Addressing family violence issues in a diverse and changing society requires an organized, methodical approach. With a view to effective and efficient programming and policy development, the value of a horizontally managed and coordinated federal response continues to be recognized.

In 2000, the Auditor General’s report concluded that departments participating in a horizontally managed Family Violence Initiative must work together toward an overall objective and adopt a common vision for success.¹²⁸ Given that the issue of family violence is multi-faceted and relevant to a wide variety of sectors in Canadian society, an integrated and collaboratively organized response continues to be a prerequisite to maximizing the effectiveness of the Family Violence Initiative.

The model established by the current Family Violence Initiative, as captured through its Accountability Framework and Reporting Framework, is recognized as one of the very earliest and most useful examples of horizontal management. Those frameworks have been used as templates by other Canadian initiatives and in fact by other countries of the world. As the concept and practice of horizontal management have progressed, a continuing need to refine the process, methods and tools has also been recognized.

Over the next phase, the Family Violence Initiative will revitalize its approach to horizontal management, moving beyond information-sharing and networking to a greater emphasis on collective activity to produce resources and results that reflect multi-departmental input and collaboration. The Family Violence Initiative will work to expand multi-departmental representation on a variety of coordinating and collaborative committees. Such representation will add value within individual projects, avoid duplication of effort, and nurture cross-fertilization of knowledge.

Each Family Violence Initiative member department will continue to carry out activities specific to its own mandate. At the same time, all will strive to maximize the benefits of horizontal management. Mechanisms that will be considered include the following:

Development of mechanisms to enhance interdepartmental coordination of research, evaluation and information-gathering activities

Development of information and data base management systems as a foundation for a more sophisticated, ongoing process of information-sharing among FVI members

Regularization of mechanisms to ensure sharing of information on activities carried out by member departments (e.g., regular and more frequent meetings of the Interdepartmental Working Group, regular interdepartmental electronic bulletins, periodic newsletters published by the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence)

Improved interdepartmental activities for the coordination of public information dissemination via conferences and the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, such as:

Development and implementation of more effective federal inter-initiative collaboration (e.g., with the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention and the National Homelessness Initiative).

Given the added emphasis on the family violence concerns related to special populations (Aboriginal people, people living in rural and remote communities, people with disabilities and ethnocultural populations), the Family Violence Initiative will strengthen ties with national and community-based organizations that represent those specific populations, with the view to increase partnerships. These efforts will entail interdepartmental collaboration, especially involving Family Violence Initiative members with a special interest in these issues.

Since its establishment, the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence has formed valuable partnerships (e.g., with affiliates of the Canadian Health Network and with the National Film Board) to facilitate the dissemination of research findings and other information on behalf of the Family Violence Initiative. It will strengthen partnerships with the federal departments on whose behalf it functions. As mentioned above, the Family

Violence Initiative will establish mechanisms to facilitate ongoing member department input to and guidance of National Clearinghouse on Family Violence activities. Steps will be taken to increase use of the NCFV by all Family Violence Initiative member departments as a vehicle for dissemination of their publications related to family violence. The NCFV advisory committee — comprised of federal, provincial and territorial government officials and representatives of NGOs — will be revived, to ensure that the NCFV has access to advice from external partners.

The challenges of horizontally managing an initiative that spans 12 very distinct departments are amplified by the fact that horizontal management still remains largely in its infancy and there are no tested guidebooks to follow. While not all of the steps suggested above may be developed to perfection over the coming five years, the Family Violence Initiative expects to make significant progress and learn valuable lessons for the benefit of other multidepartmental initiatives.

While the Year Five Report confirms the continued relevance of the Family Violence Initiative, it has also pointed to areas of core activities requiring enhanced concentration to improve the operations and efficiencies of the Family Violence Initiative.

The Family Violence Initiative will work to increase its responsiveness to the diversity of the Canadian population by continuing to seek opportunities to address the family violence concerns and needs of special populations through programming, research and data collection.

The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence will continue to build on its success in response to the increasing demands of its clients and the evolving opportunities for diversified dissemination through an electronic platform. The Family Violence Initiative will regularly review NCFV operations to ensure that it continues to provide leading edge products and services and that it does so in the most effective and cost efficient fashion possible.

