Research

The project will include a comprehensive examination of the RESOLVE Network's current research capacity for conducting community-engaged Indigenous research and the development of strategy to increase our current capacity. The project will result in the Network having greater capacity to conduct research based on stronger relationships with Indigenous partners and will embrace fundamental principles, such as good faith, reciprocity, and trust. Outcomes of the project will be shared broadly - with UM senior administration, research centres affiliated with the University of Manitoba, the seven partnering universities affiliated with the RESOLVE Network, and the four other gender-based violence research centres across Canada.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon, Director of RESOLVE, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work

Advisory Committee Members

• Dr. Kendra Nixon, Faculty of Social Work, Director of RESOLVE
• Nikki Klymochko, Faculty of Social Work, MSW-IK-Student Research Assistant
• Logan Stalker, Faculty of Social Work, Student Research Assistant
• Dr. Marlyn Bennett, Faculty of Social Work, MSW-IK
• Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, Faculty of Social Work
• Dr. Adele Perry, Centre for Human Rights Research and Faculty of Arts
• Dr. Frank Deer, Faculty of Education
• Elder Belinda Vandenbroeck
• Sharon Mason, Circling Buffalo
• Elder Wanda Murdock, Indigenous Student Centre (U of M)
• Jeneen Dederick, Manitoba Inuit Association (MIA)
• Jac Nobliss, Faculty of Social Work, MSW-IK

Through integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT)(Graham, Kothari et al. 2018) and Patient Engagement (PE)(CIHR/SPOR 2014, Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit 2018) approaches—where patients, health care professionals and health system administrators are partners—and along with our SPOR collaborators (e.g. Alberta SPOR Support Unit), we are conducting an effectiveness-implementation hybrid (EIH) Type II study of ATTACH™.

Co-primary objectives evaluate clinical intervention effectiveness and implementation strategy feasibility(Curran, Bauer et al. 2012) in naturalistic, real-world, settings, as delivered by community agencies. ATTACH™ is a promising early intervention and psychoeducational parenting program, designed for delivery at community agencies serving families of preschoolers affected by toxic stress (e.g. parental depression and addiction, family violence, poverty) (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University 2016).

Children’s exposure to toxic stress predicts developmental problems (e.g. cognitive and motor), physical health problems (e.g. inflammatory disorders), and years of life lost to disability, resulting in health care system burden (Cuijpers, Smit et al. 2011, Brent and Silverstein 2013). According to the 2019 ‘Vibrant and Healthy Kids’ Report of the National Academies, effective early interventions focused on supporting parent-child relationships are urgently needed to reduce societal health inequities stemming from childhood stress exposures (National Academies of Sciences 2019). ATTACH™ is poised to address this need.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon, University of Manitoba, Dr. Nicole Letourneau, Kharah Ross, Kathryn Birnie, Ian Graham, Michael Kobor, Sarah Merrill, Kendra Nixon, Caroline Piotrowski, and Dr. Karen Wood

Community partners include: Calgary Urban Project Society, Discovery House, Sonshine Centre, Steinbach FRC, Alcove Addiction Recovery

The Caught in the Middle project will aim to examine how family and criminal courts intersect in cases involving domestic violence. For this study, RESOLVE researchers will engage in a qualitative research approach and interview parents who have been involved in both criminal and family court in cases involving domestic violence as well as young adults whose parents were involved in both criminal and family court in cases involving domestic violence when these young adults were children. Through qualitative research practices, RESOLVE researchers will identify the extent at which children were involved in decision making processes surrounding custody and visitation, whether their interests and welfare were taking into consideration as well as the impact that decisions made by the courts had on their mental and physical well-being.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Lorna Turnbull, Faculty of Law, (University of Manitoba)
Renée Hoffart, RESOLVE Project Coordinator

Community partners include: Winnipeg Children’s Access Agency

Caught in the Middle environmental scan

The Manitoba-wide environmental scan consists of 76 agencies and programs that are available to children and families involved in criminal and family court proceedings in cases of intimate partner violence. The agencies and programs listed offer a variety of services that are intended to be inclusive to all families, regardless of background or situation. Many of the programs are available free of charge or at a very low cost, making them as accessible as possible.

Download the Caught in the Middle environmental scan here.

The COVID-19 and the Experiences of IPV Survivors and Service Providers project aims to address current and critical gaps by better understanding how pandemics, such as COVID-19, directly impact survivors of IPV and the organizations that serve them.

The objectives of the project include:

1. Establish a foundational understanding of the nature and scope of the impact of pandemics on the social issue of IPV;
2. Explore the impact of pandemics on IPV survivors;
3. Identify how pandemics can put IPV survivors at additional risk;
4. Explore the impacts of pandemics on IPV service providers;
5. Explore how IPV-serving organizations in Manitoba responded to COVID-19, including what barriers they encountered;
6. Develop policy and practice recommendations for policymakers and service providers. Through these objectives, the extent of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on IPV victims/survivors and service providers will be identified.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon, University of Manitoba, Renée Hoffart, RESOLVE Project Coordinator, University of Manitoba
Brandon University: Nadine Henriquez and Nadine Smith

Community partners include: Government of Manitoba (Status of Women) Family Violence Prevention Program.

