Background

In 1992, the Manitoba Research Centre on Family Violence and Violence Against Women was established at the University of Manitoba in recognition of the need to address family violence. This research centre was a collaborative endeavour of the three Manitoba Universities (University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, and University of Brandon) and a range of public and voluntary sector organizations.

In 1997, with assistance from the Honourable Senator Sharon Carstairs, the Manitoba Research Centre began exploring ways to secure long-term funding.  It invited community agency representatives and academics from Alberta and Saskatchewan to join forces to create a tri-provincial research institute on family violence. The meeting resulted in the formation of a development committee to assist in broadening the Manitoba centre to include Alberta and Saskatchewan and the eventual renaming of the centre to RESOLVE (Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse).

Funding to establish and operate offices in Alberta and Saskatchewan for the first two years of the tri-provincial institute was obtained in 1999 from the Partnership Program of the National Crime Prevention Program Centre, and funding for the majority of RESOLVE’s ensuing infrastructure was provided by the Praireaction Foundation.

Regional Impact

Rates of IPV in the prairie provinces are amongst the highest in Canada. To address this, RESOLVE SK has engaged in a number of research projects aimed at reducing the incidence and impact of violence and abuse within Saskatchewan. Notable recent projects include:

  • Responding to Women Who Experience IPV in Rural Municipalities Across the Prairies, a study of the ways in which rural culture and context can impact experiences of IPV;
  • Examining the Nature & Context of IPV in the 2SLGBTQ Community, a study of IPV in queer communities;
  • Three Videos Project: Promoting Indigenous Approaches to Violence Prevention,a partnership with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation that led to the creation of a series of educational videos, and;
  • The RESOLVing Violence Podcast, a podcast with the goal of making knowledge more accessible by bringing in Saskatchewan researchers to discuss their work for an audience of stakeholders and individuals with lived experiences alike.

National Impact

Although the RESOLVE research network is based in the prairie provinces, our work has often been further reaching than the prairies alone. Examples of larger scale initiatives supported by RESOLVE SK include:

  • Canadian Observatory on the Justice System’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence, an international network for the coordination and promotion of research on intimate partner violence and the justice system;
  • Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms, & Indigenous People of Canada and Mexico, an international conference with a focus on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada and Mexico;
  • Gathering statements on the impacts of residential and day school for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Timeline

Research Activities

The Healing Journey: A Longitudinal Study of Women Who have Been Abused by Intimate Partners

A long-term study of intimate partner violence and its consequences on the lives of women in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Saskatchewan portion of the study was led by Dr. Mary Hampton.

Events/Presentations:

  • For RESOLVE Research Day 2010: “Bad Memories in the Bedroom: the Effects of cued recall on Sexuality in Intimate Partner Violence Survivors” (Danaka Safiunk, Whitney taylor, Meghan Woods)
  • Workshop: “Understanding the Healing Journeys: Building a Longitudinal Analysis Team” (Meghan Woods) – a 2-day workshop to create a new longitudinal data analysis team

Publications:

The Fourth 'R': Strategies for Healthy Youth Relationships

An interactive classroom curriculum that aims to reduce youth dating violence by addressing youth violence and bullying, unsafe sexual behaviour, and substance use. In 2005, pilot programs were started in Saskatchewan. RESOLVE SK assisted with data collection.

Program:

The Rainbow Support Network: Addressing violence and abuse toward South African children and youth

This University of Saskatchewan-funded project sought to develop intervention and prevention strategies to address the problem of violence and abuse toward children and youth. In addition to the research component of this project, the collaborators built upon the experiences of the 4th R program to design and implement a culturally sensitive, school-based curriculum to help South African children and youth develop healthy relationship skills with the goal of stopping the cycle of violence that appears to persist in this society.

In Each Other’s Hands: Community Allies Preventing Intimate Partner Violence

A project that sought to review and analyze police files of all murdered women between 1993 and 2005 in Saskatchewan, in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Centre.

Environmental Scan of Saskatchewan Services to Address Issues of Sexual Assault

Building on work conducted by RESOLVE Alberta and conducted in partnership with Saskatchewan Association of Sexual Assault Services, this project sought to examine services for addressing sexual assault available in Saskatchewan.

Canadian Observatory on the Justice System’s Response to Intimate Partner Violence

Launched to support interjurisdictional analysis on the justice system response to intimate partner violence. While housed at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick, Dr. Mary Hampton of RESOLVE SK served as a co-investigator.

Website:

Publications:

Saskatchewan Aboriginal Family Violence Programs

An evaluation of eight provincial Aboriginal family violence programs, funded by and conducted in partnership with Saskatchewan Justice. An evaluation of eight provincial Aboriginal family violence programs, funded by and conducted in partnership with Saskatchewan Justice.

Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms, & Indigenous People of Canada and Mexico

An international conference that took place in August 2008. Chaired by RESOLVE SK member Brenda Anderson, this conference sought to examine the big picture of the effects of colonialism on Indigenous people in Canada and Mexico, with specific attention on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Publications:

Evaluation of the Bridges of Hope Outreach Program

An evaluation of Transition House Regina's Bridges of Hope Outreach Project.

Events/Presentations:

Promoting Health and Wellness Through Community Development: Gathering Strength in the Community, One Step at a Time

A project to promote healthy lifestyles and community wellness through skills enhancement and community leadership. Conducted in partnership with Yellow Quill First Nation and funded by the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre.

Mothering in the Context of Domestic Violence in Canada and the United Kingdom: A Focus on the Experiences of First Nation and Migrant Women

A research project drawing upon the findings of a recently completed study on mothering in the context of domestic violence in Canada, but this time focused on the experiences of First Nation and migrant women in order to develop an intersectoral understanding of mothering in the context of domestic violence. It also involved a comparison between women in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Identifying Best Practices to Safely House Abused and Homeless Women

An environmental scan of the best practices to safely house women who have been abused and homeless by interviewing approximately women who have been abused by intimate partners and experienced homelessness to learn more about their perspectives on preventing homelessness.

Publications:

Conflict and abuse resulting from housing stress in Ghana and Saskatchewan

An SSHRC-funded project, conducted in partnership with Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan and communities in Ghana, that sought to develop a culturally appropriate definition for housing stress.

Statement Gathering for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

A statement gathering process undertaken on behalf of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Statement gatherers were hired to meet with and collect the experiences of former students, families, staff, and others with connections to Indian Residential Schools to assist in the creation of a permanent record of what happened in the Indian Residential Schools. This process included a gathering hosted at the First Nations University of Canada in which individuals looking to share their statements were invited to meet with the research team and potentially provide their statements.

Rural and Northern Community Response to Intimate Partner Violence

A Community-University Research Alliance project led by RESOLVE SK that sought to enhance our understanding of current community responses to intimate partner violence in rural and northern regions of the Canadian Prairie provinces. As part of this project, an additional project entitled “Using technology to make information available to victims of IPV across Saskatchewan” later sought to make a comprehensive list of service providers available to the public, as well as to try and ensure that victims of IPV receive the best support possible in communities where IPV specific services are not present.

Website:

Publications:

Improving end-of-life care in First Nations communities: Generating a theory of change to guide program and policy development and Completing the circle: End of life health care with Aboriginal families

Intervention research with the goal of improving end-of -life care in four First Nations communities through developing palliative care programs and creating a culturally appropriate theory of change to guide palliative care program and policy development nationally. The knowledge gained in this process was later translated into videos and culturally appropriate curriculums for health care providers who deliver end of life care to Aboriginal families

Videos:

Publications:

Circles of Learning, Cycles of Change: Engaging Community in Knowledge Translation Activities Regarding Child Sexual Abuse and Residential Schools

A community-based project that sought to develop sensitive and culturally meaningful educational materials for raising awareness of child sexual abuse and the legacy of the residential school system.

Events/Presentations:

Women targets’ experiences of stalking

A project conducted in partnership with Family Service Regina that sought to collect stories and experiences of women targets of stalking in Regina.

Publications:

Digging deep: Examining the root causes of HIV and AIDS among Aboriginal women and their families

Conducted in partnership with the various First Nations communities and health programs, this CIHR-funded project sought to understand complex Indigenous social determinants of health that interact to produce higher rates of IDU, HIV and AIDS, and HCV; develop community and asset-based solutions that are culturally safe; develop research capacity of Indigenous communities; and facilitate a surveillance program at ANHAN related to on-site testing.

Assessing domestic violence in the Jewish communities of the prairie provinces

In partnership with Jewish Family Service Edmonton, Jewish Family Service Winnipeg, and Chabad Jewish Centre of Regina, this project sought to better understand domestic violence within the Jewish communities of each province, looking at scope, service needs, barriers to services, and victims’ communication of experiences.

Publications:

Canadian domestic homicide prevention initiative for vulnerable populations

This SSHRC-funded project, featuring Mary Hampton as a co-investigator, sought to bring researchers and practitioners together to foster collaborative, cross-sectoral research to identify unique individual and community-level risk factors which may increase exposure to violence for particular populations. RESOLVE SK supported this project until Mary Hampton’s retirement in 2018, prompting her to step away.

Website:

The multi-faces of IPV Across the Prairie Provinces: Men as Victims

This project was the result of a special call-out by the Prairieaction Foundation for tri-provincial research to examine men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) across the prairies. It was initiated by The Laurel Centre in Winnipeg and involved academics from the three RESOLVE Centres. In Saskatchwan, Family Service Regina and Family Service Saskatoon served as community partners.