The public awareness research and evaluation presented in this Year Five Report points to the need to refine information dissemination strategies for particular audiences, especially within specific population sectors and professional groupings. New ways of extending the reach of dissemination tools will be developed. The Family Violence Initiative will also guard against the fragmentation of federal government sources of information on family violence. The NCFV will enhance its position as a single source for one-stop shopping for information on family violence.

In keeping with contemporary Treasury Board requirements regarding formats and standards for reporting and accountability procedures, the Family Violence Initiative’s Accountability Framework and Reporting Framework will be replaced with a Results-based Management and Accountability Framework (RMAF). Appropriate reporting time lines will be established in consultation with central agencies.

Family Violence Initiative member departments which receive funding through the ongoing $7 million additional allocation will evaluate, with portions of that funding, department-specific initiative programming. As well, the Family Violence Initiative will evaluate selected interdepartmental activities. This requirement and the evaluation strategy will be specified in the RMAF.

One of the purposes of this Year Five Report, as specified when the Family Violence Initiative was approved in 1996, is to “recommend whether a reconfiguration among activities is required to address what may have emerged as priorities/gaps” after five years. The review and planning which Family Violence Initiative members have carried out together in preparing this Year Five Report leads to the conclusion that, for many sound reasons, a reconfiguration of activities would not be appropriate at this time. Those reasons include the facts that member departments act on the basis of given and appropriate mandates that will not change, that there have been no indications that the activity being carried out under those mandates is inappropriate or non-productive in addressing family violence, and that there is no expectation of additional funding for this Family Violence Initiative in the immediate future.

With regard to the related question of resource allocation, however, the information on performance and the results of evaluations for the 1997–2002 period show that, with increased funding beyond the current $7 million allocated to seven departments, the Family Violence Initiative could have broader coverage and reach. The possibility of seeking additional funding may be considered in the course of the next phase, depending on the nature of productive developments and the enhancement to the business case that may result.

In the meantime, the Family Violence Initiative will partially address the needs identified in interdepartmental discussions through cooperative cost-sharing arrangements between member departments. Discussions for this purpose will be concluded in the near future so as to support projects of mutual benefit.

• Supports, advises and gives direction to the Interdepartmental Wo rking Group

• Deve lops and implements research strategy for Fam ily Violence Initiative Key R esults

Some departments also have coordinating mechanisms for their respective activities. In addition, member departments of the Family Violence Initiative address related issue activities through mechanisms such as the Interdepartmental Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation, the Federal-provincial-territorial Working Gro up o n New Id entities for Victim s in Life-threa tening Relation ships (NIVA) , an d the Metropo lis Project.

Family violence issues intersect with and are addressed through many other FPT mechanisms associated with other strategies and initiatives and thro ugh FPT ministerial mechanisms such as m eetings of m inisters responsible for sector or population specific issues, including the Status of Women, Justice, and Health.

Departments consult and partner with a range of external players and frequently establish working

54 Year Five Report
1. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2000, edited by Valerie Pottie Bunge and Daisy Locke (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2000, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p.11.
2. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001), pp. 11-13, 22.

3. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001), p. 19.

4. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 27.

5. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2001, edited by Catherine Trainor and Karen Mihorean (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2001, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 29.

6. For ease of reference, the departments, agencies and corporations are collectively referred to as

departments in this report. All of the above, except the Department of National Defence, which rejoined

the Family Violence Initiative in 1998/99, are signatories to the Family Violence Initiative

Accountability Framework and to the Reporting Framework established in 1997/98.

7. The other areas of focus are improving women’s economic status and achieving social justice.

8. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), pp. 8-9. In addition, because women experience more severe,

injurious and frequent violence than men, there may also be a higher tendency among women to report

to police than among men.

9. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2000, edited by Valerie Pottie Bunge and Daisy Locke (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2000, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p.11.

10. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 7.

11. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 6.

12. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 7.

Year Five Report 55

13. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 8.

14. Statistics Canada, “Homicides: 2001,” The Daily, September 25, 2002.

15. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 9.

16. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 9.

