CEVAW-DV-Report-Card 2008.09

The Niagara Region
Domestic Violence Report Card 2008/09
Starting a conversation,
engaging a community
The Coalition
to End Violence
Against Women

Niagara Coalition to End Violence
Against Women Member Agencies
Bethlehem Projects of Niagara
Centre de santé Communautaire Hamilton/Niagara
Design for A New Tomorrow
Family & Children Services Niagara
Family Counselling Centre – Niagara
Folk Arts Council of St. Catharines/Multicultural Centre
Fort Erie Multicultural Centre
Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre
Gillian’s Place
Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services
St. Catharines Area Parole & Probation Services
Multicultural Network Services of Niagara Falls
Niagara Region Sexual Assault Centre (CARSA)
Niagara Regional Housing
Niagara Regional Native Centre
Niagara Regional Police Service
Niagara Victim Crisis Support Service
Port Cares
Sexual Assault / Domestic Violence Treatment Program
Victim/Witness Assistance Program
Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre
West Niagara Second Stage Housing and Counselling
Womens Place of South Niagara Inc.
YWCA Niagara Region
EX-OFFICIO
Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI)
The Ministry of Community & Social Services
CONTACT
The Coalition to End Violence Against Women
www.CEVAW.com
“There is a lot of shame in talking about this”
“We could be your next door neighbor”
Two participants from focus group
Contents
Researcher Commentary............................................. 4
Executive Summary...................................................... 6
Introduction.............................................................11
Methodology and Limitations.................................13
Domestic Violence-related
Statistics in the Niagara Region...............................17
Emerging Themes.......................................................25
Recommendations.....................................................45
LOOKING FORWARD......................................................50
The Niagara Region
Domestic Violence Report Card 2008/09

5the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Researcher Commentary
4 Researcher Commentary the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09
It was a bold step for the Coalition to End
Violence Against Women to hire a male
researcher. The violence against women sector
has historically been led by women and it has
been women (and a few men) who have raised
this issue of domestic violence as a pressing social
issue. There are many female researchers who
could have filled this role and I am very cognizant
of this fact. As a male researcher involved in the
Violence Against Women (VAW) movement, this
report was challenging on many levels. At the
outset I was concerned that women might not talk
to me due to my gender. I subsequently found
out that women who were victims of domestic
violence wanted to talk about their experiences
provided that they were treated with the dignity
and respect that they deserved. I am also quite
grateful for the presence of Gena Kaebe in many
focus groups as a co-traveller and someone who
provided a linkage across genders.
Being a male researcher also meant that my
life experiences were dramatically different
than those of the women being interviewed.
I believe that being genuinely curious about their
experiences was an important aspect of
this report. I also think being male led me to
ask questions that were different than what
a female researcher may have asked. As a
result I think this report has a unique tone that
exists throughout.
The stories of the women that we spoke for this
report had a profound impact on me. They
were stories of sadness, anger, guilt, rage,
hopelessness and hopefulness. This last point is
very important. The women who took part in the
focus groups for this report had left their abusive
partners and many had started over. Their journeys
were all very difficult and painful but many
of them felt hopeful about starting over, that
there was life after being abused. I mentioned
that their stories had a profound impact on me.
Often, after a focus group, it would take several
days to unpack all of the emotions that I had
experienced. As a male it was inconceivable to hear
such stories and imagine what it must have been
like for these women. While establishing my faith
in the resilience of abused women it angered me
that so many women had similar experiences.
There were many challenges to completing
this report that went beyond the gender of the
researcher. Our response rate from the Service
User Survey was very low at approximately 8%.
Additionally there was a great deal of difficulty
in conducting a focus group with men. I think
that both of these results are indicative of how
hard it is to engage people in a conversation
about domestic violence. In particular the lack
of participation by men is akin to the struggle
found by many of my colleagues and researchers
looking at the issue of male violence.
I have been asked if the findings of this report
were what I expected. Were there any surprises?
As a therapist working with abused men and
having worked in child welfare for 12 years,
I believed that the Niagara Region had made
significant gains in the service provision to
families where domestic violence had occurred.
In listening to abused women, service providers
and in examining the data, I realized that my
perception was significantly skewed. Abused
women continue to be at risk of poverty,
experience authoritative agencies as
domineering, lack access to affordable housing,
have difficulty travelling in the region, lack
access to legal services and do not feel safe
for a long time after leaving their abusive
partners. This report reaffirmed that while there
is a number of wonderful practitioners and
agencies working in the Niagara Region, there
is still a good deal of work to do.
I hope readers of this report will see the glass as
being half full as opposed to half empty. There
are many innovative programs in the Niagara
Region that are working on this issue. The
Niagara Regional Police Service Domestic
Violence Unit, the probation officers, the
collaborative work being done between FACS
Niagara and the women’s shelters, and the work
being done by the many therapists, shelter
workers and violence against women services
needs to be highlighted. It is this innovation
and dedication that will help to continue to
improve the response to domestic violence in
the Niagara Region.
It was an honour to complete this report.
However, reports are only as effective as
the action that follows. This report was not
conducted so as to sit on a shelf. In some
ways this report is a call to action. In some
ways it is a call to engage in conversation.
Domestic violence has long been considered
a private matter. It is my hope that this report
continues the process of publicizing the impact
of domestic violence on the families of the
Niagara Region. The recommendations of this
report are directed at various social agencies
and levels of government in the hopes of
inspiring change through social action. It is
up to you dear reader, to make this report a
living document. The women of the Niagara
Region and their families are counting on you.
Researcher Commentary
I was incredibly honoured to be offered the opportunity to be the lead researcher
on this project. I think that as the first Domestic Violence Report Card, this report
offers the Niagara Region the opportunity to think about how this issue is dealt
with. It is also my hope that this report educates the people of the Niagara Region
on the issue of domestic violence, the current response, the innovative practices
that exist and the need for ongoing improvement. Moreover, I hope that this
report engages people in the Niagara Region in a conversation about this issue
and helps to keep it in the forefront of social issues.
The women of the
Niagara Region and their
families are counting on you.
Ian DeGeer, MSW
– Researcher and Author

7the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Executive Summary
Domestic violence report cards have been
completed in many other communities across
Ontario including Toronto and most notably in
the region of Grey-Bruce counties. In the Grey-
Bruce counties domestic violence report cards
are completed annually and utilized as part of
the development of a comprehensive response
to domestic violence.
Within the Niagara Region, CEVAW members
felt that it was timely and necessary to take on
the creation of a domestic violence report card
for this region. The main goals of this project
were to:
• Establish a base-line report card to be utilized
as a comparison to future reports
• Develope an overall regional picture of the
current response to domestic violence
• Evaluate the current response to domestic
violence, highlighting the relative effectiveness
of the system
• Educate the public regarding domestic
violence, services and the current responses
Data Collection and Limitations
Data for this project was gathered
through the following methodologies:
1. Feedback from Coalition to End Violence
Against Women Members – Service
Providers Data
2. Feedback from Service Users
3. Agency-based Statistics
4. Voices of Service Users – Focus Groups
5. Service Provider Community Consultation
We acknowledge the followING as
limitations to the findings as presented
within this report:
• The response rate to the Service User Survey
was very low at 8%. This low response rate
limits our ability to generalize our findings
beyond the 42 respondents. Our intention
is to use this data to reflect the experience
of those respondents as part of the larger
analysis of themes that emerged from other
aspects of the project.
• We were unable to complete a focus group
or interviews with men who had utilized
service. We canvassed for volunteers through
the service providers who facilitate the
men’s groups in the Niagara Region but to
no avail. As such our reference point for
the male perspective is limited to those
men who responded to the Service Users
Survey. In reflecting on this we believe
that our struggle is indicative of the general
struggle associated with engaging men
who have abused their partners to examine
their behaviours.
• This study intentionally did not attempt to
examine the impact of domestic violence
on cultural groups. We felt we did not have
the resources necessary to adequately
represent the various cultural communities
that comprise the Niagara Region. We did
complete interviews with service providers
from the aboriginal services and francophone
services but are careful not to interpret
those interviews as being representative of
the experiences of all of the people from
those communities.
• The budgetary constraints associated with
this project limited the scope and depth of
this project. A more in-depth exploration of
this issue in a region that is as diverse as
the Niagara Region would require substantially
more resources. As such, our intention is to
highlight broad themes in an attempt to
engage the community is a conversation
regarding the issue of domestic violence.
6
Executive Summary
This is the first Domestic Violence Report Card for
the Niagara Region. This report card began in the fall
of 2008 as a project of the Niagara Coalition to End
Violence Against Women (CEVAW). Funding for
this project was secured through CEVAW from the
Ontario Women’s Directorate and the Ministry of
Community and Social Services.

