BC Association of Specialized Victim Assistance and Counselling Programs

Creating Stronger Safety Nets: Ending Violence Through Risk Assessment and Safety Planning
November 20-21, 2008
Best Western Hotel and Convention Centre
Richmond, BC

Keynote speakers: Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Ellen Pence, Stephen D Hart, Pat Ogden, Jacquelyn Campbell, Raven Bowen, Susan Davis. Keynotes and workshops focus on safety for clients and for workers, both physical and emotional. Specific topics include risk assessment, safety planning, gang violence, child protection, working with marginalized communities such as immigrant women and sex workers, and collaboration across sectors.

For workers and management in Stopping the Violence Counselling, Stopping the Violence Outreach and Community-Based Victim Assistance Programs, as well as members of community coordination initiatives and other relevant sectors.

Funding support from the Ministry of Housing and Social Development, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Department of Justice, Canada. 

Annual General Meeting:
November 20-21, 2008
Best Western Hotel and Convention Centre
Richmond, BC

September 16, 2008: Please note: There is an error in the pdf file below. In the workshop descriptions section (starting on page 8), we stated that November 20 was a Wednesday and November 21 was Thursday. OOPS! In fact, the Training Forum is Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21.

Download program (pdf)

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.

The BCASVACP and the Ending Relationship Abuse Society (ERA) have come together to manage this one-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, phone: Sandra Beggs at 250-559-8831 or 604-315-1134, or Habiba Rashid at 604-633-2506 (ext 10). Email: sandra@qcislands.net or renewing@qcislands.net.

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 Community Services Partners in Prevention Project

The BCASVACP and CCWS have worked with the RCMP, municipal police and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General to find ways that victims can get information to police without having to engage with the justice system. RCMP and municipal police in BC have now adopted a provincial protocol for third party reporting.

Download background document on Third Party Reporting (pdf).

Training sessions are now scheduled for Community-Based Victim Assistance workers, Police-Based Victim Assistance Workers and police. See Calendar of Events for training sessions in May and June 2008.

Download application form.

Training is funded by the National Policy Centre for Victim Issues and the RCMP Family Violence Initiative.

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.

The BCASVACP coordinates and delivers the twelve-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.