17. Statistics Canada, “Homicides: 2001,” The Daily, September 25, 2002. In 2001, police classified a total

of 183 homicides as family-related (52 more than in 2000). The 2001 figures are only slightly higher

than the average of 175 family-related homicides per year from 1991 to 2000.

18. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 11.

19. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 10.

20. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, “National Trends in Intimate Partner

Homicides, 1974–2000,” Juristat, Valerie Pottie Bunge (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for

Justice Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-002-X1E) 22:5, p. 10.

21. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 34.

22. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 34.

23. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 36.

24. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001), p. 19.

25. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001), pp. 11-13, 22.

56 Year Five Report

26. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, “Children W itnessing Family Violence,”

Juristat Mia Dauvergne and Holly Johnson (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2000, Cat. No. 85-002-X1E) 21:6, p. 3.

27. Health Canada, Dating Violence and Dating Abuse: Information from the National Clearinghouse on

Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, forthcoming). See also Helene Berman and Yasmin Jiwani, In

the Best Interests of the Girl Child: Phase II Report, January 2002; and Yasmin Jiwani et al. Violence

Prevention and the Girl Child: Final Report, December 1999.

28. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 27.

29. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 29.

30. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 29.

31. Department of Justice Canada, Spousal Abuse: A Fact Sheet from the Department of Justice Canada.

Available on-line: http://Canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/fm/spouseafs.html.Department of Justice Canada,

Child Abuse: A Fact Sheet from the Department of Justice Canada. Available on-line:

http://Canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/fm/childafs.html. Health Canada, Woman Abuse: Information from the

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002). Available on-line:

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/femabus_e.html.

32. Department of Justice Canada, Spousal Abuse: A Fact Sheet from the Department of Justice Canada.

Available on-line: http://Canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/fm/spouseafs.html.

33. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2001, edited by Catherine Trainor and Karen Mihorean (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2001, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), pp. 28-29.

34. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2001, edited by Catherine Trainor and Karen Mihorean (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2001, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 29.

35. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2001, edited by Catherine Trainor and Karen Mihorean (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2001, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), pp. 30-31.

36. Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Gathering Strength: Report of the Royal Commission on

Aboriginal Peoples, Vol. 3 (Ottawa: Supply and Services, 199 6).

37. Statistics Canada, data tabulations using 2001 Census and OECD definition of “rural.”

38. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1998).

Year Five Report 57

39. Bridget Rivers-Moore, Family Violence Against Women with Disabilities: Information from the

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 1993).

40. Dick Sobsey, Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities: The End of Silent Acceptance

(Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1994).

41. Department of Justice Canada, Spousal Abuse: A Fact Sheet from the Department of Justice Canada.

Available on-line: http://Canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/fm/spouseafs.html.

42. The Task Force on the Health Effects of Woman Abuse, The Health Effects of Woman Abuse: The

Routine Universal Com prehensive Screening (RUCS) Protocol (London, Ontario: Middlesex-London

Health Unit, 2000).

43. Department of Justice Canada, National Crime Prevention Centre, Personal Security Issues Concerning

Women and Girls. Available on-line:

http://www.prevention.gc.ca/en/library/publications/fact_sheets/security/personE.pdf Department of

Justice Canada, National Crime Prevention Centre, Policy Framework for Addressing Personal Security

Issues Concerning Women and Girls. Available on-line:

http://www.prevention.gc.ca/en/library/publications/women/policy/index.html.

44. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 14.

45. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 15-16.

46. United Nations, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Health Consequences of Violence

Against Women, edited by Angela Hawke (Italy: UNICEF Innocenti ResearchCentre, 2000).

47. Health Canada, Responding to Abuse during Pregnancy - Information from the National Clearinghouse

on Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2001).

48. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 38. See also J. Latimer, The Consequences of Child

Maltreatment: A Reference Guide for Health Practitioners. (Ottawa: Health Canada, 1998). Available

on-line: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsconsequencevio_e.html, and M. Suderman and P.

Jaffe, A Handbook for H ealth and Social Service Providers and Educators on Children Exposed to

Woman Abuse/Family Violence (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada,

1999).

49. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001), p. 28.

50. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), pp. 30-31.

58 Year Five Report

51. T. Day, The Health-Related Costs of Violence Against Women in Canada: The Tip of the Iceberg

(London, Ontario: Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, 1995); L. Greaves et

al., Selected Estimates of the Costs of Violence Against Women (London, Ontario: Centre for Research

on Violence Against Women and Children, 1995); R. Kerr and J. M cLean, Paying for Violence—Some

of the Costs of Violence Against Women in B.C. (British Columbia Ministry of Women’s Equality,

1996).

52. L. Greaves et al., Selected Estimates of the Costs of Violence Against Women (London, Ontario: Centre

for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, 1995)

53. EKOS Research Associates, Public Attitudes Toward Family Violence: A Syndicated Study. Final

Report (Ottawa: EKOS Research Associates, 2002).

54. EKOS Research Associates, Public Attitudes Toward Family Violence: A Syndicated Study. Final

Report (Ottawa: EKOS Research Associates, 2002).

55. SPR Associates, Inc., Family V iolence Initiative Environmental Scan. (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

56. SPR Associates, Inc., Family V iolence Initiative Environmental Scan. (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

57. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 18.

58. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002. Edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 18.

59. SPR Associates, Inc., Family V iolence Initiative Environmental Scan. (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

60. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), pp. 13-14.

61. SPR Associates, Inc., Family V iolence Initiative Environmental Scan. (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

62. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 18.

63. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical

Profile 2001. Edited by Catherine Trainor and Karen Mihorean (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian

Centre for Justice Statistics, 2001, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 30.

Year Five Report 59

64. SPR Associates, Inc., Family V iolence Initiative Environmental Scan. (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

65. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 18.

66. Federal, Provincial and Territorial M inisters Responsible for Social Services, In Unison: A Canadian

Approach to Disability Issues (Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, 1998),

http://socialunion.gc.ca/pwd/unison/unison_e.html.

67. SPR Associates, Inc., Family Violence Initiative Environmental Scan (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

68. SPR Associates, Inc., Family Violence Initiative Environmental Scan (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

69. SPR Associates, Inc., Family Violence Initiative Environmental Scan (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

70. Department of Justice Canada. Child Abuse: A Fact Sheet from the Department of Justice Canada.

Available on-line: http://Canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/fm/childafs.html.

71. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Gathering Strength; Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan. Available

on-line: http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/gs/index_e.html.

72. Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Family Violence In Canada: A Statistical

Profile, 2002, edited by Catherine Trainor (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice

Statistics, 2002, Cat. No. 85-224-X1E), p. 31.

73. David W olfe, Canadian Family Violence Statistics 2002: A Discussion Paper on Current Findings,

Gaps and Future Directions. Unpublished discussion paper for the Family Violence Initiative, 2002.

Canadian Family Violence Statistics 2002. SPR Associates, Inc., Family Violence Initiative

Environmental Scan (Toronto, 20 02 revised version September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to

Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence Initiative.

74. Consulting and Audit Canada, Horizontal Management Issues Study. Prepared for the Family Violence

Initiative Working Group, Health Canada (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002), p. 3.

75. Office of the Auditor General of Canada, “Managing Departments for Results and Managing Horizontal

Issues for Results,” Report of the Auditor General of Canada — December 2000, chapter 20. (Ottawa:

Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2000). This chapter is based on case studies of horizontally

managed initiatives, including the Family Violence Initiative.

60 Year Five Report

76. Consulting and Audit Canada, Horizontal Management Issues Study. Prepared for the Family Violence

Initiative Working Group, Health Canada (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002) and Office of the Auditor

General of Canada, “M anaging Departments for Results and Managing Horizontal Issues for Results,”

Report of the Auditor General of Canada — December 2000, chapter 20. (Ottawa: Office of the Auditor

General of Canada, 2000).

77. Department of Justice Canada, Evaluation Division. Summary of Evaluation Studies and Performance

Information on the Department of Justice Component of the Interdepartmental Family Violence

Initiative—Final Report. (Ottawa: 2002).

78. EKOS Research Associates, Public Attitudes Toward Family Violence: A Syndicated Survey—Final

Report (Ottawa: Ekos Research Associates, 2002).