8 Executive Summary the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09
9the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Executive Summary
• The probation officers who are assigned
to monitor the probation orders of domestic
violence offenders
The challenges to the system include:
• The inability for Crown Attorneys to
assess the readiness of an individual
for the Partner Assault Response Program
• The one size fits all sentencing that occurs
in the Criminal Justice System
• The absence of service alternatives for
men who are not ready for the PAR program
The Rural Nature of
the Niagara Region
This report found that the rural nature of the
Niagara Region poses additional challenges
to families where domestic violence has occurred.
Women in these areas do not have easy access to
service, often suffer from isolation and may suffer
in silence if they are being abused.
Transportation
Participants in this project repeatedly reported
that the absence of a comprehensive
transportation system in the Niagara Region
is an impediment to accessing service. Several
service providers highlighted the difficulties
associated with not having a rider-friendly transit
system in this region. For victims of domestic
violence, not being able to travel, can lead to
additional isolation, inability to access services
and an inability to access the legal system.
Collaboration and
Coordination of Services
One of the most important aspects of a
community-based response to domestic
violence is the collaboration and coordination
of services. As part of this project we were
interested in knowing whether or not
collaboration was occurring between service
providers. Collaboration was one of the focal
points of the surveys that were distributed,
a focus of our conversations with community
service providers and emerged as a theme
from the focus groups. Overall, the women
indicated that their experiences were enhanced
as a result of the collaboration of service
providers. They indicated that this was one of the
most important and helpful things, besides
feeling safe and that their lives improved as a
result of the collaborative efforts of the agencies
they encountered.
Housing
The importance of housing (women’s shelter,
second stage housing or rent geared to income)
was an important theme that emerged during
this research project. Women in the focus groups
highlighted the importance of women’s shelters
in making them feel safe and preparing them for
life after living with their abusers. The absence
of adequate, affordable housing was identified
as an issue faced by many women who were
attempting to start over.
Agencies with Power and
Authority
Women who participated in the focus groups
reported having a variety of experiences with
agencies such as the Niagara Region Police
Service and Family and Children’s Services of
Niagara. Both of these services are mandated
and as such possess a great deal of authority.
The participants within this research project
highlighted the importance of these agencies
remembering that with ‘great power comes
great responsibility’.
Recommendations
This report makes several recommendations
that are directed at social service providers,
agencies who specialize in the provision of
service to families where domestic violence is an
issue and various levels of government. While
broad in scope, they create a foundation for
future work to be done to improve the response
to domestic violence within the Niagara Region.
Overview of Findings
Statistics
Within this report we collected as many statistics
as possible from agencies who deliver service
to families where domestic violence is an issue.
An entire section of the report is dedicated to
presenting these findings in a manner that
demonstrates the extent of service provision to
families from across the Niagara Region. Included
in these statistics are the occurrence rates for
the Niagara Regional Police Service, caseload
percentages for Probation and Parole Services,
women shelter statistics, service delivery
statistics for agencies who provide counselling
to women and children and statistics from the
Partner Assault Response program.
Emerging Themes
Throughout the course of the interviews and
focus groups conducted for this report several
themes emerged. These themes were selected
based on the prevalence with which they were
raised by participants and service providers
and based upon their perceived importance in
developing a community-based response to
domestic violence.
The Legal System
The legal system emerged as an important
topic by those involved with this project.
Community service providers and individual
survey respondents reinforced the importance
of the legal system and indicated that the
current legal system in the Niagara Region
presents some significant challenges to
effectively dealing with the issue of domestic
violence. The following are some of the key
points that are identified within the report:
• It was difficult to assess how effective the
courts are. The courts were designed to
improve the response to domestic violence,
yet very little information is available that
suggests these courts are effective.
• There is a perceived lack of specialization
within the court system. The Crown
Attorney’s receive very little training on this
issue, which may result in an inconsistent
response to this issue in the court room.
• Crown attorneys reported high workload
levels and a lack of administrative support.
• The absence of a specialization or focus on
domestic violence within the bail courts. Bail
court is one of the most significant areas of
intervention by the criminal justice system in
cases of domestic violence.
• There are philosophical and ideological
problems within the court system. Domestic
violence is still considered by some to be a
personal and intimate issue between two
individuals. Many aspects of the Criminal
Court System remain based in a patriarchal
hierarchy, which resist dealing with
‘social issues’.
• Access to legal aid is still a challenge for
women who live outside Welland and
St. Catharines.
Working with Domestic Violence
Offenders
Another significant theme that emerged
from the research associated with this
project was how offenders of domestic
violence are dealt with. While there are
numerous innovative practices taking shape
in the Niagara Region this report found that there
are still many challenges to working
with abusive men to ensure that they
receive appropriate service. We found
several examples of innovative practice
in the Niagara Region including:
• The Niagara Regional Police Domestic
Violence Unit

10 Domestic Violence-Related Statistics in the Niagara Region the niagara region domestic violence report 2008
11the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Introduction
Introduction
Domestic violence report cards have been completed
in many other communities across Ontario including
Toronto and most notably in the region of Grey-
Bruce counties. In the Grey-Bruce counties domestic
violence report cards are completed annually and
utilized as part of the development of a comprehensive
response to domestic violence.
Within the Niagara Region, CEVAW members felt that
it was timely and necessary to take on the creation of
a domestic violence report card for this region.
The main goals of this project were to:
• Establish a base-line report card to be
utilized as a comparison for future reports
• Develop an overall regional picture of the
current response to domestic violence
in the Niagara Region
• Evaluate the current response to domestic
violence in the Niagara Region, highlighting
the relative effectiveness of the system
• Educate the public regarding this issue,
services and the current response in the
Niagara Region
What is a community-based
domestic violence report card?
• A picture of the response to domestic
violence in the Niagara Region.
• The opportunity to highlight the
achievements in service and draw attention
to areas that require improvement.
• Documentation of tangible measurements
that will allow the Niagara Region to compare
the community response over time.
• Provide the perspective of those who utilize
services and those who provide service in the
field of domestic violence.
What a community-based
domestic violence report card
is not.
• This report highlights general trends obtained
through the gathering of information. It does
not provide high level statistical analysis.
• The report card is not the answer to the issue
of domestic violence. Rather, it should be
viewed as the starting point for conversation
across the region on this issue.
• This report card is not an all-encompassing
document. Efforts were made to obtain feedback
from various populations from across the region
using a variety of data gathering techniques.
Despite our best efforts, this report does not
provide a complete picture of the region as
a whole. We acknowledge that there will be
differing opinions that exist within the region.
In reading this report, the reader is encouraged
to consider this the start of a conversation within
the Niagara Region on this issue. It is written with
the intention of educating the public on this issue,
advocating for increased political action on this
issue and to give a voice to those who work in
the field and those who live with or perpetrate
violence. Many voices influenced this report and
we recognize that many others are not present
within it. As such, we perceive this report to be an
opportunity for dialogue and reflection, not
a bottom line.
The authors of this report and the members of
CEVAW gratefully acknowledge the participation
of all the staff from various agencies that provided
feedback, dedicated their time and opened doors
along the way. We are grateful to our colleagues
in Grey-Bruce Counties who provided us with
direction and encouragement early on in the
process. Finally, we would like to thank the
women and men of the Niagara Region who
took the time to fill out surveys and participate
in our focus groups. We hope that we have done
justice to your stories and that your courage will
continue to serve as inspiration to others facing
the issue of domestic violence.

13the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Methodology & Limitations
12
Methodology and
Limitations
In conducting this project we adopted five separate strategies for obtaining
data and information regarding the issue of domestic violence in the
Niagara Region. Each of these strategies is outlined within this section.
Methodology
Feedback from the
Coalition to End Violence
Against Women Members
– Service Providers Data
One of the areas that we wanted to target for
this project was the opinion of front-line workers
who work on the issue of domestic violence on
a daily basis. Given the size of the Niagara Region
and the vastness of the possible services that
this might include, we decided to limit the scope
of our data collection to front-line workers and
staff from the organizations that are members
of CEVAW.
A survey was created that explored four distinct
work related aspects to the issue of domestic
violence and the opinion of the individual
respondent. These four are
1. Collaboration and Coordination of service
2. Consistency in the delivery of service
3. Community capacity and resources
4. Prevention and Education.
Within each of these sections we were
interested in what the respondent had to say
about their practice and the practice of their
agency regarding domestic violence. We asked
respondents to consider the work that they did
and their experiences from 2008. The data was
collected using Survey Monkey, which is an
online survey tool.
Feedback from
Service Users
We were interested in learning about what the
experience was of those who accessed a service
due to the occurrence of domestic violence
in 2008. We developed a survey designed to
capture the experiences of individuals who used
domestic violence-related services in the Niagara
Region during 2008. The questions within the
Service User Survey explored collaboration of
service, consistency of service, capacity and
prevention and education. The surveys were
strategically distributed to individual service
users through the members of CEVAW. In total
500 surveys were distributed across the Niagara
Region.
Agency-Based
Statistics
Utilizing the CEVAW membership, we obtained
the statistical data for a number of agencies that
provide domestic violence related services
within the Niagara Region. This data assisted us
in developing a better understanding of the
extent of this issue in the region and what kinds
of services are being accessed and offered to
families where domestic violence is an issue.
The agencies that provided their annual data to
this report include; the Niagara Regional Police
Service (Domestic Violence Unit), Ministry
of the Attorney General, The Ministry of
Community Safety and Correctional Services –
Probation and Parole, Family and Children
1 2
3

