Welcome
Fast Facts	Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
Feature Article	United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
New Resources in the NCFV	Publications, Library, Videos
Coming Soon to the NCFV	Publications
Key Dates and Events	Events
Potential Funding Source	National Crime Prevention Centre
Research	Dick Sobsey, J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre
Next Edition...	Family Violence in Rural Communities (September 2007)

The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence E-Bulletin is a quarterly newsletter for those interested in family violence prevention. It is produced by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on behalf of the Family Violence Initiative (FVI) of the Government of Canada.

We want to hear from you! Please send your comments and feedback to our editor at:
ncfv-cnivf@phac-aspc.gc.ca

The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect - 2003 reported that of all cases of substantiated child maltreatment investigations in Canada:

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In March, 2007, Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Although core UN human rights treaties already guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms to all persons, including persons with disabilities, most do not specifically prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability. This gap in the international human rights system, coupled with growing recognition in the international community that persons with disabilities are subject to systemic and widespread human rights abuses, was the rationale for the Convention.

The Convention includes protection from exploitation, violence and abuse for people with disabilities both within and outside the home. According to Article 16 of the Convention, States Parties shall:

• Take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, including their gender-based aspects.

• Take all appropriate measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse by ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for persons with disabilities and their families and caregivers, including through the provision of information and education on how to avoid, recognize and report instances of exploitation, violence and abuse.

• Take all appropriate measures to promote the physical, cognitive and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation, violence or abuse, including through the provision of protection services. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment that fosters the health, welfare, self-respect, dignity and autonomy of the person and takes into account gender- and age-specific needs.

• Put in place effective legislation and policies, including women- and child-focused legislation and policies, to ensure that instances of exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities are identified, investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.
  

Publications:

The NCFV offers over 130 publications, including overview papers, reports, discussion papers and handbooks on family violence issues. NCFV publications are available free of charge, in hard copy or online, in English and French and in alternative formats. To order, please visit our Web site or contact us.

New Publications for Distribution:

• Little Eyes, Little Ears: How Violence against a Mother Shapes Children as they Grow

Reference Collection:

The NCFV provides an extensive library reference collection, housed in the Health Canada Departmental Library. The following books may be borrowed through an interlibrary loan through your local public, academic, or institutional library. Please contact the NCFV for more information or visit our Web site: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/lib-eng.php

Abuse and neglect of adults with disabilities and seniors, by the Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B., 2006, 10 p.  Available:
http://www.legal-info-legale.nb.ca/showpub.asp?id=65&langid=1

Abuse and neglect of vulnerable adult populations, edited by Joanne Marlatt Otto, Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute, 2005, 464 p. [call no.:ncfv/HV6250.25/A167/2005]
Publisher's abstract:  http://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/anap.html

The victimization of children: emerging issues, edited by Janet L. Mullings, James W. Marquart, & Deborah J. Hartley, Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, 2003, 330 p. [call no.:
ncfv/HV6626.5/V642/2003] Publisher's abstract:
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sid=
GLCEG2CJBWNT8J40V4QAWVX16CAP67UE&sku=5128&AuthType=4

New to the Library Reference Collection:

Violence prevention toolkit (NWAC Youth Council), by the Native Women's Association of Canada. Ohsweken, ON : the Association, 2007 [call no.: ncfv/E98.Y68/V795/2007]
Also available online: http://www.nwac-hq.org/en/vpk.html

A conspiracy of love: living through and beyond childhood sexual abuse, by Wendy Read, Kelowna, BC : Northstone/Woodlake, 2006, 188 p. [call no.: ncfv/BV4596.25/R284/2006]
Publisher's abstract available: http://www.woodlakebooks.com/product_detail.taf?site_uid1=14958
&hallway_uid1=14961&search_id=&catalog_uid1=1551&link_type_uid1=&person
_id=&u_currency_id=127&_UserReference=FED0B5191635458746715C94

Promoting resilience in child welfare, edited by Robert J. Flynn, Peter M. Dudding, & James G. Barber, Ottawa : University of Ottawa Press, 2005, 449 p. [call no.: ncfv/HV715/P965/2005]

Videos:

In collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada, the NCFV offers a vast collection of videos that address family violence. Videos may be borrowed through NFB partner public libraries across Canada or through an interlibrary loan through your local public, academic, or institutional library. To obtain a complete list of videos, libraries and distributors, please contact us or vist our online video catalogue.

New to the Video Collection:

A Simple Gift:  Cycle of Hurt
Certain caregiver behaviours can frighten a young child and may contribute to his/her disorganized attachment. Consequently, serious emotional and behavioural problems can develop. This video is designed to help parents recognize and prevent potentially harmful interactions with their children, while providing insight to help them understand their behaviour. Simple examples of harmful caregiving behaviours are demonstrated with explanations of their effects on children. Additionally, more positive interactions are suggested.  Presented in clear language, this video is suitable for parents from many cultures (2005).

A Simple Gift:  Emotions
Negative emotions (anger, sadness, fear, jealousy) and the actions that may follow (e.g., temper tantrums, whining) are normal behaviours in young children. Research has shown that not learning to manage negative emotions in the early years may result in later problems. This video suggests how parents can help young children understand their feelings and express them in ways that are socially acceptable. The information is presented in clear language and is suitable for parents from many cultures (2000).