79. An International Project Team is developing and coordinating this survey. It includes representatives

from UNICRI (the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute), HEUNI (the

European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control) and Statistics Canada.

80. For example, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has undertaken a research program funded

through provisions of the National Housing Act to explore issues that directly or indirectly relate to

family violence and homelessness. For example, published studies that directly relate include: Children

and Youth in Homeless Families: Shelter Spaces and Services; Enhancing Transition Shelters through

Renovations: Case Studies; and Documentation o f Best Practices addressing Homelessness. Research

studies indirectly related to family violence included studies on Cases and Conditions Contributing to

Family Homelessness and Approaches to Addressing Family Homelessness; Effects of Urban

Aboriginal Residential Mobility.

81. Status of Women Canada supported the Alliance of Five Research Centres on Violence to develop a

national strategy to address violence prevention and the girl child. An in-depth description of the

research, its findings and recommendations are presented in the Alliance report entitled In the Best

Interests of the Girl Child (January 2002). Status of Women Canada’s Policy Research Fund supports

independent, nationally relevant policy research. Six publications on issues of violence have been

supported; they addressed such topics as young women and homelessness in Canada, trafficking in

women (the Canadian dimension), custody and access disputes, and access to justice for abused

immigrant women in New Brunswick.

82. N. Trocmé, D. W olfe, Child Maltreatment in Canada: Selected Results from the Canadian Incidence

Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government

Services Canada, 2001).

83. Child Welfare in Canada 2000, released May 2002.

84. SPR Associates, Inc. Family Violence Initiative Environmental Scan (Toronto, 2002 revised version

September 16, 2002). Prepared under contract to Health Canada, on behalf of the Family Violence

Initiative.

85. Research on such topics as civil legislation relating to domestic violence (the results of this study are

being applied to the development of civil legal policies concerning violence in Manitoba); sexual

exploitation of youth; as well as the viability of second-stage housing. Health Canada,

Innovation/Knowledge Development: Alliance for Research Centres on Family Violence Policy

Development among NGO’s and all Levels of Government (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002). Case study

commissioned on behalf of the Family Violence Initiative.

Year Five Report 61

86. Initially funded by the Family Violence Initiative in 1992. Janet Currie, Evaluation of the Domestic

Violence Program (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2001).

87. Catherine Swift, The Family Violence Initiative Contribution to Community Capacity Building through

Community-based Programming to Reduce Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002).

88. Catherine Swift, The Family Violence Initiative Contribution to Community Capacity Building through

Community-based Programming to Reduce Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002).

89. Quoted in Catherine Swift, The Family V iolence Initiative Contribution to Community Capacity

Building through Community-based Programming to Reduce Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada,

2002). The network was originally funded through Health Canada; the 2001 evaluation was funded

through the Family Violence Initiative.

90. Department of Canadian Heritage, Aboriginal Women’s Program Family Violence Initiative Evaluation

Study—Final Report (Ottawa: Department of Canadian Heritage, 2002).

91. Learning Circle participant, quoted in Department of Canadian Heritage. Aboriginal Women’s Program

Family Violence Initiative Evaluation Study—Final Report.

92. This includes financial assistance for the construction and acquisition of shelters and second-stage

housing under the Non-Profit Housing Programs of the National Housing Act, and, since the late 198 0s,

through programs such as Project Haven, Next Step, and most recently, the Shelter Enhancement

Program which also provides funding for repairs and improvements in existing shelters and second-stage

housing.

93. Since 1999, through the National Homelessness Initiative (led by Human Resources Development

Canada), an additional $43 million was provided to the SEP over four years (1999/00 to 2002/03) to

expand support for shelters and second-stage housing for youth escaping family violence situations. The

reported commitment was partially funded through the National Homelessness Initiative’s enhancement

to the SEP . In addition, CMHC provided funding from its own resources.

94. SPR Associates, Inc., Shelter Enhancement Program Evaluation (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and

Housing Corporation, 2002). Note that this evaluation was completed in 2001 covering the period from

1995/96 to 2000/01 and does not include data from the 2001/02 fiscal year of SEP program activity.