Methodology & Limitations the niagara region domestic violence report 2008/09
14 15
Services of Niagara, Family Counselling Centre,
Design for a New Tomorrow, Women’s Place of
South Niagara Inc., Gillian’s Place, and Second
Stage Housing of West Niagara.
Voices of Service Users
– Focus Groups
We believe that it is important for anyone
conducting research into the issue of domestic
violence to include the voices of those individuals
who have experienced the issue first hand and
who have accessed service within the Niagara
Region. There are limitations to relying only
on survey-based data and as such as part of
this project, we completed focus groups with
service users.
These focus groups occurred over a number of
months and were held in a variety of locations,
primarily women’s shelters. Three focus groups
were held with women who were in various
stages of being in and out of a women’s shelter.
Two of the focus groups were co-facilitated
between the lead researcher and a committee
member from CEVAW. Where it was possible,
these focus groups were audio-recorded, which
allowed for a deeper analysis of the themes
that emerged from the conversation. The focus
groups were semi-structured and the facilitator
had a sheet of six questions designed to prompt
the participants for answers and to guide the
conversation. These focus groups were between
1.5 to 3 hours in duration.
Service Provider
Community Consultation
In an effort to obtain additional feedback
from across the region we decided to hold
consultation meetings with various service
providers from across the region. The purpose
of these meetings was two-fold. First, we wanted
to hear the voices from very specific parts of the
region. As such, we targeted service providers
in areas such as Fort Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Beamsville and Welland and invited them to
meet with us to discuss their service provision
and any issues that they may see as being
prudent to this report.
The second reason for consulting across the
region was to attempt to speak with voices from
different cultures and localities. We made a
sincere effort to meet with members from the
Aboriginal service agencies in both Fort Erie and
Niagara-on-the-Lake. Additionally, we met with
a Francophone worker in Welland whose focus is
domestic violence to discuss the challenges that
exist for the French-speaking community of the
Niagara Region.
We are cognizant that the Niagara Region is
made up of a diverse number of communities
and that this report could have been focussed
entirely on how domestic violence impacts
various cultures across the region.
the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Methodology & Limitations
4
5 The following are identified as the limitations associated
with this project.
Limitations
The response rate to the
Service User Survey was
very low at 8%.
This low response rate limits our ability to
generalize our findings beyond the 42
respondents. Our intention is to use this data
to reflect the experience of those respondents
as part of the larger analysis of themes that
emerged from other aspects of the project.
We were unable to
complete a focus group
or interviews with men
who had utilized services.
We canvassed for volunteers through the
service providers who facilitate the men’s
groups in the Niagara Region but to no avail.
As such our reference point for the male
perspective is limited to those men who
responded to the Service Users Survey.
This study intentionally did
not attempt to examine the
impact of domestic violence
on cultural groups.
We felt we did not have the resources
necessary to adequately represent the
various cultural communities that comprise
the Niagara Region. We did complete interviews
with service providers from the Aboriginal
services and Francophone services but are
careful not to interpret those interviews as
being representative of the experiences of all
of the people from those communities.
The budgetary constraints
associated with this project
limited the scope and depth
of this project.
A more in-depth exploration of this issue in
a region that is as diverse as the Niagara
Region would require substantially more
resources. As such, our intention is to highlight
broad themes in an attempt to engage the
community in a conversation regarding the
issue of domestic violence.
“Better communication between all parties involved.
I think there is too big a gap in the system”
“What I was told would happen, did not in some
circumstances. I had to do a lot of the leg work myself.
Most of the people tried to help me but too often they
could not because “their hands were tied””

17the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Domestic Violence-Related Statistics in the Niagara Region
Domestic Violence-Related
Statistics in the Niagara Region
In this section we present statistics that demonstrate the
extent to which the issue of domestic violence is prevalent
in the Niagara Region. We present statistics from agencies
who are directly involved in the provision of services to
families where domestic violence has occurred. Where it is
possible and unless otherwise noted we present fiscal data
for the year 2008/09 (April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2009).
Criminal Justice System
The Niagara Regional Police created a specialized domestic violence unit in 2008. As a result of the
development of this unit, domestic violence related files are assigned to detectives once the
initial arrest has been made. In this model a uniformed officer responds to the initial call and
is responsible for determining grounds for arrest or not. The file is then assigned to the domestic
violence unit in order to complete the investigation. This unit is still a pilot project and has not been
implemented across the Niagara Region. It is located primarily in St. Catharines where the four
detectives are aligned with the platoons (shifts). There are two designated officers in Niagara Falls
and two designated officers and a detective constable in Welland. In Fort Erie a Detective Sergeant
is responsible for reviewing the domestic violence files.

Table 1 presents the annual occurrence data from the Niagara Regional Police Services
Domestic Violence Unit between 2006-2008.
Table 1. NRPS Domestic Violence Occurrence Data (2006-2008)

2006 2007 2008
Total # of Domestic Violence calls responded to by
Niagara Regional Police 3695 4797 6532
Total # of occurrences of charges or warrant sought 719 746 916
Number of occurrences where offences alleged but charges not laid 199 149 721
Number of occurrences where no offence alleged 2777 3902 4895

Type of Relationship Between Victim and Accused
Female victim – male accused 657 662 823
Male victim – female accused 60 81 91
Same sex male 2 1 1
Same sex female 0 2 1
Number of accused with previous charges relating
to domestic violence 175 75 352

In 2008, the Niagara Regional Police Service responded to 6532 domestic violence related calls.
In 4895 of these calls there was no offence alleged and in 721 of these an offence was alleged
but no charges were laid. Charges were laid, or a warrant sought, in 916 of these calls. This is a
significant increase over 2006 (719 charges or warrants sought) and 2007 (746 charges or warrant
sought). The police statistics demonstrate a consistent increase in the number of occurrences that are
being responded to. Since 2006 the number of domestic violence related calls has increased by 56%.

The police statistics also demonstrate a clear pattern of the gendered nature of domestic violence in
the Niagara Region. Table 1 illustrates that females are consistently and overwhelmingly the victims of
domestic violence as reported to the police. In 2008, 90% of all occurrences where charges were laid
or a warrant was sought involved a female victim and a male accused. Additionally concerning is that
in 2008, 352 (38%) of the accused had a previous charge related to domestic violence.

It is important to note that the Niagara Region has not seen a domestic violence related homicide
since 2006.
Niagara Regional Police SERVICE

18 Domestic Violence-Related Statistics in the Niagara Region the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09
Probation services are responsible for the supervision of individuals who are released on bail or
sentenced to a term of probation. In the Niagara Region probation services has developed a model
that utilizes specialized probation officers to supervise individuals who are on probation for a
domestic violence related offence or for individuals who are flagged due to a history of domestic
violence. This specialization allows for improved service delivery and has resulted in an increasingly
consistent response from probation regarding the supervision of offenders who are flagged for
domestic violence.
Table 2 presents the year-by-year comparison of total offenders under supervision compared to
those with the domestic violence flag. The percentage of individuals under supervision with a domestic
violence flag in 2008 was 754 (26.2%). This is a slight decrease from the previous two years.
Table 2. PRobation year-by-year statistics of offenders vs. offenders
flagged for domestic violence
Year Total Offenders Offenders Under
Under Supervision Supervision with DV Flag
2006 2764 787 (28.5%)
2007 2758 764 (27.7%)
2008 2882 754 (26.2%)
Table 3 presents the probation data by Probation and Parole services. This includes those
offenders flagged for domestic violence compared to the total number of offenders reporting to
each individual office. Over the last three years the percentages across the three offices have
remained approximately equal.
Table 3. regional comparisons of domestic violence offenders
by probation office
2006
Offenders Under Domestic Violence % Flagged
Location Supervision Flag for DV
Niagara Falls P&P 584 167 28.6
St. Catharines P&P 1363 400 29.3
Welland P&P 817 220 26.9
Total 2764 787 28.5
2007
Welland P&P 790 211 26.7
Total 2758 764 27.7

Probation and Parole 2008
Welland P&P 799 200 25.0
Total 2882 754 26.2
Child Welfare
Family and Children’s Services of Niagara (FACS Niagara) are mandated under the Child and Family
Services Act to investigate allegations of child abuse. As part of their mandate they are obligated
to respond to incidents of domestic violence. Table 4 presents the domestic violence data for
2007 and 2008 from FACS Niagara. FACS assigns primary and secondary reasons for involvement
with families.
FACS Niagara conducted 3159 investigations in 2007 and 3357 investigations in 2008. During both
of these years domestic violence was the primary reason for a child welfare investigation in the
Niagara Region 22% of the time. In 2007, domestic violence was the primary or secondary reason
26% of the time and in 2008 it was the primary or secondary reason 31% of the time.
FACS Niagara also provides ongoing service to families where child protection concerns are present.
In 2007, 10% of ongoing cases were open due to domestic violence and in 2008 that number
increased to 17%.
Table 4 presents data for investigations where domestic violence was the primary service reason and
when it was the secondary service reason.
Table 4. FACS Niagara Domestic violence data for 2007 AND 2008

