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Ottawa-Carleton Students Challenging Relationship Violence
About the Initiative
In Love and In Danger was developed as a collaboration between Family Services à la famille Ottawa, the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to address the rising concern about dating violence among youth and as much as possible, to stop the violence before it begins. It stemmed from a concern among school boards and local VAW agencies about violence in teenage dating relationships.
Alarming statistics were emerging in the 1990's that indicated that more and more youth were involved in dating relationships that were abusive. Young girls were being emotionally and physically abused and even murdered by their boyfriends. It was happening close to home: in 1991 Monica Speers, a 19 year old from Toronto, was viciously murdered by her boyfriend. Statistics were coming out of the United States that showed that 1 out of 4 young girls would experience dating violence before they graduated from high school. Canadian statistics were not far behind.
How the Program Works
In Love and In Danger reaches up to 35,000 students each year through two annual youth directed conferences, community outreach, and follow up projects and activities in local schools. Using a train-the-trainer format, teams of youth from each school come together for a dynamic and interactive day of learning about dating violence and woman abuse. Teams collect information and skills, develop action plans, and then go back to their schools with ideas, strategies, and plans to educate their peers. At the end of the school year, the teen trainers come back together to share their projects and celebrate their successes.
At the conferences, youth come together and learn about the indicators of abusive behaviour, the warning signs, the role of the media, how to create healthy relationships. The conferences address dating violence, violence in the family, woman abuse, violence in the media, and violence in diverse communities.
The model for ILID has been successful because...
Youth are engaged as part of the solution not as part of the problem. Every high school is invited to send a team of students with a teacher/staff representative to our conferences. The conferences engage youth in cooperation with educators, social workers, and community service staff.
The conferences are highly interactive. They challenge students to get engaged in the issue, not just by learning and talking about it but by developing their own anti-violence projects. Time is set aside in the fall conference for student teams to brainstorm project ideas and action plans that are tailored to the needs of their particular schools. Their home schools support their efforts by giving them time and opportunities to implement their project. The spring conference then invites the students back to show case it and debrief the process.
How to Get Involved
Teachers
Students
Volunteers
Resources
These resources are provided.....
In Love and In Danger Training Presentation
Dating Violence Pamphlet
Youth Initiative Planning Guide
Speers Society Posters
White Ribbon Campaign Posters
Contact Information
For more information or to get involved, please contact Brianne Luckasavitch by telephone at 613-725-3601 ext. 211, TTY at 613-725-6175 or by email at ilid@familyservicesottawa.org
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