Direct Service Workers Webinar -
IPV Resource Training Transcript

all right hello and welcome everyone pleasure to have you with us today and for this webinar I want to formally welcome everyone to the recognizing responding to intimate partner violence for Ontario rap Center webinar specifically for direct service providers and want to welcome everyone from across Ontario this project has been able to reach um a number of different regions and it's been it's been great to be able to do that in that capacity so that we know that those of you who are tuning in might be coming in from all parts of Ontario and we welcome you thank you for joining us and I'll just outline some information about the handouts in a minute but welcome everyone my name is Carol sorus and I am a registered social worker and a consultant who is the program coordinator for this project uh which has been just wonderful to work with out of this project there is a primary platform that has been developed that kind of houses and just compiles all of the various outputs that we've been able to produce and develop as a partnership uh for this project and you can find that all at rapw workers.com rapworkrs.com and in addition to the training material you'll find some of the resources that we'll be referring to today okay so just to give you a bit of an introduction and background on the mission of the project so the project itself as I mentioned was Ontario wide and the the mission was to advance the capacity of resettlement assistance programs or W programs in Ontario as they identify and respond to incidents of abuse experienced by Refugee women in particular we know that there has been a a large number of um new families new individuals um who have come to Canada and Ontario and so being able to address the various needs of of these individuals has been part of what we've been looking at and the government has paid attention to so we are um funded by ircc the immigration Refugee and citizenship Canada and on behalf of Rexdale women Center who is the primary uh project holder and uh manager again welcome and so that's our mission the primary objective for the project has been to expand the sector's existing knowledge base and to strengthen its capacity on a Frontline staff management organization and sector-wide basis so we're looking at you know various capacities because we know that this issue is something that will need the support of and response from all l within uh rap

centers so in terms of partners for the project so as I mentioned reale Women's Center who is the um the lead organization has partnered with the center for research and education on violence against women and children or creac and the Ontario Council of agencies serving immigrants or okasi to develop the content and material some of which we'll talk about today others available on the rap workers site uh adapt existing materials to the Target Group which is uh Refugee women and families who experienced uh intimate partner violence and to ensure sectoral representation within this uh partnership and the project itself so we had the pleasure of also uh you know coordinating an advisory committee representing agencies and expertise across Ontario and and so we had a wonderful group of Ontario rap centers partner agencies who also contributed to the conversation to the development and review of all of the U materials that were developed so who is this webinar for so this webinar specifically is for U direct service providers those who are working with uh Refugee individuals and families women and their families in some Capac it but specifically in W centers and also the resettlement services supervisor so those who manage who support teams of individuals who provide those Services

directly so what to expect so this webinar will include the slides that uh you may be seeing right now there will be uh a couple of different handouts that I've mentioned there's actually three handouts that are um associated with this particular webinar two in particular we'll be reviewing and referencing throughout this time one just very slightly and all are available through this webinar but also at the rapw workers.com website so this webinar will be about uh 50 to 60 minutes or so and the topics will include dos and don't working with Refugee women who have experienced intimate partner violence and speaking to to men who've used abuse or violence in their intimate partner relationships and we'll touch on a few myths as