2007 2008
Investigations
Total Investigations Opened – All Eligibility Codes 3159 3357
Investigations Opened to D.V. (Primary Reason) 680 (22%) 750 (22%)
Investigation Opened with D.V. (Secondary Reasons) 135 292
Total Investigations Opened with D.V. (Reason For Services -
Primary and Secondary) 815 (26%) 1042 (31%)

Services to families ongoing
Total Active Caseload to Ongoing Service 678 736
Cases Active to Ongoing with DV as Primary Reason for Service 66 (10%) 125 (17%)

Shelters
There are two organizations that operate shelters for abused women in the Niagara Region. These
are Gillian’s Place in St. Catharines and Women’s Place of South Niagara, which operates Nova House
in Niagara Falls and Serenity Place in Welland.
Table 5 presents the fiscal data for each of these three shelters and the combined total of the
data for all three shelters.
Table 5. Shelter statistics - individual shelters and combined totals
Nova House Serenity Place Gillian’s Place Niagara Region
Niagara Falls Welland St. Catharines Shelters Total
Women Serviced
in Shelter 103 85 146 522
Children Serviced
in Shelter 64 59 121 144
Crisis Calls 2,052 701 1723 4476
Legal Support,
Advocacy and
Outreach Clients 172 176 822 1347
Transitional Housing
Support Clients Served 143 137 177 457
Support Group Clients N/A 83 N/A 83

Women and Children
Referred Elsewhere
Due to Lack of Space 78 50 55 183

The shelters in the Niagara Region housed 522 women and 144 children during the 2008/09 fiscal
year. They collectively responded to 4476 crisis calls. The shelter agencies provided additional, non-
residential service (legal support, advocacy, and outreach support) to 1347 women. Unfortunately the
shelters had to refer 183 women to other shelter services due to a lack of space. These women may
have been referred between shelters in the region and/or referred to shelters outside of the region.
Within the Niagara Region there are workers entitled Transitional Housing and Support Workers.
The role of these workers is to assist abused women to transition to housing either from a women’s
shelter or from their own home. These workers are a significant source of support for women and
their children. Several agencies employ Transitional Housing workers. Bethlehem Projects report that
in 2008 their Transitional Housing and Support workers worked with 128 women. Additionally, West
Niagara Second Stage Housing indicated that their Transitional Housing and Support Worker worked
with 150 women during the same period of time.
Partner Assault Response (PAR) Program
The Partner Assault Response Program is a psycho-educational group for men who are on probation
for intimate partner violence and who have been ordered to attend the PAR program as a condition
of their probation. In the Niagara Region delivery of this program is shared between the Family
Counselling Centre and Design for a New Tomorrow. As part of the delivery of the PAR program
each agency is required to make contact with the partners or victims of the men during the course
of the group.
Table 6 presents the statistics for the PAR program in the Niagara Region.
Table 6. Partner Assault Response Program Fiscal Statistics 2008/09
Number Number Number of Number
of Referrals Accepted Into Completions of Partner
Group Contacts
Family Counselling Centre 434 100 86 261
Design for a New Tomorrow 332 149 120 116
Total 766 249 206 272
During the fiscal year 2008/09, 249 men were accepted into the PAR program and 206 (82%)
completed the program. During this time period 272 partners were contacted as a result of their
partner or ex-partner’s involvement in the PAR program. It should be noted that the number of
referrals, 766 is likely to be an inaccurate number due to the sharing of referrals that occurs
between the Family Counselling Centre and Design for a New Tomorrow. It is possible that this
number includes men who were counted individually by both agencies, thereby resulting in some
referrals being counted twice.
In addition to the PAR program, the Family Counselling Centre offers a program entitled Caring Dad’s
that is designed to enhance the parenting of men who have been abusive in their relationships
with their children and/or their partners. During the fiscal year 2008/09, 55 men were screened and
accepted into the Caring Dad’s program. In total 39 men started a Caring Dad’s group in 2008/09
and 24 (61%) completed the group.

Women and Children’s Programming
There are two programs offered by the Family Counselling Centre that are designed to address the
impact of domestic violence on children. These child witness programs are entitled Side by Side and
For Me & My Mom. In reporting these statistics, the Family Counselling Centre combines the totals
of these two programs. In 2008/09, the child witness programs ran 13 children’s groups and seven
groups for mothers. In total these programs served 265 women and 236 children. Additionally,
the Family Counselling Centre held five workshops for women and their children to provide
information regarding the impact of domestic violence. Seventy women and 12 children were
serviced at these workshops.
Design for a New Tomorrow also provides counselling and support services to women who are
victims of domestic violence. In the calendar year 2008 they ran 20 groups that serviced 70 women
and provided support to an additional 980 women through individual counselling.
Additional Programming
In addition to the above-mentioned statistics, the Family Counselling Centre ran a project entitled
Violence Prevention/Educational Groups for Developmentally Challenged Adult Women and Train the
Facilitator Project. This project was designed to increase the knowledge and skills regarding the issue
of domestic violence for women with developmental disabilities in both the violence against women
and developmental services sector. As part of this project, three psycho-educational groups were
completed and 25 individuals received training on the issue of domestic violence as it relates to the
developmental disabilities field.
Emerging Themes
In this section we present the predominant themes that
emerged during the course of this project. These themes were
selected based on the prevalence with which they were raised
by participants and service providers and based upon their
perceived importance in developing a community-based
response to domestic violence. It is our hope that these
themes will highlight the need to expand those programs
that are innovative and demonstrate a commitment to
ending violence against women. It is also our hope to draw
attention to those areas of practice that require adjustment
in order to improve the response to domestic violence.
“I feel that I have a wonderful counsellor
who really knows what she is talking about,
instead of fluffing me off”

24 Emerging Themes the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09
25the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Emerging Themes
In the Niagara Region the issue of domestic
violence is primarily heard in two courts, the
Criminal Court and Family Court. Both of these
court systems have a pivotal role to play in the
lives of families where domestic violence has
occurred. Courthouses are primarily located
in St. Catharines and Welland, with a smaller
courthouse in Fort Erie. Historically, there had
been a courthouse in Niagara Falls that has
now been closed. Service providers and Crown
Attorneys indicated a level of concern regarding
the absence of court services in Niagara Falls.
Criminal matters from Niagara Falls are heard
in the St. Catharines Criminal Court while the
Family Court matters from Niagara Falls are
heard in Welland Court. These changes have
raised concerns regarding the ability for people
in Niagara Falls to easily access the court system
as a result of this change. One of the hallmarks
of a good community-based response to
domestic violence is a community-based court
system, which no longer exists within the City
of Niagara Falls.
In the Niagara Region there are two locations that
house the dedicated Domestic Violence Courts.
These Domestic Violence Courts were created in
2001 as a result of the inquests into the deaths
of May Isles and Gillian Hadley. The courts are
located in St. Catharines and Welland and each
has a designated Crown Attorney assigned
to them. The goal of these courts is to bring
consistency and specialization to the handling
of these cases. In St. Catharines the Crown
Attorney’s rotate through the Domestic Violence
Court, with the length of assignment varying from
a period of 6 months to one year. The relatively
brief assignment of the Crown Attorney in St.
Catharines to the Domestic Violence Court is
concerning as such a brief time period does
not allow for the development of specialization
or consistency in prosecution. In Welland, the
current Crown Attorney is permanently assigned
to the Domestic Violence Court and has no
interest in rotating out of that position.
One of the main challenges to the Domestic
Violence Courts is the sheer volume of cases
waiting for court time. In conversation with the
Crown Attorneys in both cities, they indicated
that between 100-200 cases are open at any
given time in each court (between 300-400 region
wide) and only 20-30 cases are resolved per
month. Additionally, there are approximately only
2-3 trials per month in each of these courts that
has added to the backlog.
An additional challenge to the Criminal Court
System in dealing with the issue of domestic
violence is what the lawyer at Gillian’s Place
referred to as the legal ‘game’. This is where a
The Legal System
The most prominent theme that emerged out of the research was the
importance of a legal system that is responsive to the issue of domestic
violence. Community service providers and individual survey respondents
reinforced the importance of the legal system and indicated that the current
legal system in the Niagara Region presents some significant challenges
to effectively dealing with the issue of domestic violence.
One of the main challenges
to the Domestic Violence
Courts is the sheer volume of
cases waiting for court time.
number of areas of the legal system become
bogged down as a result of the continued
adjournment of domestic violence related
matters by the offender. According to the lawyer,
offenders will continually adjourn their matter
to a trial date in the hopes that the victim will
not show up to testify at trial, leading to the
charges being withdrawn. It was her perception
that the culture of the court system recognizes
that many of these matters are actually resolved
on the day of trial. The unintended consequence
of this is a significant backlog of trials, and the
setting of multiple trials for the same date.
Additionally, she indicated that she believed
that this is another way in which the offender
continues to try and abuse the victim through
the court system.
The Domestic Violence Courts were set up to
provide specialization in the handling of these
cases. The Crown Attorney assigned to the
Domestic Violence Court handles all aspects
of the case except bail. This includes screening,
resolution, pleas, trials and sentencing and
contact with the victim. The fact that there is
not specialization at the bail court level is of
concern. One of the Crown Attorneys who
we spoke with for this report indicated that
there is no specialization in bail court and
that there is no formal mechanism to notify
the Domestic Violence Crown Attorney of
impending bail hearings.
Bail court is one of the most significant areas
of intervention by the criminal justice system
in cases of domestic violence. This is often when
the offender is released and when the risk to
the victim is at one of its highest points.
The 2008 Domestic Violence Death Review
Committee Report highlights that the period of
separation is a high risk time for women leaving
abusive relationships and that breaching bail
conditions is one of the risk factors associated
with domestic violence related homicides (Office
of the Chief Coroner, 2009).
It is unclear how effective the Domestic Violence
Court is in the Niagara Region. Statistics regarding
outcomes of the cases were admittedly difficult
to obtain and are not included in this report.
However, anecdotal information from service
users and service providers suggests that the
perception is that the courts are not effectively
dealing with this issue. The relatively short
duration of the assignment to the Domestic
Violence Court, combined with the high
workload of the Crown Attorneys may be
resulting in an absence of specialization and
consistency required to make these courts
effective. Given how much work is required,
the Crown Attorney’s interviewed for this report
indicated that they often do not get to meet
the victim until the day of court, which results
in hurried interviews in an attempt to prepare
their case. One of the Crown Attorney’s who
was interviewed for this report indicated that
the emotional nature of the work in the Domestic
Violence Court can take a toll on an individual
prosecutor and therefore rotation is necessary.
Another area that Crown Attorneys talked
about was how difficult it is to assess whether
or not an offender is ready to change. Crown
Attorneys must make recommendations
regarding probation orders and treatment
conditions. Often, this involves deciding if a
man is ready and prepared to attend the Partner
Assault Response Program. The Crown Attorney’s
are not in a position to adequately assess an
offender’s readiness for group. One of the
Crown Attorneys interviewed for this report
was very clear and stated “I don’t have the
tools to determine readiness” in referring to
an offenders readiness for group treatment.
Domestic violence is still
considered by some to be a
personal and intimate issue
between two individuals.