Examining the Nature & Context of Intimate Partner Violence in the 2SLGBTQ+ Community is tri-provincial project that will examine the nature and context of intimate partner violence within the 2SLGBTQ+ community across the Prairie Provinces. In doing so, this research aims to garner a comprehensive understanding of the service responses toward the issue and the possible barriers that might exist in relation to accessing these services. Existing research does not provide a clear picture of the context, severity and consequences of intimate partner violence against 2SLGBTQ+ persons making it difficult to develop appropriate services to meet the needs of this population. The study will address this gap through a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) examination of 2SLGBTQ+ experiences, including the nature, severity, context and consequences of intimate partner violence incidents, the experience of help-seeking and gaps and barriers experienced by 2SLGBTQ+ persons who do seek help.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon, Dr. Janice Ristock, and Dr. Tracey Peter (Co-Principal Investigators), University of Manitoba, & Renée Hoffart, RESOLVE Project Coordinator, University of Manitoba
RESOLVE Alberta: Dr. Nicole Letourneau, University of Calgary
RESOLVE Saskatchewan: Dr. Karen Wood, University of Saskatchewan

Community partners include: The Rainbow Resource Centre, OUTSaskatoon, and Sagesse

The tri-provincial study will explore rural women's experience of intimate partner violence and help-seeking across the Prairie Provinces. Although there is a growing body of research on female survivors of intimate partner violence, there is a paucity of research on the experiences of rural women. Existing studies do not provide a clear picture of the unique circumstances of rural women who experience intimate partner violence or of the obstacles they face when seeking safety for themselves and their children. The study will address this knowledge gap through a qualitative examination of rural women that will document the ways in which rural culture and context impacts their experience of violence, how these experiences interact with co-occurring challenges experienced by women and the barriers and challenges that occur within this context as women seek help.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba: Dr. Kendra Nixon (Principal Investigator), University of Manitoba
RESOLVE Alberta: Dr. Nicole Letourneau, University of Calgary, and Dr. Dawn McBride, University of Lethbridge.
RESOLVE Saskatchewan: Dr. Karen Wood and Dr. Carolyn Brooks, University of Saskatchewan

Community partners include: The Women’s Resource Centre in Brandon, Ending Violence Across Manitoba (EVA MB), the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS), Odyssey House, Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre, Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society, Family and Community Support Services, and Sagesse.

This project is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and is designed to address the unique need of survivors of family violence within the family justice system. Canada’s research centres on violence against women will initiate, host and support a Community of Practice (CoP) comprised of family violence experts, survivors, family lawyers, researchers, mental health and social service professionals.

The overarching goal of the project is to enhanced support to survivors of violence through the family law system by increasing opportunities for family law practitioners to have training, guidance and resources to support trauma-informed practice, and to improve coordination of services that will enhance the safety and well-being of all parties.

Investigators and community partners

RESOLVE Manitoba & Academic Partners:

• Kendra Nixon, Director RESOLVE
• Renée Hoffart, Research Associate RESOLVE
• Kathleen McDonald, Research Assistant, RESOLVE
• Lorna Turnbull, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba

Community Partners:

• Ashley Stewart, Coordinator, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, HSC
• Matthew Maher, Researcher, Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth
• Wayne Eisbrenner, Winnipeg Children’s Access Agency
• Ingrid Pflug, Crown Counsel, Family Law Section, Government of Manitoba
• Crystal Brown, Community Justice Development Coordinator, Southern Chiefs’ Organization
• Janis Raeburn, Manager, Family Guide, Domestic Violence Specialist, Victim Services
• Deena Brock, Provincial Coordinator, Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters
• Robynne Kazina, Partner and Family Law Lawyer, Taylor McCaffrey LLP
• Paula Ediger, Women’s Relationship Counsellor, A Woman’s Place, NorWest Co-op
• Leita Kalinowsky, Acting Executive Director, Family Resolution Service, Government of Manitoba
• Carol Reimer, Community Resource Program Manager, IRCOM
• Shane Wepruk, Domestic Violence Intervention Coordinator, Winnipeg Police Service
• Sonia Grmela, Executive Director, ChezRachel
• Jennifer Laviolette, participant with lived experience
• Kimlee Wong, participant with lived experience
• Masha Giller, participant with lived experience

Community of Practice Bulletins:

• Issue No 1. - February 2021

Community of Practice Research Briefs:

• Issue No. 1 – Supporting the health of survivors of family violence in family law proceedings 
• Issue No. 2 – Why Can’t Everyone Just Get Along?: How BC’s family law system puts survivors in danger
• Issue No. 3 – Coercive Control and Family Law
• Issue No. 4 - A Review of the Recent Recommendations in Québec (English or French)
• Issue No. 5 -  The 2021 Divorce Act: Using Statutory Interpretation Principles to Support Substantive Equality for Women and Children in Family Violence Cases (English or French)
• Issue No. 6 - COVID-19, the Shadow Pandemic, and Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Violence Webinar - Please share your feedback with us on this research brief

Colleagues and board members of the Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse (RESOLVE) Research Network have acknowledged Carolynne Boivin's contribution to the development of their network through the establishment of a fund at the University of Manitoba. Each year, the available annual income from the fund will be used to offer one or more scholarships valued at a minimum of $4,000 each to graduate students who:

1. are enrolled full-time in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba;
2. have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.0 based on the last 60 credit hours (or equivalent) of study; and
3. are conducting research in the area of family or gender-based violence.

In any given year, at least one of the scholarships will be awarded with first preference going to a student who has self-declared as a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit from Canada, and second preference to a student who is conducting Indigenous-focused research. The competition for the scholarships will be advertised each year by RESOLVE, and applicants will be required to submit a brief description (maximum 500 words) of their graduate research.
The selection committee will have the discretion to determine the number and value of awards offered each year in accordance with the terms above. The Vice-Provost (Graduate Education) and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (or designate) will ask the Director of RESOLVE Manitoba to name the selection committee for this award.

This agreement may be amended by the mutual consent of the donor (or designate) and the University of Manitoba. All such amendments shall be in writing. In the absence of the donor (or designate), and providing all reasonable efforts have been made to consult, the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba has the right to modify the terms of this award if, because of changed conditions, it becomes necessary to do so. Such modification shall conform as closely as possible to the expressed intention of the donor in establishing the award.

Lauren Bresch (Faculty of Sociology and Criminology)

Research Project: Who is Responsible? Discourses on Mothering and Protecting Children in Service Provider Responses to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in Manitoba

Lauren Bresch’s research analyzes how service providers in Manitoba make sense of mothering and the responsibility of protecting children in the context of IPV. Prior feminist research has found that the implementation of gender-neutral legislation for family violence and child protection has shifted the focus away from men’s violence and onto women’s ‘failures’ as mothers. Embedded within dominant discourses surrounding mothers and notions of risk, such policies hold mothers responsible for maintaining a safe home environment for children through controlling, managing, and fleeing men’s violence. If a mother is unable to cease men’s violence from occurring, she can be considered an ‘unfit’ mother subject to losing her child. While these policies aim to protect children from harm, in practice they responsibilize mother-victims of IPV.

Building on these understandings of mothers, Lauren’s research engages in an in-depth critical discourse analysis of key informant interview data collected by the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative to examine what kinds of discourses are evident among service providers’ framing and response to mothers and children who experience IPV and the ways in which notions of risks have permeated service provision for mother and child victims of IPV.

Using an intersectional feminist lens throughout her research, Lauren seeks to expose problematic policies and practices prevalent in responses towards mothers (with a particular focus on responses towards mothers who are single, poor, and racialized) and children who experience IPV and highlight ways forward to create more humane and effective policies that better protect mothers and their children from violence.

Bolloite Deborah Offor (Faculty of Law)

Research Project: “Noticing” Intersectionality in Sexual Assault Trials: The Influence of Feminist Organisations on the Barton Decision   

In the 2019 case of R v Barton, the Supreme Court of Canada, in what might be considered a ground-breaking decision, judicially noticed the fact that myths, stereotypes and discriminatory practices which operate against sexually assaulted women within the Canadian criminal justice system become compounded when the woman in question is Indigenous and more so, when the Indigenous woman is a sex worker.  Cindy Gladue, a 36-year-old Métis woman and mother of three was found dead in a bathtub, with an 11cm wound to her vaginal wall, following contracted sexual activities with Barton. Occurrences during the trial, like admission of prejudicial sexual history evidence, and references to Miss. Gladue as a “Native prostitute” led to intervening submissions by feminist organisations— an action that has been criticized as unduly interfering with the appeal process.  The objectives of Bolloite’s research are thus to:

1. examine the extent to which the advocacy of feminist organisations influenced the Barton decision on appeal, as well as the necessity of their intervention; and
2. project the possible impacts that the decision might have for Indigenous sexual assault complainants, going forward.

The expected conclusions and recommendations Bolloite’s findings, will be crucial in critical assessments of the Barton decision, for lawyers, sexual assault complainants, the justice system and most importantly, Indigenous women, who have for too long, had to deal with multiple layers of discrimination within the Canadian society and the criminal justice system, as a consequence of the intersection between their race and gender.