On July 7th, WomenatthecentrE met with Carolyn Dyer, the coordinator for the Violence Prevention Coordinating Council of Durham Region, to finalize the process by which women survivors in Durham region can be supported to ‘come to the table’.

The project is designed to identify barriers that stops survivors from participating in the work to eradicate violence against women, and then to create a forum in the community that promotes healthy and respectful participation by women survivors.

WomenatthecentrE, working with the Peterborough Domestic Abuse Network, met with some amazing women from the Peterborough region to support them in their efforts to get involved in their community. The meeting was facilitated by Eleni Rautiainen, the coordinator of the Peterborough Domestic Abuse Network, and was an opportunity to listen, to network, and to talk about some of the challenges women face in speaking up about abuse.

However the focus was on opportunities available for women, and the ways such participation can transform not just the individual, but the community. WomenatthecentrE will be following up with training for the woman in the fall of 2010.

On June 4th, WomenatthecentrE met with Susan Jewett, the community lead on the Halton Violence Prevention Council, to discuss ways to engage women survivors in the region. WomenatthecentrE will be developing a strategy to support the community, and to identify women who are interested in using their experiences to inform service providers on ways to make systems more responsive to the needs of women and children who have experienced abuse.