well so the agenda just a little bit more specifically we'll talk about that uh toolkit that was developed and just highlight some of those uh key bits of of information that's in there so the dos and don'ts working with women who are refugees and experiencing intimate partner violence also speaking to men who've used violence in their intimate partner relationships and within that we'll be looking at the issues and needs we'll be introducing that ears open approach we'll be talking a little bit about the myths and uh including some tips preparing for conversations and of course taking a look at um how to assess for safety safety considerations so you ready in preparation for this webinar this time that you have devoted here please just ensure it wherever possible you may be listening to this at work or in a setting that um may be conflicting with your interest but wherever possible minimize distractions go ahead and access those handouts now or feel free to get them at your leisure and to also take notes it's really important you know we take in a certain amount of information obviously as we listen to it but when we write down notes our brain is really storing it in a different way and we also have it to refer back to because we may not necessarily have the time to come back and devote to listening to this webinar again but we do have the main notes things that you know you want to take away that really stand out for you that you want to refer back to available to you all right so the dos and dos document that toolkit was developed uh to provide a condensed guide or just a resource um toolkit to highlight recommendations for WAP direct service workers regarding intimate partner violence identification and response so I mentioned that at the WAP workers site there is a very comprehens of training that's available but we know that sometimes taking in that training may have to be done in stages based on other priorities and you know time constraints and that once you have gone through and completed that training that you may want to have some things that you can just sort of reference quickly so this dos and don'ts documents is a wonderful way to do that to highlight to reinforce to have sort of a quick reference and so it really does outline what to do and what to avoid doing and of course of course it's not an exhaustive list but it touches on some of the most important things and so it's been framed in a way and organized in a way uh similar to most of the materials that we have developed for this project which is recognize initial phase respond what to do and then the referrals um you know accessing other resources Consulting all of those other things so let's start with dos and don'ts in the stage of recognition that early stage and I'm going to just highlight a few of the does so what to do when exploring and identifying if a refugee woman might be experiencing intimate partner violence let's start there so the first one is do be aware of your own cultural and other biases cultural compet is key and biases obviously um in general is key the rap worker site does offer some information related to uh cultural competence of course but as service providers and those who supervise service providers I think it's really important that we're able to understand the experiences the belief systems you know all those things that we bring into any interaction and exchange with our clients and so it's we know that when we um not are not necessarily in a situation but preferably before that we know that we may have experienced something in our own lives we may have cultural views that would impact what our response might be and so being aware of that is really important and it continues to be on on important even throughout the course of our um you know career next one is do be aware of her native language her level of English and resources needed in this regard and so of course knowing that English may not be her first language knowing that just certain nuances and phrases and ways of referencing things may not be something that she's familiar with and so being able to you know Provide support provide resources provide information and provide a response that is aligned with you know her current level of of English and the supports or resources that she may need to fully understand you know what you're able to uh to bring to her to discuss with her that's very

important all right and so so again in the initial stage of recognition do talk with her when her partner is not present preferably when she's alone and this seems like common knowledge but youd be surprised at um you know sometimes unknowingly people just know the family and they may pick up on something and try to or feel it's okay because they know the family or it seems okay to try to address it in the moment and when it comes to intimate partner violence sometimes we need to slow down the process and consider uh safety issues and so if there are things that you know sort of raise a red flag or require further investigation making sure that that exploration those discussions are done when when she's alone and that may require some level of um planning and it might require some consultation if the family's always seen together it might require some strategy around how to do that but it's very important that wherever possible you are able to do that next one do understand that she may not admit to or talk about the violence that she's experiencing and so obviously this may be for so many reasons it could be that um there may be some fear there could be some shame um uh there may be um an inability to actually identify it or see it as abusive behavior and then of course because of all of those reasons not um feeling as though she's in a position or wants to talk to you about the violence um so sometimes service providers just assume that if something's going on you're offering help and you're exploring that that would be a perfect opportunity but there's so much any other elements and issues and and barriers and considerations that uh also come into play there so do also validate her feelings and experiences very

important do remain aware of cultural culture specific abusive behaviors such as spreading rumors to dishonor the woman or threatening to destroy her passport so while we know that intimate partner violence is not unique to Refugee families we do know that there are certain elements and types and forms that are unique and so being aware that um that that might be existing over and above what you may see in another family is going to be very important in in maintaining that

awareness so in terms of what not to do in that early stage that recognition stage what not to do when exploring and identifying if a refugee woman might be experiencing intimate partner violence first one do not ignore concerns or issues related to intimate partner

violence and that's that can be a challenge for for many people sometimes you know there's that question of is it intimate partner violence does she want to talk about it what will be the the response if it's raised um maybe you're feeling uncomfortable about the topic maybe you you see it as a private family matter maybe you see the other issues that they have come to you for the settlement you know other issues as the priorities just inviting you and encouraging you to not ignore concerns or issues related to in inate partner violence do not assume that it can't be that bad or she would tell someone and or leave as I referred to earlier Refugee women stay in a violent relationship for many reasons and next one do not assume that what she wants to do in any situation so don't assume what she might want to do and that sometimes comes from our own biases we might feel as though we would do a certain thing or want to respond in a certain way but we can't make those assumptions about the person who's in front of

