About Us

RESOLVE Saskatchewan is part of RESOLVE, a prairie-based research network that co-ordinates and supports research aimed at ending violence, especially violence involving girls and women. RESOLVE creates partnerships among service agencies, government departments and universities across the prairie provinces. With offices in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the RESOLVE network is affiliated with the University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba, University of Regina, University of Alberta, University of Winnipeg, and Brandon University.

The goal of RESOLVE is to reduce the incidence and impact of violence and abuse by:

  • creating and evaluating strategies to address violence and abuse;
  • communicating our research results to the public and policy makers;
  • promoting education, awareness, and social change.

To accomplish this we:

  • work with community groups to identify areas where additional research needs to be done;
  • develop action-oriented research projects;
  • work in interdisciplinary teams in partnership with community groups and other universities and centres in Canada;
  • train students and members of the community organization in research methods.

RESOLVE is committed to supporting research that leads to positive results. Our work seeks to uncover the causes of violence and map out effective strategies to prevent and alleviate that violence. RESOLVE is one of five research centres on family violence and violence against women that the federal government established in 1992, following the 1989 murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal. The five centres have formed an alliance creating a national voice on the issue of family violence and undertaking national studies. Our initial focus was on the victimization of girls and women. However, this agenda has broadened over time in response to our growing understanding of violence in our society, without losing sight of the heightened risks faced by women and girls.

History

Family violence creates widespread social, legal, psychological, health and financial problems for tens of thousands of Canadians every year. In recognition of the need to address this very serious problem, the Manitoba Research Centre on Family Violence and Violence Against Women was established at the University of Manitoba in 1992. It was a collaborative endeavour of the three Manitoba Universities and a range of public and voluntary sector organizations. In its role as a regional centre, it was eager to work collaboratively with researchers and agencies in Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, becoming RESOLVE, now a regional research network with offices located at the University of Manitoba, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary.

The goal of this network is to undertake research which will offer practical, action-oriented ways to help end family violence. It is essential that we provide services for victims of family violence and intervention and treatment for offenders. We must also go beyond providing these services and eliminate the violence in our homes, schools and communities. Research can help us to uncover the causes of family violence. It can also generate effective strategies for action, and help us to use our limited resources in the most productive ways. RESOLVE research projects engage multi-disciplinary teams of academic researchers and representatives from community-based organizations.

A particular focus of the research is examining strategies to stop the intergenerational cycle of violence, examining programs for children in schools, shelters and community agencies and programs for parents in shelters, correctional institutions and community. What all of our projects have in common is active participation of community and university-based researchers and a commitment to produce results which are useful in policy and practice development as well as useful in the academic setting.

In the past years our network has expanded to include service providers, government policy makers and universities in all three provinces. Through RESOLVE, they work together and share information, to ensure that programs designed to serve our urban, rural, aboriginal and ethnic communities are based on the "best practices" of all three provinces.