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Family Violence and the Justice Response |
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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: 
Sentencing in Family Violence Cases According to linked police and court records from 1997/98 to 2001/02:
Source:
The Rankin Inlet Spousal Abuse Counselling Program Spousal abuse is a serious social problem in Rankin Inlet. As a way to begin to address this problem, the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre, in partnership with a number of organizations, including the Government of Nunavut, the Department of Justice Canada and Public Safety Canada, developed the Rankin Inlet Spousal Abuse Counselling Program (SACP), the first program of its kind in Nunavut. As part of this work, a Spousal Abuse Counselling Program Manual was created in 2002 and revised in 2005 based on feedback from counsellors and other stakeholders. The SACP aims to reduce the incidence of spousal abuse in Rankin Inlet through the provision of culturally appropriate counselling services. The main counselling program, designed to provide an alternative to incarceration, is a court mandated program for abusers. There is also a program for victims of abuse and an educational outreach program. The Rankin Inlet Program relies on input and support from the community, particularly Elders, to ensure that it meets the needs of the community and incorporates traditional Inuit Knowledge. Evaluations of the Program point to several positive outcomes, including that parents, offenders and victims report that their children are happier at home, less nervous and fearful, performing better in school, spending more positive time with their fathers and demonstrating awareness of more appropriate ways to deal with conflict at home. The Rankin Inlet Spousal Abuse Counselling Program is an incredibly successful demonstration of the impact of empowering individuals and communities to develop solutions to violence and abuse. Other communities could potentially benefit from the SACP, but each community must develop a program specific to its own needs. A copy of the final evaluation of the Program is available in English, French and Inuktitut. If you would like an electronic copy, please contact Mireille Provost at MiProvos@JUSTICE.GC.CA
The NCFV offers over 130 publications, including overview papers, reports, discussion papers and handbooks on family violence issues. To preview our most recent publications, please see our What's New page. 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.
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 Resources on Family Violence and the Justice Response:Policy on the criminal justice system response to violence against women and children: violence against women in relationships policy, by the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General, Victoria, BC: the Ministry, 2004 (updated), 23 p. The development of the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the evaluation of risk (B-SAFER): a tool for criminal justice professionals, by P. Randall Kropp & Stephen D. Hart, Ottawa: Dept of Justice Canada, 2004, 74 p. [call no.: ncfv/HV6626/K93dev/2005]. Child protection and Canadian law: a service perspective, by Nora Rock, Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2005, 263 p. [call no.: ncfv/KE3515/R682/2005]. Canadian child welfare law: children, families and the state, by Nicholas C. Bala, Robin Vogl, & Joseph P. Hornick, Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 2004, 464 p. [call no.:ncfv/KE3515/B171/2004]. Youth exposed to domestic violence: a handbook for the juvenile justice system to enhance assessment and intervention strategies for youth from violent homes, by Linda L. Baker & Peter Jaffe, London, ON: Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System, 2003, 30 p. [call no.: ncfv/HV6626.29/C397juv/2003]. The challenge of children's rights for Canada, by Katherine Covell and R. Brian Howe, Finding a third option: the experience of the London Child Protection Mediation Project, by Alison Cunningham & Judy van Leeuwen, London, ON: Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System, 2006, 200 p. [call no.: ncfv/HV746.L6/C973/2006]. Trauma, trials and transformation: guiding sexual assault victims through the legal system and beyond, by Judith Daylen, Wendy van Tongeren Harvey & Dennis O'Toole, Toronto: Irwin Law, 2006, 524 p. [call no.: ncfv/KE8928/D273/2006]. Indian residential school abuse claims: a lawyer's guide to the adjudicative process, by Ken R. Halvorson, Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2005, 262 p. [call no.: ncfv/KE1312/H197/2005]. The rights of child victims and witnesses of crime: a compilation of selected provisions drawn from international and regional instruments, by the International Bureau for Children's Rights, Montréal: the Bureau, 2005, 208 p. Domestic violence front end pilot project, by the Manitoba Provincial Court, Winnipeg: Manitoba Courts, 2005, 2 v. Strengthening the voices of children: responding to the needs of children in the justice system, by the Newfoundland and Labrador Violence Prevention Initiative, Justice Issues Committee. St. John's: the Initiative, 2003, 16 p. Domestic violence action plan for Ontario, by the Ontario Women's Directorate. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, 2005, 17 p. Youth justice in Canada: a resource manual, by John Sawdon, Susan A. Reid-MacNevin & Bruce Edwin Kappel, Toronto: Canadian Training Institute, 2003, 308 p. [call no.: ncfv/KE9445/Y83/2003]. A vague and dangerous dance: the politics of justice for domestic assault victims in a rural county, by Marilyn Struthers, London: Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, 2001, 44 p. A guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, by Lee Tustin & Robert E. Lutes, Markham, ON: LexisNexis Canada/Butterworths, 2006, 287 p. [call no.: ncfv/KE9445.A328/T965/2007]. Surviving on hope is not enough: women's health, poverty, justice and income support in Manitoba, by Rhonda Wiebe & Paula Keirstead, Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence (Canada). Winnipeg: Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence, 2004, 39 p. 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. Recent additions to the Video Collection: Bad Kids? How to Create a Criminal Prisoners of Violence – Same Sex Partner Abuse Elder Abuse is Your Business - What Can You Do About it?