us do not ignore warning signs present by children they are often hidden victims or silent Witnesses of intimate partner violence what sometimes the parents may seem okay but there are things that are coming out in this child or children that caus you to wonder is something going on with this family right do not feel as though you have you have to have all the answers consult with colleagues and supervisors if you're unsure about what you're noticing so yeah you know sometimes we feel as though we should be able to handle everything but we don't necessarily need to have all the answers be able to address and respond and deal with every situation and depending on the other resources that you may have at your agency you might be able to access someone who is trained and works specifically with intimate partner violence that you can refer to or you may just consult with that person or you may have your supervisor that you can also consult with

so in terms of the response so once you recognized and you've identified that there is some level of intimate partner violence existing what do you do in terms of your response so what to do in response to a refugee woman who is experiencing intimate partner vience so first and foremost do assess for her immediate safety needs and so hopefully your agency has some sort of protocol around addressing safety for for

clients but there are also a number of different resources that are out there including some that we've referenced and added to our training and resource guide at the WW workers.com website and of course if you're not feeling comfortable being able to at least ask some first preliminary questions and then providing her with resources and you know places that you can access to assess her safety further is a possibility and is an option available to all direct service staff all right and so do inform her of her rights in Canada she may not know this yet or she may know her rights somewhat or she may be confused because she could have a partner who telling her conflicting information you will lose this you will not be able to access this you need to have me in order to be able to continue to do this all of those kinds of things can you know add to the confusion and the you know the challenges that she's experiencing so do inform her of her rights in Canada those that you know and where she can access information further do inform her that woman abuse is not tolerated in Canada and that many forms including for example threats physical assaults sexual offenses are subject to charges under the criminal code of Canada so no uh intimate partner violence is not culturally necessarily accepted you know where she may come from but it may be something that she has has built up a just sort of a level of acceptance around or maybe her experiences in her home country was that when you call the police you know things get worse or the response is is not safe or responsive okay so do inform her that it's not tolerated in many forms are subject to charges okay and so do be aware of your own biases regarding what's been witnessed and or disclosed and I I just touched on that a little bit earlier but it continues in terms of your response not just in terms of whether or not you actually identify witness um and can sort of notice that this is happening but then your response also needs to come from a place that doesn't include those

biases the mothers do use non-judgmental language do ask open-ended questions do acknowledge that this is difficult you know sometimes that putting that out there just in the setting allows for you know for both people to just recognize that this is not an easy topic and there's so many complicated and intersecting factors that have to be considered and then do respect her choices and they may not be what you necessarily um agree or support or would like for her but do respect her choices and of course there are going to be some exceptions to

that do to spell myths if she has been threatened that she'll be deported if she does not remain with her partner or that she will no longer receive funds except through him so again going back to some of the specific types of abuse partner violence that can occur within Refugee families do dispel those myths wherever possible or refer her to someone who can help

her so what not to do in terms of your response what not to do in response to a woman who is experiencing intimate partner violence do not inform the accused that she is talking with you okay so really important particularly before you've even assessed her safety but even ongoing do not inform the person the partner her husband that she is talking with you okay do not make decisions for her okay so it's okay to provide information it's okay to help her to explore options but do not make those decisions for her do not inform the accused that she's talking with you I mentioned do not um tell her what to do including when to leave or when not to leave do not assume that she would prefer to seek support from within her cultural community and sometimes that's the given uh there's the assumption that um you know there there's that understanding there but there could also be a fear or a shame that goes along with accessing Services disclosing intimate details within that Community as well so not making that exemption assumption with her do not give out information about her without her consent unless deemed necessary so those exceptions all right and so obviously and hopefully your your protocol within your agency will speak to that in terms of uh informed consent do not give her partner any information about her whereabouts should she separate from him okay so that of that's related to her her safety and do not assume sole responsibility for these situations collaboration is key and I mentioned that before you don't need to have all of the answers you don't need to you know respond to and and manage these situations on your own you have resources within your agency and you know I encourage you to find resources within the community that you can access readily quickly and effectively all right and so dos and don'ts related to refer referring and the referral process so that's stage where you've

identified so the recognition the next stage where you have started to respond and now the referral piece so what to do when referring and or engaging additional resources and systems for a refugee woman who is experiencing intimate partner violence so the first one do help her to learn about resources that are available to her do help to find support groups or peer-based services in her community if any are available and of course as I mentioned earlier if she is receptive do help her to Access Financial and other resources that might be beneficial to her and those resources may be a key component in what she decides to do in her