There are two reasons for this; first they are not
counsellors with the ability to assess readiness
for group and second they admittedly are
unaware of the content of the Partner Assault
Response (PAR) group. The absence of
knowledge regarding PAR appears to be the
result of a lack of coordination and education
with community partners.
In speaking with the Crown Attorneys one of
the most interesting aspects that emerged
was that the Criminal Court System might not
be philosophically prepared to deal with the
issue of domestic violence. Domestic violence
is still considered by some to be a personal and
intimate issue between two individuals. Many
aspects of the Criminal Court System remain
based in a patriarchal hierarchy, which resist
dealing with ‘social issues’. One Crown Attorney
succinctly stated that “old fashioned ideas that
rule us from the grave”. This individual was
referring to the fact that the inability for the
current court system to deal with domestic
violence is a direct result of the oppressive
history of the system that refuses to see
change as necessary and inevitable.
One important component of the Domestic
Violence Court is the Domestic Violence Court
Advisory Committee (DVCAC), which acts as
a coordinating body between the courts,
probation and social service agencies. This
committee helps to bring awareness to possible
service delivery issues as they arise and assist
in resolution. Membership on this committee
is recommended to include criminal court
judges but thus far this has not occurred as
part of this committee in the Niagara Region.
In other regions judges are routinely involved
in many aspects of developing a coordinated
response to domestic violence. We believe,
in speaking with members of the DVCAC and
other service providers, that involving judges
at the coordination level would go a long
way to improve the legal system response to
domestic violence.
One aspect of the legal system that appears
to have significant importance for victims is
the Legal Aid System. Women who have been
abused by their partners can access information
regarding the legal system through the
shelter system and some Transitional Support
Workers. They are also eligible for a free two
hour Legal Aid certificate that they can use to
have a consultation with a lawyer. There is no
mandatory training in place for lawyers to be
eligible to accept the two hour Legal
Aid certificate. Training is offered, however,
rather than attending the training, lawyers can
simply purchase a copy of a DVD that contains
domestic violence related information. Lawyers
who are able to accept full Legal Aid certificates
are not required to have taken the domestic
violence training nor are they required to
purchase the DVD. In this manner there is
no regulation of lawyers to ensure that they
have appropriate understanding of the issue
of domestic violence prior to representing
abused women.
In examining this service, we discovered that
many of the lawyers who accept the Domestic
Violence Legal Aid certificate practice primarily
in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls.
Given the location of the court system, this
makes practical sense however for women
with no transportation this limits their ability
to access legal advice. Of particular note is
that the Municipality of West Lincoln does
not have any lawyers who accept these two
hour Legal Aid certificates. A system that is
responsive to the needs of women who are
victims of domestic violence, must consider
all aspects and needs including the need and
relative ability to access sound legal advice.
It is important to note that during the course
of creating this report there were significant
cutbacks to the legal aid system which will
directly impact women who have been abused.
Historically, women who were victims of abuse
were able to access Legal Aid for Family Court
matters provided that they met the criteria
for financial assistance. The new eligibility
requirements do not provide for Legal Aid
for individuals wanting to commence Family
Court application unless the matter is contested
or unless it involves domestic violence. The
implication for these new eligibility requirements
are that women will have to disclose being
abused at a very early point of the application
process to court counter staff who are in
essence complete strangers. In the absence of
a disclosure they may have to deal with duty
counsel which does not offer the consistency
required for the complexity associated with
these matters.
While this section has focused primarily on the
Criminal Justice System, it is important to note
that domestic violence transcends multiple court
systems. The other main court system that is
utilized by families where domestic violence is
an issue is the Family Court System. Women who
participated in the focus groups had differing
experiences with the Criminal Justice System and
the Family Court System.
Women often felt that these venues dis-
empowered them even further. One woman
indicated “we women are put in the position of
having to prove everything” in referring to her
experience in the Family Court System.
Another woman expressed concern about her
ex-partners ability to bring a motion back to
court; “Two months after I got an order with no
access, he went back and applied for access…
he fails to follow through and he is allowed to
make a motion for change in the no access order”
Another woman stated “You are made to feel
like, until you can prove it, oh well”.
In this manner, the women we spoke with often
felt that the Family Court System was another
way for their partners to continue to control
them and their children. It is important to note
that in the relative court systems, the Family
Court Orders can trump those made in the
Criminal Court System. The Family Court system
essentially encourages contact between the
victim and abuser, which may inadvertently lead
to children witnessing domestic violence.
The Family Court system
essentially encourages
contact between the victim
and abuser, which may
inadvertently lead to children
witnessing domestic violence.

In the Niagara Region three separate levels of
the Criminal Justice System and various social
service agencies deal with domestic violence
offenders. The Niagara Regional Police Service
are the first responders to incidents of domestic
violence. These first responders are the
uniformed patrol officers. Every uniformed
officer of the Niagara Regional Police Service
has received training on the issue of domestic
violence. This is an important component to a
consistent response to this issue. As noted in the
section on statistics the Niagara Regional Police
Service responded to 6532 domestic violence
calls in 2008 and laid charges or sought a warrant
in 916 of those cases.
In the Niagara Region, the police established
a specialized domestic violence unit in order
to deal with these cases. The Domestic
Violence Unit of the Niagara Regional Police is
a pilot project. The unit is mainly situated in St.
Catharines where detectives are aligned with
the platoons. A typical call involves a uniformed
officer responding to the initial domestic violence
call in order to ascertain if a charge will be laid
or not. Once a charge is laid, the Domestic
Violence Unit takes over the case. This results
in the uniformed officer being back on the
street sooner as opposed to being responsible
for the paperwork and further investigation of
the domestic violence case. In this manner, the
Domestic Violence Unit results in more uniform
officers being on the street, and due to their
specialization, domestic violence cases are
handled in a more consistent manner.
The Crown Attorney’s are another level of the
Criminal Justice System that works with domestic
violence offenders. As previously noted given the
lack of training in assessing readiness for group,
Crown Attorney’s often rely upon the Victim
Witness Assistance Program, who consults with
the victim to determine what possible probation
terms might be appropriate. Interviews with the
Crown Attorneys and probation officers revealed
that it is standard procedure for men who are
convicted of domestic violence in the Niagara
Region to be ordered into the Partner Assault
Working with
Domestic Violence Offenders
Another significant theme that emerged from the research associated with
this project was how offenders of domestic violence are dealt with. While there
are numerous innovative practices taking shape in the Niagara Region in an
attempt to deal with offenders there are still many challenges to working with
these men and ensuring that they receive appropriate services. A community-
based response to domestic violence is one that holds a central premise that it
is important to hold offenders accountable for their behaviour in a consistent
manner and to offer the opportunity for men to attend treatment within a
reasonable period of time.
“I didn’t even call the police anymore”
Niagara Regional Police Services
responded to 6532 domestic
violence calls in 2008 and laid
charges or sought a warrant in
916 of those cases.

