BCIFV home > Media Release > November 4, 2003

For Immediate Release: November 4, 2003
Contact: Penny Bain, Executive Director, BCIFV
phone: 604.669.7055, 1.877.755.7055, or
pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org

Media Release:
Media Release: Collaboration is Key to Preventing Violence

BCIFV one of many organizations that take Together Against Violence stand all year round.

The BC Institute Against Family Violence recently completed a collaboration with a wide range of community agencies, spearheaded by the BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, intended to bring attention to the links between animal abuse and family violence.

"Some of the most meaningful work we do is collaborative," says Penny Bain, Executive Director of BCIFV. "Family violence does not occur in a vacuum. It is strongly interconnected with a network of factors, ranging from causal to correlative to consequential. It flourishes when people in positions to intervene don't do so, more often than not because they don't recognize the signs or simply don't know how to respond. "For this reason, a significant part of our work involves public education."

Consisting of three public-information brochures, the BC SPCA project is a case in point. Cruelty to animals can be a signpost of violence in families, and family violence should signal authorities to check for abuse and/or neglect of animals.

For example, animal-protection workers called in to deal with a child who is consistently tormenting a family pet might be on the lookout for signs that they should contact social workers, as children often act out the pain of their own abuse on the only family member more vulnerable than they are. Conversely, transition-house workers might want to ask new intakes about family pets, and alert animal-protection authorities that they may be at risk of harm inflicted by an abuser who is riled by his partner's departure.

As one member of a partnership that included the BC Veterinary Medical Association, Victim Services Division of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General,Vancouver City Police Criminal Harassment Division, BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses, and the UBC Schools of Social Work, Family Studies, and Nursing, the Institute's role in the BC SPCA project was to provide expert input on the dynamics of family violence, as well as practical support.

Other collaborations see the Institute taking a leadership role. The recently completed Life in the Family: A Newcomer's Guide to Parenting Issues in Canada, for example, was spearheaded by the Institute in partnership with many multi-cultural agencies, and targets ESL teachers as conduits for helping new Canadians adjust to standards and methods of child discipline that may significantly differ from those in their countries/cultures of origin.

In many Lower Mainland communities, November is Together Against Violence month. It is a time when agencies and individuals from many sectors of society strive to increase public understanding of violence in all its forms, in the hope of moving a step closer to prevention.

For more information on the BC SPCA's Violence Link project, contact Paula Neuman, Humane Education Supervisor at the Vancouver branch of the SPCA, 604-647-5505, pneuman@spca.bc.ca , or www.spca.bc.ca .

For more information on Together Against Violence month events, check monthly events listings at www.coquitlam.ca, visit www.vcn.bc.ca/tavnet/ , or visit websites for Lower Mainland municipalities and school districts.

For more information, contact Penny Bain, Executive Director of the BC Institute Against Family Violence at 669-7055
or 1 877-755-7055, pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org.

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