1 st world conference of women’s shelters
DESCRIPTION
1 st World Conference of Women’s Shelters. Edmonton, AB September 8 – 11, 2008. Delegates. 800+ delegates - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
1st World Conference of Women’s Shelters
Edmonton, AB
September 8 – 11, 2008
Delegates
• 800+ delegates• 51 countries (Denmark, Sweden, Russia,
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Scotland, Ghana, Mexico, Italy, Serbia, Ukraine, Botswana, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, and so on)
• Included shelter workers, government agencies, YWCA, SPCA, Batterers intervention programs, authors and researchers, health care providers, union representing health-care workers
New Brunswick Delegates
• 8 delegates from New Brunswick• 2 WIB• 1 ACSW• 5 Transition House Executive Directors
– Woodstock– Tracadie– Moncton– Miramichi– Gignoo
Pre-conference Workshop
• 4th annual “Breakfast with the Guys”• Attended by Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton
Oilers,local and provincial governments, police, business, etc. Over 300 attended.
• Key messages: 1. Media impacts the socialization of boys2. Violence against women is a men’s issue!3. Leaders must take a stand and this will
make it easier for others to follow.4. Programs alone will not eradicate VAW -
Social change is needed!http://www.endingviolence.org/node/664
Key Workshop Themes
• Different shelter practices• Responding to diversity• Children and violence against women• Human trafficking• Staff wellness
Key Learnings
• Domestic violence is a part of the continuum of VAW • VAW must remain a gendered issue – Male Violence
Against Women• Women working in shelters are in high risk professions• 30 day shelter stay is not long enough• VAW shapes a child’s development• Safety and wellbeing of children are directly related to
the safety and wellbeing of their mothers• Staff wellness is a MUST
Questions to ask ourselves
• What are the needs of women?• Are our shelters meeting all the needs of
women (Australia – paradigm shift – focuses on meeting all the needs of women (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)?
• How are we addressing the complex needs of women, such as women with addictions?
Special Events
•Violence against Women 365 International Poster Exhibition
• http://www.dvposters365.net/welcome.htm
More special events
• Cultural Events• Youth play “Speak”• Peace banner –
Japanese form of Saori weaving
Next Steps
• Develop strategy for dissemination of information: http://www.womenshelter.ca/gallery_en.php
• Share information at next meeting of Transition Houses
• How can we improve our response?