Publications:

Clare’s Law

Darlene Juschka represented RESOLVE SK on a committee spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General to consult on developing a Provincial Plan on Interpersonal and Family Violence. The end result was the passing of Clare’s Law, a provincial law which allows police to release information about someone’s abusive past if they believe that person’s partner to be at risk.

Legislation:

Weaving Reconciliation Into Our Network

A project intended to engage Indigenous community leaders and elders in conversations to help determine how best to support these communities with domestic violence and anti-violence support in the spirit of reconciliation. A report was written and later shared with the RESOLVE SK steering committee.

Environmental Scan of Gender Equality Seeking Organizations in Saskatchewan

A situational analysis and content analysis of gender equality-seeking organizations throughout the province with the goal of identifying equality-seeking organizations within the region; depicting the economic, social, and political landscape in which they operate; and providing an analysis of gaps, opportunities, and emerging issues relevant to WAGE’s initiatives.

Publications:

Responding to Women Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Municipalities Across the Prairies

A study exploring rural women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) and help-seeking across the Prairie Provinces. This research sought to address knowledge gaps through a qualitative examination of rural women that documented the ways in which rural culture and context impact their experience of IPV, how these experiences interact with co-occurring challenges experienced by women, and the barriers and challenges that occur within this context as women seek help. The project involved researchers from RESOLVE Centres in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Publications:

Attachment & Child Health (ATTACH) Program: Promoting Vulnerable Children’s Health at Scale

RESOLVE SK received CIHR funding to undertake an effectiveness-implementation hybrid (EIH) design study of ATTACH, a parenting program, to be implemented at community agencies across the Prairie Provinces, for families of preschoolers affected by toxic stress. RESOLVE SK continued as co-investigator with the ATTACH project as led by Nicole Letourneau of RESOLVE AB.

Website:

Publications:

Three Videos Project: Promoting Indigenous Approaches to Violence Prevention

A project to create three short training videos involving Indigenous men from rural, remote, and/or northern communities, who may or may not have been affected by interpersonal violence, themselves. The videos were intended to reflect on colonialist legacies around gender and intergenerational trauma and Indigenous ways of choosing healing action. This project emerged from a collaborative knowledge mobilization request made to RESOLVE SK Director, Dr. Karen Wood, addressing interpersonal and gendered violence in local First Nations communities. Executive Director of Saskatchewan’s Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services (PATHS) passed on a request received from a First Nation for video resources to be used in men’s violence prevention groups. The videos offer a vital resource for First Nations and Métis communities, wherever internet access is limited.

Events/Conferences:

RESOLVE Saskatchewan Antiviolence Research Network (SAvR)

The Saskatchewan Anti-Violence Research Collaboration Tool was developed to help with creating partnerships amongst service agencies and universities throughout the province for researching, creating, and evaluating strategies for addressing violence. It began with a provincial scan of stakeholders and researchers, then progressed to a needs assessment for the co-development of a research agenda and an invitation to interested parties to be founding partners in the SAvR network itself. The hope is that the SAvR Network will help members connect with one another and open the door to exciting future possibilities for work while also serving as a space for community members to support each other as they seek to conduct meaningful research in the field of gender-based violence.

Events/Conferences:

RESOLVing Violence Podcast

In line with RESOLVE’s goal to disseminate knowledge and bridge the gap between research and practice, RESOLVE SK launched the RESOLVing Violence Podcast. Through podcast episodes, we hoped to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the research community to applied stakeholders and people with lived experience through Saskatchewan, to make staying up to date on current research that much more accessible and efficient.

Website:

Indigenous Intercultural Skills for Clinicians: Placing Yourself in Relational Context to Enhance Your Professional Practice

RESOLVE SK helped promote an immersive retreat developed with Indigenous helping professionals. The program was designed to help participants create a safe space within their practice for Indigenous clients, families, and communities and will ask participants to engage in applied learning that will challenge them to explore how their own experiences, social context, and personal histories influence their practice as a mental health clinician.

Program:

RESOLVE SK retrospective

In hopes of helping to illuminate the role RESOLVE SK has played in Saskatchewan’s anti-violence research community over the years, a written retrospective of projects led and participated in was undertaken. While this retrospective is far from complete (due to some outputs now being unavailable), it still serves to highlight RESOLVE SK’s most valuable contributions.

AVA FSS Collaboration

RESOLVE SK, AVA, and FSS (Family Services are Saskatchewan) began collaborating on a project examining one of FSS’s IPV groups. This is part of a national study that aims to identify barriers and facilitators to improve outcomes for participants using gender-based violence programs across Canada.

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