95. This information is based on inspections that used the standards for the rental and rooming house

Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program as the basis for assessment.

96. The actual number of accessible shelters has doubled since 1994 from 146 to 305 shelters; this included

an increase from 44% in 1993/94 to 64% in 1997/98 to 68% in 1999/2000. New shelters have been

designed for wheelchair accessibility; improvements in wheelchair accessibility are a high priority for

the future.

97. This estimate includes additional repairs and enhancements for shelters that have received SEP funding

in the past; it does not include additional repairs that might arise in future years or increasing costs of

repairs over time related to inflation or any escalating costs associated with delayed repairs and/or

deteriorating conditions.

98. D. Kraus et al., Environmental Scan on Youth Homelessness, Final Report (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage

and Housing Corporation, 2001) p. 3. As cited in SPR Associates, Inc., Evaluation of the Youth

Component of the Shelter Enhancement Program (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation,

2002).

99. SPR Associates, Inc., Evaluation of the Youth Component of the Shelter Enhancement Program

(Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2002).

100. For example, one shelter created usable space in a basement area that could be used for a new skills

training program with funding for staff from Human Resources Development Canada programs. Another

shelter used SEP funding for improvements that enabled them to meet municipal community care

funding to hire more staff and improve their services for clients. Another shelter used SEP funding in

combination with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada funding and provincial solicitor general funding

to cover different aspects of its services.

101. See earlier references to the the Ad Hoc Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group Review Spousal

Abuse Policies and Legislation. Research includes assessing the impact of 1994 peace bond reforms;

collecting data from the Family Violence Court (Ottawa) to obtain demographic information and

processing variables for approximately 500 cases; examining spousal homicide trends through the

analysis of Statistics Canada data; and examining child victimization data that provides information on

the extent of offences involving children, victim and accused characteristics and case outcomes in terms

of dispositions and sentences.

102. Abuse is Wrong in Any Language (1995); Stalking is a Crime Called Criminal Harassment (1996) and

Peace Bonds (1996).

103. This included the Iowa Department of Correction; Her Majesty’s Prison Service in the United Kingdom

and consultations with the British Columbia Ministry of Corrections. Consultation with the Ontario

Ministry of Corrections and Victims’ Services will take place in fall 2002.

104. Topics included relationship violence; abuse of older adults; sexual assault; shaken baby syndrome;

bullying; crisis intervention; trauma, grieving, victims issues; court support; and suicide prevention.

105. Between 1999/2000 and 2001/02, approximately 180 officers and social workers were trained in the

Sexual Assault Investigators Course.

106. Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, Five Year Performance Review of the

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, April 2002).

107. Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, Effectiveness of Handbooks in

Addressing Issues of Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, March 2002).

108. Health Canada, Evaluation of the Abuse Prevention in Long Term Care Project (Ottawa: Health Canada,

March 2002).

109. Department of Justice Canada, Evaluation Division Summary of Evaluation Studies and Performance
Information on the Department of Justice Component of the Interdepartmental Family Violence
Initiative—Final Report (Ottawa: 2002).

110. Available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

111. Available in Hungarian, Serbian, Czech, and Romanian in addition to English, French, Chinese, Punjabi,
Spanish, Albanian. The brochure is also available in Braille and on audio-cassette.

112. Department of Justice Canada, Evaluation Division (August 13, 2002) Summary of Evaluation Studies
and Performance Information on the Department of Ju stice Component of the Interdepartmental Family
Violence Initiative—Final Report which summarizes the findings a PLEI needs assessment Department
of Justice Canada. Public Legal Education (PLEI) Family Violence Materials Needs Assessment Report
and the Review of Effectiveness of the Department of Justice Canada Public Legal Education
Publications.

113. Department of Canadian Heritage, Evaluation of the Fam ily Violence Initiative—Multiculturalism
Program. Final Report (Ottawa).

114. Catherine Swift, The Family Violence Initiative Contribution to Community Capacity Building through
Community-based Programming to Reduce Family Violence (Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002).
115. Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, Family Violence in Aboriginal Communities: A Review
(2001).

116. EKOS Research Associates, Public Attitudes Toward Family Violence: A syndicated Study—Final
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