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Violence Against Women and Girls:
A Rural Response
  
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Violence Against Women and Girls: A
Rural Response is a collaborative project of the
Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, the Pictou County
Women’s Centre, and Every Women’s Centre in Sydney. The
project will look at the challenges facing girls and
young women in rural communities, and will work with
them to develop and implement community education
strategies, services, and supports that meet their
needs. |
| Objectives |
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This project aims to improve the lives of
women and girls in Northeastern Nova Scotia by reducing the
incidence of violence against them and by improving the
supports and services available. |
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Each of the three collaborating centres is examining a
different aspect of violence as it is experienced by women
and girls in rural areas. We are interested in how women
experience and respond to violence across different times in
their lives, and particularly want to capture the voices and
experiences of marginalized and racialized women who often
go unheard. |
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Through this project, we will strive: |
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- To reduce the violence experienced by senior women
- To reduce and better address sexual violence
experienced by women and girls from marginalized and
underserviced aboriginal and African Nova Scotian
communities
- To improve the situation of girls and young women in
rural areas
- To continue to deepen our collective understanding
and analysis of violence against women and girls in Nova
Scotia, and to improve access to services and supports
for women and girls in rural communities by sharing and
advancing our knowledge of women’s experiences and
better practices for service delivery.
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| Background |
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The need for this project was identified
through the work that the women’s centres have been doing
with women and girls. All three collaborating centres
serve rural areas, and recognize the distinct experiences
and particular challenges that girls and women from rural
and isolated areas face. Few studies have examined violence
in the lives of women living in rural communities, and even
fewer have documented violence and abuse against girls,
senior, and racialized women in rural areas. We need to know
more about what is happening with violence in rural
communities, and we need to involve survivors, service
providers, and community members in designing programs that
are sensitive to rural cultures and meet the needs of the
women and girls living in rural settings. This project
provides a step in that direction. |
| Activities |
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Rural Girls Project
[View Site] |
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The Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC)
will examine violence against adolescent girls and young
women. Through this project the AWRC will work with
adolescent girls in six diverse, rural communities to
identify from their perspective the forms of violence to
which they feel vulnerable and their specific service and
program needs. As well, the project will identify and work
with community agencies, community leaders and mentors to
identify ways in which the communities can reduce the
vulnerability of girls to violence. As part of the
initiative, the AWRC will organize and host a half-day
information and skills development session for agencies and
organizations that work with girls throughout Northeastern
Nova Scotia. The session will take place in April – more
information coming soon! For more information, please
contact site facilitator
Wyanne Sandler. |
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Sexual
Violence against Aboriginal and African Nova Scotian Women |
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The Pictou County Women’s Centre (PCWC) will work with
aboriginal and African Nova Scotian women to identify
community-based, culturally appropriate approaches for
improving services to and reducing the vulnerability of
women and girls to sexual violence. The project will also
bring together criminal justice, medical, and
community-based agencies to establish a collaborative,
culturally sensitive Sexual Assault Response Team with the
goal of establishing a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
program. The PCWC will organize and host a one day
information and skills development session for agencies and
organizations throughout Northeastern Nova Scotia that work
on issues related to sexual violence.
For more information, please contact site facilitator
Doreen Paris |
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Violence
against Senior Women [View
Document] |
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On Cape Breton Island, Every Woman's Centre (EWC) works
with a population of senior women that are vulnerable to a
number of forms of violence and abuse - financial, physical
and emotional. Through this project they will focus of
identifying and addressing these forms of violence by
working with senior women and agencies that provide supports
for senior women to identify gaps in services and identify
better practice programs. They will develop information
resources for seniors and the general public and meet with
community agencies that provide supports for seniors to talk
about ways of reducing the vulnerability of senior women to
violence. As well, they will develop a network of like
minded agencies and work with them to incorporate suggested
improvements into their services. As part of the initiative,
Every Woman's Centre will organize and host a one day
information and skills development session for agencies and
organizations that work with seniors throughout Northeastern
Nova Scotia.
For more information, please contact site facilitator
Wanda
Earhart |
Financial assistance for the project was provided by the
Women's Program Community Fund, Status of Women Canada.
Return to
AWRC
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