Collaboration produced documentary on violence against women and girls

November 27, 2013 · 0 Comments

For the past year, an advisory group, made up of various community members from the Caledon and Dufferin areas, have united in discussions about violence against women and girls.
With financial support of the Status of Women Canada and in collaboration with the Social Innovation Research Group, Family Transition Place (FTP) has explored issues related to violence against women and girls in a rural setting.
The ultimate goal of the project was to develop a plan to make the community safer for women and girls and a documentary was produced to provide a legacy of the discussions and findings. Entitled The Voices Initiative: Engaging Brave Discussions about Violence against Women and Girls, the documentary is now complete.
A phenomenal amount of work has gone into the project evidenced by the following:
• Nine researchers worked on this project, (including the project director) — two transcribers, two placement students, two videographers, one lighting technician and one artist. There were dozens of meetings with the funder, FTP, the SIRG research team as well as with the Advisory Committee comprised of citizens from Caledon and Dufferin.
• Project deliverables were targeted to bring awareness of the issue of violence against women and girls in Caledon-Dufferin by developing a documentary outlining a community action plan.
Voices heard throughout this project included survivors; school personnel; social service agencies involved in direct support; law enforcement; faith communities; government representatives; media representatives; the LGBTQ community; male allies; people from the Caledon, Dufferin and Orangeville communities, representing various age ranges (youth, seniors, etc.), levels of education and different types of experience with violence.
Approximately 87 people were interviewed for this project either on an individual level or as a participant in a focus group.
Members of the public are invited to a public screening of the documentary, which will be held Dec. 10, at the Orangeville Town Hall Opera House, 87 Broadway, from 3 to 5 p.m. A short panel discussion will follow the viewing of the 40-minute documentary.
Although the viewing is open to the public, registration is required for seating. To register, email stacey@familytransitionplace.ca