corroborated by the responses from the men
to the survey that indicated that they waited
2-3 months for service.
The probation officers also indicated that they
were concerned about the lack of alternatives
for men who were refused entry into the PAR
program. One of the difficulties in having a
standardized probation condition to attend PAR
is that it fails to take into consideration the stage
of change of the individual. Men who enter
PAR are generally in the contemplation stage of
change (accept that there may be a problem),
whereas others may be in the pre-contemplative
stage (do not perceive there to be a problem).
A standardized condition also does not provide
the opportunity to prioritize the therapeutic
needs of the individual man.
The probation officers indicated that there is
merit in developing a pre-contemplative program
for domestic violence offenders. This would
afford the individual an opportunity to begin to
get ready to go into group. The probation officers
indicated that their job would be more efficient
if they were afforded the opportunity to tailor
the treatment plan for the individual as part of
the probation term.
The mandate of the PAR program limits who
can attend the group. Typically, in order to be
accepted an individual must have a probation
condition that stipulates that he attend PAR.
The absence of a condition to attend PAR
could result in non-acceptance into the group
regardless of the appropriateness of the
individual or the need for assistance. This
continues to be an area where community
coordination is being improved and collaboration
continues to increase as those men who do not
have a probation condition to attend PAR may
well benefit from the material.
The need for increased services for men was
a sentiment shared by many service providers
who responded to the Service Provider Survey.
Thirty-six respondents indicated that they
had made a referral to PAR in 2008 as part of
their job. This sentiment was also echoed in
the Service Providers Survey when we asked
“What resources do you believe are most
critically needed in the Niagara Region?” and
received the following responses: “more groups
for male perpetrators”, “resources for men who
either perpetrate or are victims”, “parenting
programs for men”, “treatment programs for
men prior to sentencing but only if this program
does not impact on perpetrators getting out of
being sentenced”.
Other Service Alternatives
In an attempt to continue to provide services to
men regarding their violence in conjunction to
their parenting, the Family Counselling Centre
has been offering a program entitled Caring
Dads. This program is designed to invite men
to explore the impact of their violence towards
their partner or their abusive parenting on their
children. Caring Dads begins to fill the gap in
services to abusive men that has been identified
within the Niagara Region; however it does not
have secure funding at this time.
Within the aboriginal community, I am a Kind
Man (Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin) is offered
in order to begin to assist aboriginal men in
developing an understanding of what constitutes
a healthy relationship and to understand violence
against women. Based on the teaching of the
Seven Grandfathers, I am a Kind Man was
created to provide an opportunity for aboriginal
communities to engage their men and youth
in understanding violence against women and
to support them on working together to end
the violence.
Response program (PAR). This standardized
response is a direct result of the implementation
of the Domestic Violence Court in an effort
to create a uniformed response to this issue.
This happens regardless of their readiness for
group or of the prevalence of other significant
circumstances (mental health issues, addiction
issues). This ‘one size fits all’ model is likely the
result of a lack of training and coordination
between service providers and the legal system.
As part of this project, we attempted to flush out
the root causes of this dilemma. We asked the
Crown Attorneys about the practice of working
towards a mandatory PAR condition as opposed
to leaving it to the discretion of the probation
officers. In addition to not being prepared to
assess for the readiness of an individual group
one of the Crown Attorneys summed up the
frustration by stating that the “Criminal Justice
System is a club, not a scalpel”. This was meant
to suggest that the system is currently only able
to provide one response to the issue of domestic
violence, punishment, rather than designing an
individual treatment plan that best serves the
individual and the community.
The probation officers within the Niagara Region
are charged with the task of supervising domestic
violence offenders and enforcing probation
orders. The Niagara Region Probation and Parole
Services utilize an innovative model of service
delivery in order to monitor high-risk domestic
violence offenders on probation. Based on
the fact that 28% of the probation caseload is
domestic violence related, Probation Services has
three dedicated probation officers that supervise
the high-risk domestic violence offenders.
This model was developed with the intention
of delivering improved service, providing a
consistent response to this issue and to provide
a level of specialization due to the complexity of
the issue of domestic violence.
The probation officers who were interviewed
as part of the research for this report indicated
that there are many benefits to their current
model. They report that high-risk offenders
are identified sooner due to their working
relationship with the police and the crown
attorneys. Further they report excellent working
relationships with the Niagara Regional Police
Service Domestic Violence Unit with whom
they have frequent contact. The probation
officers did note that there is some frustration
in working with domestic violence offenders.
These frustrations tend to revolve around the
standardized condition that men attend PAR.
They find that this standardized practice can be
quite restrictive as they often have men who are
not ready to attend group. However if a man fails
to attend group regardless of the reason, the only
course of action available is to breach him for
failing to comply. They indicated that a solution
to this might be to allocate the responsibility
to determine group readiness to the individual
probation officer who would be trained to
conduct such an assessment.
Services for
Many of the individuals who provided input into
this report identified concerns regarding the
lack of services available to men who commit
domestic violence. The probation officers
indicated that their experience in referring
offenders to services has been frustrating.
The Family Counselling Centre and Design for
a New Tomorrow jointly deliver the Partner
Assault Response (PAR) program. The probation
officers indicated that there is a significant
waitlist for men to access the PAR program in
St. Catharines. As a result men have to wait
long periods of time for service. This was
This ‘one size fits all’ model
is likely the result of a
lack of training and coordination
between service providers
and the legal system.
There is a significant waitlist
for men to access the PAR
program in St. Catharines.
As a result men have to wait
long periods of time for service.

33the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008 Emerging Themes
For women who are victims of domestic
violence, the implications of living in a small/
rural community are many. Many of these
women live in isolation, often for years before
considering leaving their partner. The isolation
often means that the abuse goes undetected
by others in their community. This isolation is
exacerbated by the absence of support service
providers. One service provider, who works
primarily in the rural areas, indicated that it
is likely that due to budget restraints and
workload, their agency has not tapped into
many communities and women who reside in
rural settings.
Leaving a small community can be equally
difficult for women. Once they enter the shelter
system they encounter a much different world
than they were used to. In conversation with
outreach support workers, they indicated that
many women from small communities, who
experience domestic violence and leave their
partner, often stay within the same small
community. The connection to the people,
friends and relatives is far more important than
the isolation associated with entering the shelter
system and/or moving to a new city to do so.
The women who decide to remain in these small
communities must also then navigate a new set
of obstacles. These include, limited access to
a Legal Aid lawyer (as noted, the lawyers who
accept Legal Aid certificates work primarily in St.
Catharines, Welland, and Niagara Falls) without
appropriate transportation. If they do not have a
vehicle, they face increased difficulties accessing
the court system, as no transportation system
exists that connects the entire Niagara Region.
It is also the opinion of outreach workers that
were interviewed for this report that even when
women in rural communities leave, their abusive
partners often know where they are. Finally,
an abused women living in a small or rural
community is more likely to pay full market value
for her rent due to the fact that outside of the
major centres in the Niagara Region there exists
very little subsidized housing. This may mean that
they will reside in poverty if they have accessed
the social service system.
“You are not alone. Be strong
for your children and yourself and get out
of the situation. You and your children
will see how wonderful life is without abuse”This rural nature of the Niagara Region
poses a challenge to families where
domestic violence is an issue.
The Rural Nature of the
Niagara Region
While the majority of the population of this region resides in St. Catharines,
Welland, or Niagara Falls, a considerable number of residents reside in rural
or smaller communities. This rural nature of the Niagara Region poses a
challenge to families where domestic violence is an issue. In many rural
communities, families have very little access to services. For example, in
communities such as Fort Erie, Smithville or Grimsby, some service providers
do not maintain offices and only provide staff in those communities once a
week. Families in these communities are more likely to suffer from a lack of
access to services that might be afforded to those in larger, more urban areas.