A Simple Gift: Comforting your Baby
This video addresses the importance of the parental attachment relationship to early infant development.  It uses attachment theory and related research to explain how parents or other caregivers can respond to infant cries. It also demonstrates how infants are likely to interpret caregivers’ responses. The information is presented in clear language and is suitable for parents from many cultures (1998).

Publications:

• Canada's Treatment Programs for Men Who Abuse their Partners (Update)
• Directory of Services and Programs for Abused Men in Canada (Update)
• Transition Houses and Shelters for Abused Women in Canada (Update)
• An update of the popular Vancouver Incest and Sexual Abuse Centre “Sexual Abuse Information Series”, which includes titles such as “When Boys Have Been Sexually Abused: A Guide for Young Boys” and “Sexual Abuse – What Happens When You Tell: A Guide for Children.”

(in chronological order)

August 2–4, 2007, Parenting Traumatized Children, Attachment and Trauma Network Conference, Excelsior Springs, MO, USA
http://www.radzebra.org/

September 18, 2007, International Conference on the Relationship between Animal Abuse and Human Violence, Oxford, UK
http://www.oxfordanimalethics.com/index.php?p=conference

October 9-11, 2007, Crime Reduction: Exploring Leading Practices International Conference, Banff, AB
http://www.crimereduction2007.com/

October 18–20, 2007, Complexities and Diversities: Creating Change in a Global Context, 15th International Nursing Conference of the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International (NNVAWI), London, ON
http://www.nnvawi.org/conferences.htm

October 25-26, 2007, Family Assessment and Intervention Training and Certification: Clinical Applications to Trauma, Child Abuse and Violence Risk Assessment, 25th Anniversary National Conference, Canadian Association of School Social Workers and Attendance Counsellors, Saskatoon, SK
http://casswac.ca

October 25–28, 2007, Relief, Recovery, and Restoration: Helping Men Heal from Sexual Abuse, MaleSurvivor 2007 International Conference, New York, USA
http://www.malesurvivor.org/  

November 5–6, 2007, 5th  Manitoba Provincial Conference on Family Violence Prevention, Manitoba Association of Family Violence Workers, Winnipeg, MB
http://www.mafvw.ca/

November 8-10, 2007, Canadian Conference on Elder Law, Vancouver, BC
http://www.ccels.ca/conferences.htm

November 11-13, 2007, Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference, Toronto, ON
http://www.injurypreventionconference.ca

November 18-21, 2007, XIth ISPCAN European Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.ispcan.org/euroconf2007/

October 5-8, 2008, Seventh North American Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Vancouver, BC
http://www.dontshake.org/Subject.aspx?CategoryID=32

National Crime Prevention Centre

In June, 2007, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, announced a focused approach for the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC). NCPC is realigning its funding programs to focus on evidence based interventions that directly address known risk factors for crime in high risk populations and places. Priorities for funding support include:

• Addressing early risk factors among vulnerable families, children and youth at risk;
• Responding to priority crime issues (youth gangs, drugs-related crime);
• Preventing recidivism among high risk groups; and
• Fostering prevention in Aboriginal communities.

Additional information – including timelines for calls for proposals – will be posted on the NCPC Web site in the near future.

Introducing Dick Sobsey, Canadian Family Violence Researcher

Dick Sobsey is the Director of the J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre and the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre.  His research and teaching interests fall into four primary areas:

• The relationship between violence and disability;
• The changes in families that occur as a result of having a child with a significant disability - focusing on positive changes;
• Ethical and human right issues, particularly as they relate to people with disabilities; and
• Best practices in community and educational inclusion for children with disabilities.

Some of Dick Sobsey’s recent publications on family violence against people with disabilities include:

Fudge, A. & Sobsey, D. (2007). Child maltreatment and developmental disabilities. In I. Brown & M. Percy (Eds.), A Comprehensive Guide to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Sobsey, D. (2007). Children with Disabilities. In B. Howe & C. Covell (Eds.), Children's Rights in Canada: A question of commitment (pp. 513-544). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Sobsey, D. (2006). Violence & disability. In W. M. Nehring (Ed.), Health promotion for persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities: The state of scientific evidence. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.

Sobsey, R. & Sobon, S. (2006). Violence, protection and empowerment in the lives of children and adults with disabilities. In R. Alaggia & C. Vine (Eds.), Cruel but not unusual: Violence in Canadian families (pp. 49-78). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Research Centre: The J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre is a research and training centre located within the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. It began operation in 1967.

The mission of the Centre is to provide research, training and some clinical services to people with developmental disabilities. Developmental disabilities include disorders that affect learning that are present at birth or originate during childhood years. The Centre’s staff conduct research in a broad range of areas related to children and adults with developmental disabilities, including violence against people with disabilities.

The Centre maintains a library of selected journals and books and publishes a semi-annual journal called the Developmental Disabilities Bulletin. The Centre also invites visiting professors and accepts international scholars whose areas of research and clinical interest are similar to the Centre's. The Centre organizes lectures, workshops, symposia and conferences.
For more information: http://www.ualberta.ca/~jpdasddc/INDEX.html

In The Next Edition:

The NCFV’s September E-Bulletin will focus on family violence in rural communities.

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Content of the NCFV E-Bulletin is provided as an information-sharing service and inclusion does not represent endorsement by the PHAC or FVI member departments.
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National Clearinghouse on Family Violence: Telephone 1-800-267-1291 or (613) 957-2938; TTY 1-800-465-7735 or 613-952-6396; Fax (613) 941-8930; Web site http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/nc-cn; e-mail ncfv-cnivf@phac-aspc.gc.ca