67% of all Canadians say they personally know at least one woman who has been sexually or physically assaulted (Canadian Women’s Foundation, 2012). Moreover, the implications of violence for women and their children are serious: in Canada, it is estimated that a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six days (Statistics Canada, 2011).  Recent Ontario research shows that shelters are more than just a bed to women and children fleeing abuse: they are a critical space that provides safety, practical support and links to community services that help them to live free from violence (Wathen for Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 2012). This one-day training is for professionals, students and volunteers working in family shelter settings. The presenter will provide a brief review of practical ways in which shelter workers and programming can support the complex needs of abused women and children.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine misconceptions and facts about violence against women and children, enhancing workers’ capacity to understand the needs of this population.
• Learn about the emotional, social, financial and community influences that directly or indirectly influence an abused woman’s decision to stay or leave an abusive relationship. Concrete recommendations and skill-building in this area will support shelter workers in responding to these contexts in their work with individual women.
• Learn cross-cultural solutions, strategies and effective interventions for supporting diverse women leaving violence that reflect anti-racist/anti-oppression theory and praxis.
• Learn specific considerations for working with abused trans women and children, as well as women and children fleeing abuse in same-sex relationships.
• Learn specific considerations for working with abused Indigenous women and children.