I, too, would like to thank the committee for this opportunity. I bring greetings from Niagara, Ontario, traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe peoples.
As introduced, my name is Katreena, and I'm the director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, which was one of five centres across Canada whose creation was prompted by the 1989 targeted murder of 14 women at l'École Polytechnique in Montreal.
We've heard just now about the prevalence and impact of domestic and family violence, and it's true that ending these problems is going to require taking a number of actions, but there are clear pathways to change. We know that we need to make significant progress on gender equity with initiatives like national child care and “take it or leave it” paternal leave. We know we need to continue public conversations about gender violence and that these conversations need to include considerations around structural violence and intersectionality, and, as my colleague Lana Wells just spoke about, we know that we need to do a much better job of prevention.
What I want to talk about today is what happens when public education and prevention fail. What kind of response can Canadians count on? There will be many people testifying to this committee about what is needed to respond to survivors. We know that one part of the answer is providing stable and adequate funding to women's shelters, sexual assault centres and other programs for survivors of abuse, but what do we need to do to address people who are engaging in abusive behaviours, who are causing harm to others? When Canadians are concerned about their own behaviours in their family and their relationships, where do they turn to get help?
We have seen investments federally, provincially and territorially in professional education to make sure that gender-based violence is better recognized by health care providers, social service professionals and workplaces. These are welcome developments and changes but, again, whom do people call when they want to make a referral to service? What about the many Canadians who have a family member, a loved one, a colleague or a neighbour who turns to them, who sees degrading, abusive or threatening behaviour? How do they get help for the person they want to change?
The reality is that finding help to address abusive behaviour in Canada is really, really difficult. All Canadian provinces and territories have at least one program that specializes in working with those who perpetrated abusive behaviours, but in many parts of Canada, the only way you can access this program is by being arrested. This can't be the way we want the system to work. Although all places have at least one program, mostly it's that, just one program, a short-term, group-based, one-size-fits-all intervention that, in many rural communities, is offered once or twice a year.
We have known for years that one size doesn't fit all. There are many examples, but just to share one, we've known for a long time about the relationship between intimate partner violence and substance use. We know that abuse is not caused by alcohol or drugs, but for those who suffer from addiction and also perpetrate abusive behaviour, it's important to address these behaviours in tandem, and despite many years of recommendations, there aren't collaborative or joint programs available in Canada. Even if you can pay for service privately, you're going to be hard pressed to find a therapist to do this work.
What can we do about it? Part of the problem is one of workforce capacity. It takes specialized knowledge and skill to work with perpetrators of abuse, to know how to have difficult conversations, to help amplify people's discomfort with and concern about their behaviour and to be able to track access and address abuse and risks for abuse. This is not something that's taught in most psychology, social work, nursing or even psychotherapy programs. Most learning happens on the job.
We did a survey recently of specialist service providers in Canada, and one of the things we found is that only eight per cent of current specialists who work with men who cause harm said that they were prepared when they started their job. Almost all of them reported that ongoing training that was available from their agency was also inadequate.
The federal government could develop and support workforce capacity. We just finished a WAGE-funded project based on the collaborative work of service providers, survivors and researchers from all Canadian provinces and territories to develop the flourishing practice model, a framework that outlines the expertise of service providers in this area.
The other thing that governments can do is make the development and testing of a range of different intervention programs for perpetrators part of the national action plan.