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National Clearinghouse on Family Violence: Sharing Knowledge and Solutions

by David Allen

As part of its ongoing Family Violence Initiative, the federal government continues to facilitate the efforts of individual Canadians and a wide variety of organizations to increase public awareness and develop ever more effective ways to prevent and respond to the problem of family violence. The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, based in Health Canada, continues to provide support to those efforts. Among the many bilingual documents and other information resources the Clearinghouse distributes, both proactively and in response to requests received - now exceeding 100,000 annually - are those that address the issue in the context of Aboriginal families and communities.

Two resource listings prepared by the Clearinghouse are the "List of Articles (1986-1996) on Family Violence and Aboriginal Communities indexed by the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence" and "Native Resources in the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence Resource Centre". The first listing identifies 97 articles on violence in Aboriginal families and related topics such as fetal alcohol syndrome and suicide. The articles have been gathered from selected journals indexed by the Clearinghouse as of April, 1996. The second listing is a bibliography of the monograph holdings (approximately 200 books, reports and government documents) in the Clearinghouse and available through inter-library loan from the Health Canada Departmental Library. These two resource listings are especially useful to people who wish to obtain an overview of the literature on the topic in Canada or to identify sources of information most pertinent to their specific program development, service provision or research interests.

Of more direct utility to individual workers and community organizations is "A Resource Guide on Family Violence Issues for Aboriginal Communities". This kit, developed by David McTimoney, is designed as a user's guide to family violence information, and is designed to help service providers in Aboriginal communities plan and implement family violence prevention and treatment programs. The document offers definitions of various forms of family violence and provides considerations about cultural distinctions that have been suggested with regard to violence in Aboriginal families. It answers many of the most commonly asked questions about the issue and suggests the outline of a spiritual model of recovery. In conclusion, it gives examples of both practical procedures that communities can undertake to establish effective programming and specific, personal actions that individuals can initiate to begin to alter their immediate social environment. The last few pages of the kit provide a listing of contacts and resource centres in each Province and Territory.

Violence in Aboriginal Communities, an article by Emma Larocque that has been reprinted and distributed by the Clearinghouse with the permission of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, is a powerful and articulate analysis of the issue in a broad historical and social context. Professor Larocque links contemporary realities to colonization, racism, sexism and "the problem of internalization". She also offers recommendations for action and identifies questions for research that have maintained their relevance in the few intervening years since the article was written.

Last year the Clearinghouse produced an eight-page fact sheet entitled "Violence in Aboriginal Communities: An Aboriginal Perspective". As fact sheets are meant to do, this document summarizes some of the most essential elements of our understanding of the issue. In addition to defining common terms and summarizing research findings on incidence statistics, it provides information about what some Aboriginal communities and organizations have been doing to prevent and eliminate forms of family violence and sexual abuse. For example, it describes the innovative work of the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, the Mid-Island Tribal Council on Vancouver Island, and the Mi'kmaq First Nation communities of Nova Scotia. After considering the broad causal factors relevant to the problem, the fact sheet considers "paths for healing" and concludes with suggested readings and audio-visual resources.

Finally, the most recent Clearinghouse publication specific to violence in Aboriginal families is Rob Hart's "Beginning A Long Journey". Subtitled "A Review of Projects Funded by the Family Violence Prevention Division, Health Canada, Regarding Violence in Aboriginal Families", this document is based on a review of 15 projects the Division funded under the second Family Violence Initiative (1991-95). In addition to assessing the significance and accomplishments of the projects, it offers an analysis of project characteristics that reflect a cultural appropriateness to Aboriginal traditions and perspectives. In effect, it tries to answer the question, "What makes the Aboriginal approach to family violence prevention culturally distinct?"

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
Health Promotion and Programs Branch
Health Canada
Address locator # 1918C2
Jeanne-Mance Building,
18th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1B4
The Internet address is http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/nc-cn and the Clearinghouse may also be reached via the following numbers:

Toll-free telephone: 1-800-267-1291
Local Ottawa area telephone 613-957-2938
Toll-free TTY: 1-800-561-5643
Local TTY: 613-952-6396
Facsimile: 613-941-8930
Toll-free FaxLink: 1-888-267-1233
Local FaxLink: 613-941-7285

David Allen is the Acting Manager of the
National Clearinghouse on Family Violence