The Be the Peace Project came to a close in May 2015. A huge THANK YOU to all our partners and supporters for your continuing efforts to ensure equality, opportunity and safety for women, girls and people of all genders. Certain community-based initiatives continue on. See our final newsletter for more details.
Please feel free to contact Second Story Women's Centre for information, referrals, support at: info@secstory.com.
“Be the Peace… Make A Change” is a grassroots community peace-building initiative that aims to reduce relationship violence against women and girls in Lunenburg County and surrounding communities in Nova Scotia.
Status of Women Canada awarded funding for this project to Second Story Women’s Centre to engage community partners in developing a coordinated community response to violence against women and girls over the three year period from April 2012-March 2015. The project was based on collaborative partnerships, community engagement and inclusion of men and boys as essential partners with women and girls in ending relationship violence.
There are many terms used to describe violence against women—domestic violence, relationship violence, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence. It includes physical, verbal, emotional, psychological abuse and sexual assault. It most often involves dynamics of power and control of one person over another. It affects younger women and older women and knows no social, economic or cultural boundaries, though Native women, disabled women, rural women are at greater risk. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of violence, whether they have experienced it directly or witnessed it in their families.
Violence in relationships affects us all. Some of the statistics are staggering. In Nova Scotia we have one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the country, and over half of these are against girls under 18 years old. Most incidents of violence—physical, sexual, verbal, emotional—are never reported. Relationship violence is not a women’s issue. It’s a community issue, a public health issue, a human issue—a product of the structures, and social and cultural environments we create and support. And it costs Canadians over $7 billion a year, (Chronicle Herald, December 2012). It is complex, elusive and often hides in secrecy, shame, fear, stigma and guilt. Men and boys are also affected by violence in complex ways, and so they are equal partners in the solutions.
This project aims to engage as many people, agencies, organizations, institutions as possible in collaborative efforts to raise the public and private discourse about the issue of relationship violence and to take purposeful action together to address it. Many passionate people joined in this initiative, either as concerned citizens, or as members of community groups, government agencies, schools, faith ministries, legal institutions, law enforcement agencies, municipal councils, women’s advocacy groups, health service providers, and those who work everyday to serve, support and help those affected by violence. Together we can discover “what else?” we might accomplish together, that none of us can achieve alone.
The pilot project was guided by the belief that our work together can make a difference. At the same time we recognize that the issues, like human beings, are incredibly complex and steeped in stereotypes, misperceptions, judgments. There is a range of institutional, structural and social barriers that limit community effectiveness in this issue, and there has historically been division between philosophies, practices and approaches. The issues therefore, merit a quest for understanding and learning about different perspectives; honest inquiry that both asks hard questions and also unearths the knowledge and wisdom inherent in our communities and practices; and a considered response that is multi-faceted, community-based and truly collaborative. We believe that men and boys are integral to eliminating violence against women and girls by seeking their rightful share of responsibility for challenging and changing dynamics of violence in intimate and family relationships. There are times when it takes an entire community to make a change. This is one of those times.
We cannot do it without you.
Newsletters/Updates
Feedback from our events
“When I looked around the room, I thought that it never would have been possible, even a year ago, that all those people would be in the same room together with a shared concern. It was like the UN of Lunenburg County- could you ever dream that up?”
“It was such a simple concept- how to be peace-- of course I wanted to be involved.”
“The work plan was brilliant, the community forum, lots of awareness, consistent work with getting key partners to the table, going to municipal councils, really impressive community development process.”
“The issue of sexualized violence is understood more broadly now- the community is primed-- BTP raised the profile/elevated the issue of sexual assault.”
“I gravitated to BTP events- to help me find strengths in myself. And when I didn’t have voice, I could hear them from others.”
“There was value in “first voices” (survivors) being able to speak to power and authority figures. That doesn’t happen easily.“
“The men have been seriously impacted by your direct, unequivocal outreach call and challenges.”
“Thanks for asking the tough questions. And for being the spark that brought us together. You made a lot happen. You put us on the spot about how we do our work and it’s been good for us. You were part of what helped the team in this office to grow and learn, to change practice in the community.”
“BTP has shown it is possible to bring decision makers to table and have a woman centred conversation and sit there as equals and be listened to.”
“I have seen a difference in the way that the community is involved. We are talking. I can call someone in Education etc., and see what we can do differently together. We are all at the table and we can come up with a better solution together. That’s gold. It used to be that everyone was protective of their stuff, now professionals are letting their guard down at the table.”
“BTP ignited a lot of hope that things are possible… rejuvenated some of the focus on the people. It’s a heavy issue, easy to feel nothing is possible. The project contributed to feeling hopeful.”