situation do request written consent so disclosure of information to speak or refer to external organizations and I keep saying that of course there are exceptions and do call ahead to any resources that she is being referred to in to ensure that services are still available so key core Services you know like the assaulted woman's helpline shelters in your community many of those will still be available but sometimes there are resources that unfortunately will come or amalgamate or just shift in terms of where they're located how you access them and so just being you know mindful of that and calling ahead to any resources that she's been being referred to will be helpful so in terms of the referral stage what not to do when referring and or gauging additional resources and systems for a refugee woman who's experiencing intimate partner violence do not make referrals without her permission

okay next one do not encourage or refer the woman and her partner to coup's counseling without consultation from a violence against women organization and I do see this quite a bit in uh some of the other work that I do quite often people think that well if there is conflict disagreements between partners then they should go to couple's counseling but unfortunately and invite you to you know if you haven't already gone through some of that training to really make sure that you understand what at the foundation of intimate partner violence and how it's different than partner conflict and so going to couples counseling when there is intimate partner violence can increase safety concerns and risk for that woman it can also lead to a place where he can continue to exercise you know abuse and abusive behavior in a setting like that and there's so many other reasons couples counseling requires two people to be respectful to be on the same page in terms of wanting the relationship relationship to be healthy and equal and quite often unfortunately when there's intimate partner violence unless there's been some work done and some changes that have happened that's not the case all right so next one do not give her written or print referral material or resource information that might jeopardize her safety and it's something that sometimes if you're you're not necessarily working in the intimate partner violence or domestic violence field you don't think about you know you might hand her a flyer or you know something that speaks to where she can call groups she can go to how she can get counseling that kind of thing or any other information that you may have and she may or may not think about how putting that information in her purse or her bag that her partner might access could increase safety risk for her so before giving her any written or print referral or resource information make sure you touch on that with her does she feel safe taking it you know what is there a risk that he may go through and she may not even know that he has gone through or he goes through her belongings and so better to air on the side of of safety right so those are the key dos and don'ts from the toolkit that was developed throughout this project I invite you to read through the complete document there is more there and to also of course access the training so let's move on to speaking to men speaking to men who have used or there's some concern around their use of abuse or inter partner violence in their relationship so the question that I would start with is have you interacted or addressed the partners in cases of intimate partner VI

and if so how did that go was it done or handled effectively to the extent that it could be and if you haven't been why

not chances are that you know many people have responded that they have not and some of the reasons include there's a fear fear of what the response is fear of you know what that might mean for this family another reason is people sometimes and we heard this through our focus group and Survey data that some people within rap centers who are direct service providers are not feeling equipped and lack the knowledge or experience to respond in these situations or at least they feel that they are sometimes there might be beliefs in terms of why you haven't necessarily addressed or spoken to the men or Partners in these situations and an example of that is that some people believe it's a family issue and then there might be agency Pol policies that um limit or restrict you from speaking to or addressing the partner whether suspected or confirmed intimate partner violence so here's the issue the issue is that providing effective responses Settlement Services requires that service providers work simultaneously with the women and their partner while keeping safety in mind at all stages along the settlement support journey of course the degree to which each partner might be engaged will vary however some level of response is necessary and in many cases

inevitable and so of course you know this as the direct service provider as the manager supervisor to direct service providers that at a very critical time for for these families settlement workers are conducting assessments and referrals that respond to the immediate needs of clients and this includes the occurrence of intimate partner

violence it's impossible unfortunately because we know the statistics it's impossible for intimate partner violence to not be an issue that at least some of your clients will be

experiencing and so when we're talking about a full assessment responding to the needs of clients you know we see that very much from a holistic perspective and that includes are they safe are they experiencing intimate partner

violence and of course we what we've emphasized throughout this project is that direct service providers are not by any means assuming the position of a specialized violence intervention service provider but the goal is to be adequately equipped to address the full spectrum of needs of the respective clientele who access resettlement

services so here's just you know a few comments that came out of that focus group data collected one in particular related to men since we're talking about speaking to men is that many men have built a mentality and habit that intimate partner violence sorry is permissible and we have to support them to Break These Old Habits by educating and enforcing the laws education plays a huge role in preventive measures and I strongly agree with that education does play a huge

