News Releases

News Releases May 8, 1998 FIVE CENTRES GET FEDERAL FUNDING FOR STRATEGY ON FAMILY VIOLENCE

WINNIPEG -- The Honourable Hedy Fry, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women), today announced that Status of Women Canada (SWC) has granted $250,000 to a network of research centres on family violence to help develop an SWC strategy to address violence against girls with emphasis on prevention. Dr. Fry announced the funding at the annual general meeting of the Alliance of Research Centres on Violence.

"The Alliance can bring insight, solid academic research and links to over 600 community and government partners to this deep-rooted and complex problem," said Dr. Fry. "For over five years, they have worked to build community and academic partnerships in their regions to carry out research and public education on the elimination of violence against women, children and family violence," she added.

The five centres are:

• Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, Fredericton, New Brunswick;
• Le Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur la Violence Familiale et la Violence Faite aux Femmes, St. Foy/Montreal, Quebec;
• Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, London, Ontario;
• Manitoba Research Centre on Family Violence and Violence Against Women, Winnipeg; and
• British Columbia/Yukon Feminist Research, Education, Development and Action, Vancouver.

"The family is the first context in which violence and unfair treatment in the life of a girl child is usually felt. It is where attitudes are formed and behaviours are learned," Dr. Fry said. "The goal of this ground-breaking initiative is to zero in on some key strategies that will make a difference in the lives of girls who are subjected to violence in its many forms, including the devastating effects of witnessing violence against their mothers," she said.

The initiative has been designed to produce concrete, change-oriented strategies with measurable outcomes. By reviewing existing academic and community-based research and examining existing intervention strategies, the Alliance will evaluate what is working, where the gaps are and what direction to take.

The regional centres will also consult widely through a series of regional round tables with experts from the community, academia and governments, including a cross-section of women's organizations in preparation for a national round table in the fall of 1998. The plan of action is to be available for implementation in October 1998.

The Women's Program of SWC is providing this funding as part of the federal government's Family Violence Initiative (FVI). In addition to FVI funding, SWC supports numerous community-based projects to prevent violence against women and children.

Funding for the Women's Program was provided for in the February 1998 federal budget and is, therefore, built into the existing fiscal framework.