Supporting BCs Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic

Supporting BC’s Children and Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence Presenters: Pakka Liu Training Coordinator Renée Turner, MPH Research Manager

Who We Are The BC Society of Transition Houses is a member-based, provincial umbrella organization in Canada. We support antiviolence workers providing support services and programs for women, children and youth experiencing violence.

Who We Support We provides support to Transition, Second and Third Stage Houses, Safe Homes and Prevention, Education, Advocacy Counselling and Empowerment (PEACE) programs for children and youth. We currently have 108 members and support over 131 housing and 86 PEACE programs throughout British Columbia, CANADA.

PEACE Program for Children and Youth Experiencing Violence PEACE program is a free, confidential counselling program across BC for children and youth aged 3 to 18 who have been exposed to violence.

PEACE Program Her. Story Ø Grew out of concern for the children of women who came to transition houses to flee violence. Ø 1991 Research about best ways to support children exposed to violence against their mothers. Ø Consultation with Dr. Peter Jaffee (London Family Court Clinic/Western University) and Minnesota Domestic Abuse Project Group. Ø 1992 6 Children Who Witness Abuse Programs were developed.

Public Awareness Campaign: “Love Doesn’t Hurt”

Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence • 3 -5 children in every school classroom are exposed to domestic violence (Jaffe, 1990). • Each year in Canada, up to 362, 000 children and youth are exposed to violence in the home (UNICEF, 2006). • In one day, over 929 women, youth and children were served by the PEACE programs in BC (BCSTH, 2018) and an additional 1, 322 children and youth were still on waitlists for services.

Children’s Experience to Violence Means… • Hear the violence. • Be used as a physical weapon. • Be forced to watch or participate in assaults. • Be forced to spy on a parent. • Be informed that they are to blame for the violence. • Be used as a hostage. • Defend a parent against the violence. • Intervene to stop the violence. • Telephone for emergency help. • See a parent’s injuries. • Have their own injuries and/or trauma to cope with. • Deal with a parent who alternates between violence and a caring role. • See parents being arrested. • Have to leave home with a parent, and/or experience dislocation from family, friends, and school.

PEACE Program Key Tenants: • Violence is Not Your Fault • You Are Not Alone • There are People Who Can Help

PEACE Program Goals To support children and youth: ü Feel safe, respected, valued, empowered, confident and heard. ü Successfully cope with adversity and minimize responses, including learning non-violent ways of resolving conflict. ü Understand their reactions are natural under the circumstances. ü Develop healthy and respectful ways of connecting. ü Identify and develop safety skills and strategies.

PEACE Program Framework • Psycho-educational Approach • Group and Individual Counselling • Support for the needs of the non-offending parent. • Deliver prevention activities in schools

Psycho-educational Approach • PEACE Program counsellors employ psycho-educational methods to help increase a participant’s ability to understand their experiences of violence, and adapt to them. • This helps program participants reduce the impacts, and alleviate the potential for social or behavioural challenges arising from experiencing violence.

Psycho-educational Approach • Psycho-education can benefit an individual’s mental state and functioning; enhance their skills for keeping themselves safe; reduce feelings of shame; improve self-esteem; and improve family relationships. • In a psycho-educational program, the locus of change is within the program participant; the counsellor's job is to empower the program participant through information and strategies.

PEACE is a 8 -12 week program: • Building Rapport, Identity, Self. Esteem. • Safety Planning. • VAW and Healthy Relationships. • Feelings and Communication. • Anger. • Boundaries and Self Care.

Individual Support Takes the form of a simple conversation about everyday events in the child’s life. Individual counselling is suitable for: • children and youth who are not ready for group counselling, and • program participants who need service when no group for their developmental age is available.

Group Support Format of group counselling • Create group based on developmental age is preferable • 3 is a group Benefits of group format: • Help reduce isolation and shame • learn from other’s experiences • Empowered through sharing

Support for Non-Offending Parent: • Provide information about PEACE services. • Assist with referrals for herself and/or children. • Explore strategies to minimize barriers for child’s participation. • Help her understand the impact violence has on her children. • Foster healthy relationship between mother and child.

PEACE Program:

Violence is Preventable Project (VIP) The VIP project offers a comprehensive provincial strategy for prevention and intervention activities that link schools and communities with PEACE programs.

The VIP program aims to: • End the silence in schools about violence against women by making services and support available to children and youth. • Increase teacher, school staff, parent, and student awareness about violence against women and its effects on children/youth exposed to violence in the home. We believe every student benefits from greater awareness of interpersonal issues.

VIP Goals: • Increase awareness and knowledge of the effects of violence on children and youth. • Challenge and change attitudes about the silence and misperceptions about violence against women. • Facilitate partnerships between schools and communities to PEACE programs. • Support educators to increase effective support services for children and youth in schools.

During the September 2018 - June 2019 school year: • 33 Counsellors delivered 624 VIP presentations to children, youth and educators from grades K-12 in 99 BC schools. • Overall, 107 educators and 8095 students participated in VIP presentations. • 130 children and youth were referred and 42 selfreferred to PEACE counselling programs.

VIP Curriculum: Age appropriate content based on developmental stage • Kindergarten – Grade 1 • Grade 2 • Grade 3 • Grade 4 -5 • Grade 6 -7 • Grade 8 - 12

Topics in VIP Curriculum • Violence against women and safety planning • Self Esteem • Emotional Expression • Healthy Relationships

Believe Project: Creating a Culture of Consent is a provincial response to sexual violence in BC schools.

• The BELIEVE project provides children and youth with school-based support and education around issues of sexual violence including healthy relationships, consent, harassment, technology misuse and resources. • Provides information to educators about how to respond to sexual violence, and prevent it from happening in our BC communities.