role so the project response amongst other things was this toolkit speaking to men as well as the myth document and it support settlement workers as they consider dialogue with Refugee men who are suspected of or reported to have used abuse in their intimate partner

relationships and so the primary goal through this document itself and this information is to dismantle power IM balances which remain maintain patterns of domination for all Refugee men and their families why is it important it's important to be able to on some level address and speak to men is because the person experiencing intimate partner violence the refugee woman may not leave her partner and we know that many will not or do not and so if we're not making attempts to address safety or improve or enhance that situation by talking to and trying to engage the man it's a lost opportunity I think uh interven could be an opportunity to address safety obviously resources might be offered to address concerns resources for uh you know the men there are programs out there and then of course situations could escalate in some cases not addressing it with the partner could also you know lead to a situation that's continuing to get worse as time goes on on so this toolkit outlined some key steps framed in what we called the ears open approach and so the ears open approach is a general guiding framework for what is important to consider for conversations or interventions related to men who have or are suspected to have used violence in their intimate partner relationships and what talk about that right now so the E stands for exploring incidents and experiences of abuse with all Refugee

clients all Refugee clients being key there and when your agency has a protocol in place that specifies we will be looking for signs of intimate partner violence we will ask certain questions over and above their settlement needs and issues then there's greater likelihood that these situations these issues can be identified and responded to the a stands for ask open-ended questions and so using questions that don't Insight or bring a word answer okay give people an opportunity to share their their narrative and their experiences through open-ended questions the r stands for recording relevant information so making sure and again referring to any protocols or policies that your agency has in place in terms of what you'll be recording in any client file this becomes important should files be subpoenaed or information be being needed for collaterals legal matters Etc s stands for safety safety should be considered at all stages or phases and we'll talk a little bit more about that the O stands for the Outreach to Consultants refer s or reporting as necessary and very much like you were talking about in terms of the the refugee woman same applies to addressing responding speaking to the

men he stands for policies and protocols and I've talked about that brought that up a couple of times there is an actual training as well as a protocol that's been developed through this project and so I invite you and your organization to access that but policies and protocols guide efficient service practices it takes the uncertainty the guesswork the inconsistency out of that Service delivery process e is evaluation so evaluation and revision of organizational processes should be ongoing so how are you doing in this regard we're talking about speaking to men you know what are we doing well what are we doing that um could be done better what do we need to revise change improve on those kinds of things it should be an ongoing evaluation and change if necessary and then the n stands for those biases again so notice existing biases and identify personal training and development needs so much like in working with the refugee woman and her family speaking specifically about the man notice any biases that you may have related to anet partner violence and how you see him his experience you know his role his responsibility his accountability all of those kinds of things and then if necessary identify personal training and development needs so you may obviously you know access the training and and resources that we have available but over and above that what else would support you to you know just make sure that you're you're coming to Service delivery process with the best possible stance all right and so that's the the primary speaking to men toolkit or at least some of the the key parts of it there's much more obviously in that document and you have access to it I invite you to read it in detail there is another document the ch in the myths document and I've just highlighted a few you know bits of information key uh things to consider from that so myth first one he wouldn't have hit her if it wasn't for the tremendous resettlement stress and adjustment issue so some people think that well it's just because this time has been so challenging and he feels the sole responsibility and pressure um and so it's very Tim limited and stress induced what's happening in the family and so it's important to note that again we're talking about intimate partner violence and that which is directed at his partner not other people and that she is also experiencing without you know exception she's also experiencing settlements Str us and so that's not an excuse for or a rationalization for abuse another myth is that separation for their family is not good for their

children and of course this may come from cultural beliefs or personal biases um but again not making that choice for any family and knowing that there's been you know research that does indicate that those children who stay in situations where their safety is at Jeopardy their mother's safety is is constantly at risk and the environment is not healthy you know are impacted in a very significant way next one intimate partner violence is a private family matter and this one this myth is really not specific to um Refugee families this is something that has been existing for years in all population and you may be thinking that that's the case but I would invite you to just open your mind to the fact that there has been so much silence and breaking silence sometimes is what brings about