November 5 – 6, 2007, 5th Manitoba Provincial Conference on Family Violence Prevention, Manitoba Association of Family Violence Workers, Winnipeg, MB November 6, 2007, RESOLVE Research Day November 8 – 10, 2007, Canadian Conference on Elder Law, Vancouver, BC November 11 – 13, 2007, Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference, Toronto, ON November 18 – 21, 2007, XIth ISPCAN European Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, Lisbon, Portugal http://www.chadwickcenter.org/conference.htm March 16 – 19, 2008, Effective Early Learning Practices: Research, Policy and Practice, Banff, AB. April 4 – 5, 2008, Expanding Horizons for the Early Years 2008: Practice, Research and Promoting Change, Toronto, ON May 12 – 14, 2008, 2008 Joining Together: Changes and Challenges in Child Maltreatment, Calgary, AB July 7 – 9, 2008, 8th International Looking After Children Conference, Oxford, United Kingdom July 18 – 23, 2008, Building Grassroots Leadership for Social Justice, Washington, DC
Policy Centre for Victim Issues The Policy Centre for Victim Issues (PCVI), Department of Justice Canada, works toward improving the experience of victims of crime in the criminal justice system by pursuing a range of activities and initiatives to:
The PCVI has a close working relationship with the provinces and territories tasked with the responsibility for victim service delivery and the provision of criminal injuries compensation to victims of violent crime, where such programs exist. The PCVI engages in a number of activities that speak to its broad and multi-faceted mandate, including administering the Victims Fund. The Victims Fund is a grants and contributions fund designed to raise awareness and enhance services and assistance to victims of crime, and provide support to victims of crime as well as to governmental and non-governmental organizations to implement a wide range of projects and activities. For more information on the PCVI and the Victims Fund, please visit: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/voc/funding.html New Horizons for Seniors Program Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) - Elder Abuse Awareness Funding Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program helps to ensure that seniors benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their community. Building on this goal, new funding is available to foster the development of educational and awareness activities to help reduce the incidence of the abuse of older adults. Through this funding, new resources will be available to improve quality of life, safety and security for seniors. HRSDC is currently inviting proposals from non-profit organizations or coalitions for projects which increase knowledge and awareness of elder abuse. Projects must be national or regional in scope. Proposals must be postmarked by December 14, 2007. Detailed information and application forms can be found on the New Horizons for Seniors Program Web site at www.hrsdc.gc.ca.
Introducing Rupert Ross Rupert Ross has been an Assistant Crown Attorney in Kenora, Ontario since 1985, with primary responsibility for conducting criminal prosecutions in some 20 remote, fly-in Aboriginal communities in North-western Ontario. He published his first book, Dancing with a Ghost: Exploring Aboriginal Reality, in 1992 as a response to his growing conviction that western professionals were routinely misinterpreting Aboriginal people inside the courtroom and in many other settings. In 1992, he undertook a three-year secondment with The Aboriginal Justice Directorate, Justice Canada, travelling from the Yukon to Cape Breton Island. During this time, he explored Aboriginal community approaches to justice, with special emphasis on the development of community healing capacities. That research gave rise to his second book, Returning to the Teachings: Exploring Aboriginal Justice, in 1996. Both books have been re-issued by Penguin Books Canada, and are used in university and college courses across Canada and the United States. Rupert Ross has also prepared a discussion paper, “Exploring Criminal Justice and the Aboriginal Healing Paradigm”, advancing a new approach to understanding violence and abuse in Aboriginal communities. The Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System (CCFJS) formerly − the London Family Court Clinic − is a non-profit social service agency helping children and families involved with the justice system. The Centre’s applied research program identifies the needs of children and families as well as effective strategies for intervention. Types of research include literature reviews to support recommendations on program development and refinement; evaluation of intervention programs; consultation on research design; program audits; national program surveys; and studies on the impact of policy and legal changes. Recently, the CCFJS completed the What About Me study on children who have been exposed to violence, and the Centre is in the final stages of working with the Muslim Family Safety project to release a pamphlet on violence against women and the family entitled Family Safety, Family Harmony. CCFJS has also written an ethical protocol for research with vulnerable children and families. Copies of most of the Centre’s other research reports are available on the Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System Research Reports page. Intimate Partner Violence – Funding Announcement The Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research (MMFC) at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton has been awarded $2.1 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to establish a network promoting and coordinating multidisciplinary research from across Canada on intimate partner violence and the justice system. The Director of the Observatory is Dr. Carmen Gill, Director of the MMFC. Dr. Elizabeth Blaney, Research Associate at the MMFC, will be the coordinator of the Canadian Observatory, which is comprised of academics from 13 Canadian/international universities, plus representatives of counselling centres, family services and housing organizations, foundations and government departments. The Observatory is a national/international research network emphasizing continued bilingual dialogue and in-depth research on the justice system in all parts of the country and on the impact of its response to intimate partner violence. The Canadian Observatory will lay the groundwork for standardized national data sets on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence, with particular emphasis on civil legislation and specialized response units (e.g., police, court, prosecutions); and to develop regional, national and international forums for dissemination of inter-jurisdictional analyses and program/policy outcomes. An initiative of this magnitude is unique in Canada and will enable the Alliance of Canadian Research Centres on Violence, partner organizations and family violence researchers from across Canada and abroad to work together more effectively to conduct research and develop initiatives on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence. For more information on the Canadian Observatory, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Blaney at 506-458-7378 or blaney@unb.ca The NCFV’s January E-bulletin will focus on family violence and homelessness. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PASS IT ON: Please feel free to forward this E-Bulletin to a friend or colleague. Past bulletins can be viewed and searched on our website: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/EB/eb-archives-eng.php To subscribe or unsubscribe: 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 |
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