Family Violence Initiative

COMPENDIUM OF PROMISING PRACTICES TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AND INCREASE SAFETY OF ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN CANADA – COMPENDIUM ANNEX: DETAILED PRACTICE DESCRIPTIONS

History:: Although the Sexual Abuse Intervention Program was introduced in British Columbia in 1990, the Native Education College only began to offer it to students in 1998. It has been on-going since then and has undergone many changes in scope as it grew larger and more students enrolled at the College.

Goals & Objectives:: To provide community based treatment, intervention, education and professional support for survivors of sexual abuse and their families.
Traditional/Indigenous ways:: Program group sessions include Elders, prayers, cultural teachings for participants, and activities that integrate as much culture as possible. Workshop sessions are closed with a talking circle.
Components of program:: This Aboriginal program is about addressing sexual abuse, and family violence. Its aim is to reduce suffering while improving healthy functioning by providing appropriate, timely and accessible assessment, treatment and/or support services to those who were sexually abused or suffered from the effects of family violence. Generally, clients are referred through child welfare, criminal justice or family law systems, but the college has a short-term "in-house" Sexual Abuse and Intervention Program for students, their families and anyone who comes through the doors here (these are family and self-referrals). The college's coordinator provides referrals to other services for clients. In this way, students have more accessibility to the program's services than those outside the college.
Services/How they work:: Services are provide onsite at the facility (college)
Funding:: Funding is provided through Vancouver Coastal Health.

Involvement of Target Groups:: N/A
Partners:: The British Columbia Ministry of Children and Family Development; Vancouver Coastal Health; Aboriginal Wellness Program; Ending Violence Association (EVA); Native Court worker and Counselling Association of British Columbia; Hey-Way'-Noqu' Healing Circle for Addictions Society; Vancouver Recovery Club; Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre; Headstart Programs [Eagle's Nest Preschool; Singing Frog Preschool; Sundance Daycare; Crabtree Corner; Kiwassa Neighbourhood House; Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House; Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House; Ray-Cam Community Centre Childcare Programs; YMCA/YWCA Daycare and After school Programs]; Aboriginal Wellness Program; Warriors Against Violence Society; Women against Violence against Women (WAVAW).
Other relationships:: Affordable housing programs.

Evaluation:: No evaluation has been completed.
Highlights of Evaluation Findings:: The report was not made available publicly, and no specific results can be provided.

Measures of Success:: Success is measured against student participant evaluation responses.
Achievements:: Awareness of family violence and sexual abuse is rising both within the college and the broader community; the college's 250 students know about the program, and raise awareness by word-of-mouth about the program's availability; a lot of the people who see the program coordinator do work through their issues. Statistics on group sessions and individual sessions keep rising. When college students are able to understand that why they behave in inappropriate ways is because of earlier life experiences, and talk about what concerns them, they do better in their studies and at home.
Challenges:: Obtaining funding. There is a lack of resources and staffing to handle increase in program demand.

Replication Advice:: The program is considered replicable. There are other Sexual Abuse Intervention Programs in the province (British Columbia). Policy direction for the program has been provided through provincial guidelines, originally developed in 1990 as the Sexual Abuse Intervention Program Guidelines on Standards. These were formally revised once and the current Guidelines for Sexual Abuse Intervention Programs have been in the process of a second revision since 2000/01. Every agreement throughout the province describes and identifies the deliverables, and what is needed to deliver the program.
Resources:: Adequate funding, human resources and facility space is needed to ensure program success.