34 Emerging Themes the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008
This has significant implications for victims of
domestic violence. Several service providers
highlighted the difficulties associated with not
having a rider-friendly transit system in this
region. For victims of domestic violence, not
being able to travel, can lead to additional
isolation, inability to access services and an
inability to access the legal system.
Many service providers discussed the way
in which they assisted victims of domestic
violence to get to court. For women living
outside of the current transit systems, getting
to court is a significant problem. Many agencies
and workers spend a considerable amount of
money transporting women to court or paying
for taxicabs to ensure that women are able to
file documents or meet with legal-aid lawyers.
We anticipate that the absence of the Niagara
Falls Court will further exacerbate this issue, as
families will have to travel from Niagara Falls to
St. Catharines and/or Welland in order to have
their matters heard.
For victims of domestic violence,
not being able to travel, can lead
to additional isolation, inability
to access services and an inability
to access the legal system.
Transportation
One of the main themes that emerged during the course of this
study was the issue of transportation. Within the Niagara Region,
there is no infrastructure associated with public transportation
that permits travel between communities.
“…how easy it is to make victims lives miserable,
even when they don’t know where you are”

Service providers who responded to our survey
believed that coordination and collaboration
are occurring as part of their regular practice.
Typically this happens as a result of collaborative
agreements and protocols between agencies.
78% of respondents to the Service Providers
Survey reported that they were aware of their
agency’s collaborative agreements and 55%
were satisfied with these agreements.
Additionally, 74% were aware of their inter-
agency protocols and 57% were satisfied with
these protocols. Collaboration often takes the
form of case reviews with other agencies. 60%
of respondents indicated that their agency
takes part in case reviews. This suggests two
things; that service providers are aware of their
collaborative obligations and that there is a
practice of conducting case reviews, which is
a form of collaboration.
The responses to the Service User Survey
provided us with additional information that
supports that collaboration is occurring in the
Niagara Region. 62% of service users agreed
or strongly agreed that people in different
organizations worked together in their response
to the domestic violence situation. A further
74% indicated the organizations that they
encountered worked together to provide service.
Women who took part in our focus groups
highlighted the importance of collaboration.
Many women felt that many of the services that
they initially connected with were able to link
them with other important and helpful services.
They cited shelters as important places where
they could be connected to several services
regardless of whether or not they were staying in
the shelter. For many women the shelters were
their first stop after leaving their abusive partner
and they found it incredibly helpful to encounter
staff that were knowledgeable about services
and could help them navigate the various social
service systems they needed.
Other women found the community-based
services such as Design for a New Tomorrow to
be very helpful in connecting them to services.
In conducting the focus group at Bethlehem
Place, several women cited that the reason they
were in Bethlehem Projects was due to staff at
Design for a New Tomorrow. Other women found
the counsellors helpful in linking them to other
services within the Niagara Region and beyond.
Overall, the women indicated that their
experiences were enhanced as a result of
the collaboration of service providers. They
indicated that this was one of the most
important and helpful things, besides feeling
safe. They indicated that their lives improved
as a result of the collaborative efforts of the
agencies they encountered.
Collaboration and
Coordination of Services
One of the most important aspects of a community-based response to
domestic violence is the collaboration and coordination of services. As part
of this project we were interested in knowing whether or not collaboration
was occurring between service providers. Collaboration was one of the focal
points of the surveys that were distributed, a focus of our conversations with
community service providers and emerged as a theme from the focus groups.
“It’s real and it reflects
a much larger problem”

As noted in the Statistics section, the Niagara
Region has three shelters for abused women.
These are located in the St. Catharines, Welland
and Niagara Falls. During the fiscal year 2008/09,
522 women and 144 children were serviced in
a shelter. One of the most important statistics
from the shelter data was that 183 women and
children were referred elsewhere due to a lack
of space. While this number includes referrals
between the three shelters, the importance of
this number should be emphasized. This number
means that a significant number of women
and children may have had to find safe shelter
outside of the region, resided in housing that was
less than ideal (i.e.: unsafe) or may have chosen
to stay with their abusive partners. An excellent
example of the lack of shelter space is in the
West Niagara Region and the outlying rural areas.
There is no shelter space located in West Niagara
that would provide service for women who
reside in this part of the Niagara Region.
The statistics from the shelter system in the
Niagara Region are reflective of the issue facing
shelters across the province. A report by the
Ministry of Community and Social Services
(MCSS) entitled Survey of VAW Emergency
Shelters found that the number one reason for
turning women away from a shelter was due to
the lack of available beds (MCSS, 2009). Nowhere
is this example more clearly demonstrated than
in the Niagara Region where a shortage of beds is
a regular occurrence.
The other important aspect of the housing theme
is housing that is utilized by women once they
leave the shelter system. Many service providers
and service users highlighted this aspect of
housing during our meetings and focus groups.
We asked service providers what resources they
thought were the most critically needed in the
Niagara Region. Of the 73 responses that we
received to this question, 24 indicated that the
Niagara Region critically needed more housing to
support women in abusive relationships.
In the Niagara Region, housing that is geared to
income is available through the Niagara Regional
Housing Authority. Women who have been
victims of domestic violence can apply for to the
Niagara Regional Housing Authority for Special
Priority Status. This means that they will be
afforded the opportunity to be housed quickly
Housing
Housing was another theme that emerged during the course of collecting
information for this project. In speaking with community service providers
and service users there were two types of housing that became important to
address. They are housing that is shelter-based and non-emergency shelter
that is available to the public, typically referred to as affordable or rent
geared-to-income. Safe, secure and affordable housing is a key component
of a community-based response to domestic violence. This project found that
there are many challenges facing the Niagara Region with respect to housing.
A significant number of women
and children may have had to
find safe shelter outside of the
region, resided in housing that
was less than ideal (i.e.: unsafe)
or may have chosen to stay with
their abusive partners.
“He said I can’t call the police
because he’ll take the baby away”

due to being a victim of domestic violence. In
2008, Niagara Regional Housing housed 765
households and 143 of these were priority
placements. As of April 1, 2009, there were 4489
families on the waitlist for affordable housing in
the Niagara Region; 82 of these families were
designated as Special Priority Status. Given the
waitlists associated with the Niagara Regional
Housing Authority, it does not appear realistic to
consider this as a viable option for women who
are in the shelter system or considering leaving
an abusive relationship. Currently, Bethlehem
Projects has 10 of 40 units in an affordable,
supportive apartment building in St. Catharines,
dedicated for women who have been victims of
domestic violence and 6 more units designated
in their new 40 unit apartment building under
construction in Niagara Falls.
The wait time for women leaving shelters to
enter affordable housing can be considerable.
The MCSS report on shelters indicated that as
part of their study in 2006-07 they found that the
average wait time for a woman to access social
housing from a shelter was between two and
six months. Given the current waitlist for social
housing in the Niagara Region, there is no reason
to believe that this wait time is any different
here. For women who are attempting to establish
their independence from an abusive partner, this
can complicate and delay the process. It should
be noted that the wait time for abused women
to enter social housing is considerably less than
those from the general population including
those who have been assigned homeless status.
This is a very positive indicator of how serious
the issue of domestic violence is taken by the
Niagara Regional Housing Authority.
Some women who are victims of domestic
violence will access Second Stage Housing as a
way to transition from the shelter to living on
their own. Unfortunately, the Niagara Region
also lacks an adequate number of spaces within
Second Stage Housing. An excellent example of
this is the Second Stage Housing in West Niagara.
Bethlehem Projects has 15 units designated
as Second Stage Housing in St. Catharines and
accepts referrals from across the Niagara Region.
The average length of stay is one year. In West
Niagara (Beamsville, Grimsby, Lincoln), there are
four apartments that are designated as being
Second Stage Housing. These apartments are
constantly full and the average stay is 285 days.
Given that, there is not a lot of opportunity for
women in the West Niagara Region to access
these apartments with any sense of ease.
The women from the focus groups spoke about
the importance of shelters and housing. These
women reported that the shelters afforded them
time to feel safe and collect themselves as they
decided what they would do next. This sense
of safety and security is invaluable in assisting
women in leaving an abusive relationship.
Women who took part in this project also
indicated that the availability and affordability
of housing was a concern. Many of them knew
about the significant waitlists associated with
housing which served as an impediment to
applying for housing. They also indicated that
given the current subsidy rates available through
Ontario Works, fair market housing was too
expensive. This often meant that women lived in
substandard, unsafe housing.
An excellent example of the housing dilemma
was the story of one woman who participated in
one of our focus groups. After leaving her abusive
husband she stayed at a shelter for a period of
time. She eventually transitioned to her own
small apartment. She was not eligible for Ontario
Works because she worked and had RRSPs that
accumulated during her 30 years of marriage.
This woman made it clear how unfair the system
was as her abusive ex-husband continued to
reside in the familial home while she lived in a
small apartment, unsure how she would pay the
rent at the end of the month.
Overall, housing is a significant issue within the
Niagara Region. Given the potential growth
within the region and the fact that the shelters
are already redirecting close to 200 women
and children a year, we believe that the shelter
system will not be adequate for the needs of
this community in the next 5-10 years. Similarly,
the long waitlists associated with the Niagara
Regional Housing Authority are clearly an
impediment to providing affordable housing
in the Niagara Region. Women who leave their
abusive partners are starting over. If they are
unable to be adequately and safely housed then
there is a possibility that they may return to their
abusive partners.
The Tenuous Nature of
Funding for Domestic Violence
Services
Throughout our conversations with various
service providers we repeatedly heard from them
about the lack of stable and secure funding.
Many agencies work on an annual budget which
means that it is not always clear what services
will be offered from year to year. One of the most
glaring areas where this was apparent was with
the Niagara Regional Police Service Domestic
Violence Unit. This unit is still considered to
be a pilot project and lacks any guarantee of
funding. The head of the Domestic Violence
Unit indicated that annually he ‘competes’ for
his unit to be prioritized within the funding
stream. The absence of stabilized funding is also
apparent within Family and Children’s Services
where the funding for their collaborative efforts
with Gillian’s Place is not secure and they are
often not apprised of their allocation until well
after the commencement of the fiscal year.
This inconsistency and the lack of dedication by
provincial bodies are quite telling regarding the
priorities of the government as it relates to the
issue of domestic violence.
The situation for non-profit services is not much
better. Services such as West Niagara Second
Stage Housing have had to revamp the entire
manner in which they seek out additional funding
sources. The women’s shelters in the region hold
significant fundraising efforts throughout the
year in an attempt to ensure the provision of
service. For many other agencies the situation
is the same or worse. The absence of stable and
secure funding may result in a lack of consistency
in service provision over time and a reduction
in service. The absence of secure funding also
results in a feeling of constant anxiety amongst
service providers who are dedicated to the work
that they do.
Women who leave their
abusive partners are
starting over. If they are unable
to be adequately and safely
housed then there is a
possibility that they may
return to their abusive partners.
“It was a nice little house,
but it was like a jail”

