About this Initiative
In May 2005, the government of Ontario announced it was moving forward on a range of initiatives to mobilize communities to address violence against women and girls. The Minister responsible for Women's Issues, Sandra Pupatello, outlined the McGuinty government's two objectives for these new initiatives:
- to train professionals to intervene earlier when they identify signs of abuse, and
- to support community-based programs that promote health and equal relationships among children and youth.
PPPESO, in partnership with the Best Start: Ontario's Maternal, Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre, was awarded funds from the Ontario Government through the Ontario Women's Directorate, for training on woman abuse in the pre and postnatal periods.
One of the goals of this initiative is to assist perinatal care providers and organizations to work towards best practice as it relates to screening, safety planning, documentation, and referral. This goal can be met by:
- increasing knowledge about the prevalence, dynamics and health consequences of woman abuse in the perinatal period;
- changing perceptions about professional responsibility in supporting abused women in the perinatal period;
- developing workplace policies, procedures and practices for responding to situations involving violence against women in the perinatal period; and
- developing and being part of an integrated community-wide response to woman abuse in the perinatal period.
A Steering Group, representing different health disciplines and agencies including the project partners, academia, sexual assault/domestic violence treatment centres and public health was established to guide and inform the project deliverables. An Advisory Group, with multidisciplinary representation was established to consult on the development of the project resources, including those available on this website.
There are significant health consequences of woman abuse, especially in the perinatal period - not only for women, but for their children, living and unborn. The purpose of this initiative, not unlike the the mission of the Perinatal Partnership Program, is to promote optimum perinatal care of childbearing families in order to improve health and to achieve excellent perinatal health outcomes for women and their children.
This website is meant to be a warehouse of information. Information about woman abuse; information about community-specific resources for women who experience abuse and for health care providers who liaise with them; as well as information to be used by practitioners as they facilitate learning with their colleagues.
This website is dedicated to health care and community service providers, and violence against women advocates, who work tirelessly to bring best practice, respect and compassion to the work they do everyday.
Please visit us often for updates and new information.