change so some tips going back to the speaking to men some tips related to creating the right setting preparing for those conversations so the first one is discuss confidentiality and of course limits to confidentiality and again having a clear protocol in place and policies related to confidentiality will make this very very clear acknowledge the presenting challenges in talking about the

concerns make attempts to establish key Ru rules for the conversation wherever possible reference the concerning Behavior itself so talk about the behavior that's happening what is being done specifically as opposed to

you know making the person feel as though they're attacked we're just talking about ways to minimize some of the conflict that can and and defensiveness that can obviously happen when we're speaking to men and addressing this issue more tips avoid confrontation which can increase risk and impede communication so the St in which you you know present and initiate this conversation is going to be important do not breach the confidenti confidentiality of his partner and share information that she has disclosed very much like you know I mentioned earlier not telling him that she's been speaking with you furthermore do not breach your confidentiality by telling him specifically what she's been saying okay that's very important avoid rationalizing or justifying his behavior however attempt to understand his perception of contributing factors right and so not falling in the Trap of saying yes I understand that you know stress can cause people to do certain things because we know that that is not the case when we're talking about intimate partner violence but acknowledging separately that he and his family are experiencing stress at this time helps you just to stay engaged it's not an excuse for the behavior but it's an understanding for all that the family may be going through okay and also you know continue to use those open-ended questions all right so moving on to assessing safety for initially the worker of course yourself what to think about here are some things that will help to guide that consideration so what do you know already about him about the family about the woman how does he present currently so you know if you're thinking about having a conversation with him how is he present pres in right in that moment how has he presented previously in past interactions conversations settings next one who can you consult with to plan for this interaction so who's available to you if there is an opportunity to plan in advance who can you talk to in advance is it the you know domestic violence worker is it a um partner response worker is it your supervisor you know who can you consult with if there is time to plan and then of course afterwards who's available to De brief following the discussion which is very important assessing safety for the woman is she or is he experiencing significant cment distress is she very isolated with limited contact or Comm communication opportunities does he blame her for their challenges or issues does he keep all of her legal documents does he monitor many if not most of her activities has he talk has she talked about separating from him there's so much more that we've provided within the resource guide and through the training and there's so many more tools to assess safety these are just a few to consider as you are considering speaking to the men and assessing the woman at the same time assessing safety for the children where are the children during these incidents how are the children impacted by the behavior does the partner involve the children in the interaction have the children ever been harmed by the partner has he ever threatened to take away the children and of course have Child Protection Services already been involved with the family all indicators of safety and level of safety for

children so in terms of speaking to the men you know there's that stage of responding and then there's the stage of community mobilization resources and referral so what do you say to that person in the moment in front of you and what do you access to support you know addressing this issue so it's important to know the community resources that are available the pars program there's you know other resources and services out there establish relationships with Community organizations create collaborations you know there may be already an opportunity to bring together you know a couple of key agencies that would always be you know brought in in these situations and then always seek con

consultations so in speaking to Men final thoughts it is a very complex process requiring thoughtful evaluation of various factors and the primary consideration being the safety of the workers and the family involved we know that it's not an easy the subject itself is not an easy one to respond on to to address to to deal with and manage effectively and so just the the men and the the perpetrators itself at peace can be very complex and complicated safety is really the key and first foremost and guiding principle and Factor

throughout so also in terms of final thoughts Refugee clients will likely attend for services as a family unit and as such will require a fully responsive inclusive approach to adequately and effectively address the scope of their needs right they're going to for the most part come as a family unit you know the husband or partner with their partner with the children possibly and so looking at them from a fully responsive inclusive holistic approach really ensures that the full scope of their needs is being addressed and that includes intimate partner violence and that includes being able to speak to men to some level or at least having an agency response related to the men so I want to thank you thank you for joining us on behalf of Rexdale Women's Center and our funders ircc immigration refugees and citizenship Canada thank you for joining us for this webinar we hope that you've been able to take some information that you will be able to use in Daily practice because of course course we don't want you to come and and just listen and to learn some things the real transformation the real safety the real enhanced services and everything that we have strived for with this project comes from you applying it in your daily work so we look forward to hearing how you're utilizing this information and the resources in your work again extend that invitation to access all of the resources at the WW workers.com website so thank you very much and uh you know feel free to reach out to Rexdale Women's Center should you have any questions concerns comments um interest we would love to hear about that so take care and all the best bye for now