Women who participated in the focus groups
reported having various experiences with the
Niagara Regional Police Service. For the most
part, women reported positive experiences in
dealing with the police. There were two areas
that merit attention, the experiences of women
where no charges are laid and the experiences
of women who are younger.
One of the dilemma’s women reported that
police rarely asked men to leave the residence
if no charges have been laid. Often if police
are unable to press charges, they may ask one
party to leave. Typically, it is the experience of
the women in this report that the woman is the
one who leaves. In those cases where men are
asked to leave and refuse the police are unable
to force him to do so. The women found this
to be very frustrating. Often it is the woman
who was responsible for childcare and leaving
meant taking the children which is a much more
complicated solution than having the man leave.
The women indicated that they wished that the
police would be more insistent that the men
leave the home.
The other general theme that emerged was the
experience of young women with the police.
These women found that the police took them
less seriously due to their age and were more
likely to attempt to minimize the seriousness of
the occurrence. They felt “talked down to and
less valid” as one woman stated. Another woman
reported an equally concerning experience:
“When I called, I got this cocky guy who came
after 2-3 hours, took down some notes and
didn’t even make an incident report” Other
women reported the following as a result of what
happened as poor follow through by the police,
“I’ve been afraid to go on the streets at times.”
Many of the women indicated that in dealing
with uniformed officers, more work needs to be
done. One woman succinctly stated, “I think they
have to get off their authority horse.”
The women want to remind the Niagara Regional
Police Service of the dynamics of domestic
violence and that many women they encounter
are likely to be in crisis. This requires a deep
Agencies Who Hold Power
and Authority
During the course of collecting information for this report we encountered
many individuals who related stories about agencies who hold power and
authority. The two services providers that were most often highlighted
were the Niagara Regional Police Service and Family and Children’s Services
Niagara (FACS Niagara). Both of these services have a complicated role in
dealing with the issue of domestic violence. The Niagara Regional Police are
mandated to enforce the law, while FACS Niagara’s mandate is ensuring the
safety and well being of children. The intent of this section is to draw attention
to these services in response to those who spoke about their experiences and
to remind these agencies that the old adage ‘with great power comes great
responsibility’ is indeed true.
“Nobody deserves to be
disrespected, yelled at,
talked down to, called names”
“I think it is important to
understand that abuse can
occur without hitting”

45the niagara region domestic violence report 2008 Domestic Violence-Related Statistics in the Niagara Region
Recommendations
understanding of the complexities associated
with domestic violence. It is important for
officers in law enforcement to be mindful of their
presence as they encounter incidents of domestic
violence and to remember the potential impact
their authority may have.
FACS Niagara is charged with the task of ensuring
the safety and well being of children. Given
the potential for emotional and physical harm
associated with being exposed to domestic
violence, FACS is routinely involved in the lives
of families where domestic violence is an issue.
Many of the women who participated in this
project provided us with feedback on their
experiences of dealing with FACS. We offer
those experiences here as an opportunity for
FACS and this community to continue to improve
its service to families.
Many of the women in our focus groups spoke of
a great amount of fear and trepidation in dealing
with FACS. Many were worried that they would
have their children taken away. They also worried
about the influence of FACS on their behaviour,
specifically, the ability to force them to attend
a shelter. The women in the focus groups
highlighted how pervasive the sense of power
is that is associated with a child welfare agency.
Some of the women indicated that it often felt
like FACS workers didn’t understand domestic
violence and that they were being punished as
opposed to their abusive partners.
Some of the women also felt that their abusive
partners were able to use FACS as a way to get
back at them. By instilling fear that he could
somehow get FACS to take the children, women
were often re-victimized. One woman reported
this kind of fear when she stated that her ex-
partner threatened, “you can’t call the police,
I’ll take the baby away…” Another woman
reported that repeated calls to FACS and the
police by their abusive partner demonstrated
“how easy it is to make victims lives miserable
even when they don’t know where you are”
There were women who found FACS helpful and
it is important to highlight these experiences
as well as they represent the sharing of power
with women. One woman explained how FACS
helped her gather the strength to leave and focus
on her children.
“I didn’t have any backbone. FACS had hooked
me up with Gillian’s Place to go there and I found
that, that was the last step for me, there was no
way he could come back… FACS was kind of my
backbone in all of this”.
FACS is faced with the dilemma of a child-focused
mandate that potentially separates the interests
of parents and children. This often results in
the use of power and authority to keep
children safe. Women who reported positive
experiences with FACS indicated that their
workers understood domestic violence and
worked with them to stay safe.
The dilemma facing any mandated agency to
find a way to effectively conduct their work and
maintain an awareness of the dynamics that exist
as a result of domestic violence. Agencies with
power and authority must consistently be aware
of not only the power and control dynamics that
exist in abusive relationships, but they must
also be aware of their own power and how they
choose to exercise it. Only through increased
awareness and reflection will authority-based
agencies truly become effective allies in ending
violence against women.
Only through increased
awareness and reflection will
authority-based agencies
truly become effective allies in
ending violence against women.

47the niagara region domestic violence report CARD 2008/09 Recommendations
Arising from the Legal System
The input from the participants to this report highlighted the Legal System
as one of the most important aspects of a community-based response to
domestic violence. There are many positive aspects associated with the
work done within the legal system however there are many challenges that
are still apparent. As such we make the following recommendations di-
rected towards improving the manner in which the Legal System addresses
the issue of domestic violence in the Niagara Region.
That the Government of Ontario
re-establish a court house in
Niagara Falls and ensure that this court
house contains a court that is dedicated
to the issue of domestic violence and be
sufficiently resourced to meet the needs
of the community.
That the court systems in the
Niagara Region establish a Bail
Safety program designed to improve the
level of specialization on the issue of
domestic violence at bail proceedings.
That the Crown Attorney in
the St. Catharines court house
dedicate at least one Crown Attorney to
the Domestic Violence Court for a period
of time not shorter than three years. It is
further recommended that any additional
Crown Attorney’s that are dedicated to the
Domestic Violence Court in St. Catharines
be assigned for a time period no longer
than three years.
The Judges assigned to the
Domestic Violence Courts
regularly attend and participate in the
workings of the Domestic Violence Court
Advisory Committee.
That the Government of Ontario
dedicates appropriate funding
resources to the Domestic Violence Courts
in the Niagara Region.
That specialized domestic violence
training be mandatory for any
individual working within the legal system,
especially if that individual is working within
the Domestic Violence Court System.
The Niagara Coalition to End
Violence Against Women conduct
a follow up study to the 2009 Domestic
Violence Report Card and that this study
examine the justice system response
to the issue of domestic violence.
That the Niagara Regional
Police Service establish stable
and permanent funding to the Domestic
Violence Unit. This funding should be
adequate enough to afford each community
in the Niagara Region to be offered the
same service that is currently offered in
St. Catharines.
That the Office of the Crown
Attorney and the Ministry of the
Attorney General ensure that the Crown
Attorneys assigned to the Domestic Violence
Court have the appropriate knowledge and
understanding of the community resources
within the Niagara Region.
That the Office of the Crown
Attorney and Probation Services
collaborate to create an increased
understanding regarding the formulation
of probation conditions for domestic
violence offenders.
That the Partner Assault Response
(PAR) Program service providers
ensure that all men who are referred to
the PAR program are offered an assessment
within 30 days of receiving the referral.
Should it be determined that this timeframe
can not be met, additional resources
will need to be made available to the PAR
service providers.
Partner Assault Response Program
service providers offer a continuum
of services to domestic violence offenders
including pre-treatment services (group
readiness). This would also include
offering individual pre-treatment services
where necessary.
Partner Assault Response Program
service providers routinely hold
collaborative meetings with the probation
officers who monitor the high risk domestic
violence offenders. The purpose of these
meetings would be to increase feedback
and to continually discuss the development
and improvement of service to domestic
violence offenders.
1 1
2 2
3
3
4 4
5
5
6
67
Arising from Working with
This report documents the ongoing struggle associated with dealing with
offenders who have abused their partners. There are many agencies that are
dedicated to the provision of service to this population and there are numerous
innovative practices emerging within the Niagara Region that reflect a dedication
to addressing this issue. However, this report found that the funding to these
programs is tenuous. A community-based response to domestic violence requires
stable, long-term funding in order for these programs to be effective. As such, the
following recommendations are directed towards those agencies who work with
offenders and those governmental bodies that fund the respective programs.

CEVAW-DV-Report-Card 2008.09

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