Ending Violence Association of British Columbia

Workshops and Training

For more information on Violence in Relationship and the Workplace training, download pdf here.

 

Numerous news stories in recent years have highlighted the fact that violence in relationships at home can easily cross over into the workplace, creating a lack of safety for all workers.  Workplace health and safety, performance and productivity, and costs to employers, both human and financial, are all at issue.

Violence in relationships can cause obvious negative impacts at any level of the workplace. For example, once there is an arrest made, the skilled or trained worker who is the aggressor is no longer available to work as they await trial in jail, or attend to the numerous court dates associated with criminal charges.   For the person victimized, it may mean taking time away from work to heal, or if they do attend work, their ability to function will likely be impacted by the physical and emotional injuries they have sustained.  Other staff may be put at increased risk by the actions of their co-workers’ violent partners.

The bottom line is that domestic violence does, without a doubt, take its toll on the workplace as well as the family home.  A healthy workplace, attuned to the signs of domestic violence, has the opportunity to recognize and assist its workers in ways that have the potential to improve the lives and safety of all its workers.

Creating Stronger Safety Nets: Ending Violence Through Risk Assessment and Safety Planning

On November 20-21, more than 300 participants from across BC gathered for our annual training forum. The conference included six expert keynotes and 15 workshops on a broad range of topics related to the physical and emotional safety of clients and workers in the anti-violence sector.

Specific topics included risk assessment, safety planning, gang violence, child protection, working with marginalized communities such as immigrant women and sex workers, and collaboration across sectors.

The Association thanks the Ministry of Housing and Social Development, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Department of Justice Canada for their financial support.

Program (pdf)

Download presentations
Several of our keynote speakers have generously authorized their presentations for download:

Susan Davis & Raven Bowen
Presentation (ppt) Part 1 | Part 2
Video

Dr Pat Ogden
Presentation (ppt)

Dr Jacquelyn Campbell
Keynote Presentation (ppt)
Workshop Presentation (ppt)
Video

Kelly Watt
Presentation (ppt)
Video

This new training has been developed by this Association in collaboration with the BC Yukon Society of Transition Houses. STV Outreach work incorporates supportive counselling, assistance and advocacy with other systems, anti-violence coordination, public education, etc. This Outreach training therefore incorporates information from the STV Counselling training, Community Based Victim Assistance Program Training, Community Coordination for Women’s Safety’s Community Leadership Training, and Transition House Worker training. There will be an emphasis on the particular skills and information that STV Outreach workers have informed us they need.

Training Description:
• Module 1: Working within a Feminist, Anti-Oppressive Framework; Reaching out to Diverse Communities; Crisis Intervention and Listening Skills; Advocacy, Ethics and Vicarious Trauma
• Module 2: Violence Against Women in Relationships and Criminal Harassment; Sexual Violence – Recent and Historical Sexual Assault; Criminal and Civil Justice Systems
• Module 3: Building Relationships with Other Services; Building Relationships with System Based Services; Coordination Initiatives on Violence Against Women; Public Education and Self Care

For training dates, see Calendar of Events. Please note, deadline for applications was August 7, 2008.

The Renewing Resources for Safer Communities Project is an innovative partnership between the anti-violence sector and the resource sector (particularly forestry and mining) that aims to improve the resource sector’s capacity to respond to violence in relationships.

EVA BC and the Ending Relationship Abuse Society (ERA) have come together to manage this 1-year violence prevention project, working in partnership with WorkSafe BC, the BC Federation of Labour and the United Steelworkers Union.

What is unique about this project is the focus on the resource industries and the partnerships with labour. While violence in relationships is not necessarily more common in these industries, project organizers chose to focus on them for two reasons:

• Including the needs of rural and isolated communities is important and these industries are major employers in rural and isolated communities.
• Involving men in speaking up about the issue of relationship violence is critical to creating safer and healthier communities, and these industries are operated by a predominantly male work force.

The action plan of the Renewing Resources for Safer Communities Project includes hosting free training sessions around the province in key areas identified by forestry and mining personnel. At these sessions, participants will learn what exactly defines “violence in relationships” as well as what constitutes an appropriate response from a corporate, union and individual perspective. They will also receive a Tool Kit on CD to assist with proactive prevention strategies, including a draft policy. The vision of this initiative is to reduce violence and to assist employers to develop skills and knowledge to respond. At the end of it all, we hope to make our communities a safe place to work and live.

Part of the Renewing Resources project is the film Men Speak Up, Ending Violence Together.

For further information and registration details, contact Sandra Beggs (250-559-8831 or 604-315-1134; sandra (at) qcislands.net or renewing (at) qcislands.net) or Habiba Rashid (604-633-2506 ext 10).

References
Klie, S. (2008, April 7). HR Canadian Reporter. Retrieved April 2008, 22, from HRReporter: http://www.hrreporter.com/loginarea/members/viewing.asp?ArticleNo=5966

A Ministry of Housing and Social Development Partners in Prevention Project.

A special two day training event that was jointly sponsored by this Association and the BC Women's Hospital to bring together for the first time staff from BC Hospitals and front line workers at Sexual Assault/Woman Assault centres and Specialized Victim Assistance programs. The event was funded by grants from the federal Department of Justice and the BC Ministries of Attorney General and Women's Equality.

A review process taken on by the Association in partnership with the Justice Institute of BC to review the 1993 fifteen-day curriculum for STV counsellors in relation to its current relevance and its compatibility with the Counselling Practice Guidelines.

EVA BC coordinates and delivers the 12-day "STV Feminist Counselling Core Training" course for STV counsellors in BC, with training subsidies provided by the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services. The curriculum provides basic knowledge and skills for STV counsellors.

Using the curriculum we developed with funding from the Ministry of Attorney General, the Association provides training on Records Management to various anti-violence organizations in BC and in other provinces as requested.

This initiative is a project to provide managers in women and victim serving organizations with expertise in areas such as human resources management, labour relations, organizational development, change management, financial management, clinical supervision, etc. Our Association is working in partnership with the BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses and the Justice Institute of BC with funding from Human Resources Development Canada and the Vancouver Foundation.

An initiative taken on by this Association to develop a specialized training event for STV Counsellors and others providing sexual violence counselling, to develop or enhance an effective knowledge base to work with women who have issues relating to both sexual violence and drugs and/or alcohol.