Past Projects

Some of our past projects and programs include:

Exploring Gender-Based Violence and the Canadian Legal System: a Court Watch Infographic from Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre (2021-2024)

The Court Watch Program is a form of community oversight where trained volunteers systematically monitored the treatment of criminal court cases related to woman abuse. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to assess: the consistency and adequacy of bail conditions and sentencing, the provision of safety for women and their children, the adherence to domestic violence policy, and the attitudes of court personnel, among other concerns. Our Court Watch results clearly demonstrate the ways in which our criminal legal system continues to silence, disregard, and further harm those who have already been subjected to abuse and violence. 

The data presented in this project sheds light on some concerning patterns related to gender-based violence and the Canadian legal system, including:

• overrepresentation of Indigenous individuals as the accused in cases of gender-based violence
• a disproportionate involvement of males as perpetrators 
• gender disparities in survivors’ reporting and access to services

Here is the full project report: Exploring Gender-Based Violence and the Canadian Legal System: a Court Watch Infographic from Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre – Report

Please contact [email protected] for permission and proper citation if you wish to acknowledge or source any of the material in the report.

Women’s Safety at the Centre of the Systemic Response to Gender Based Violence (2021-2024)

This 30-month project supported a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 through systemic change. The NOWC achieved this by operationalizing the implementation of the High Risk Navigation Protocol and promoting its use as a central tool among service providers to relocate the safety of women, trans, and non-binary people and their children at the front end of the systemic response to GBV.

This project included:

• Scaling up the GBV Navigation advocate position
• Creating a Court Advocate position to reinforce and monitor the use of safety measures in the legal processes
• Identifying gaps, examining links, and researching alternative measures
• Creating and publishing recommendations to change GBV protocols and policies, disseminating information, encouraging systemic change
• Promoting effective measures of accountability and prevention of GBV both inside and outside the criminal legal system

Through this project, the NOWC has contributed to: addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices; increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change; supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power; and addressing persistent harmful gender norms and attitudes to support women’s equality.

Here is the full project report: Women’s Safety at the Centre of the Systemic Response to Gender Based Violence – Report

Please contact [email protected] for permission and proper citation if you wish to acknowledge or source any of the material in the report.

High Risk Navigation Project (2019-21)

The High Risk Navigation Project (HRN) Project was tasked with the development of a dedicated, advocacy-based and common protocol across legal and social service systems to respond to cases of gender-based violence where there is high risk of harm. Created in partnership with the Thunder Bay and District Coordinating Committee to End Women Abuse, and funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, the overarching goal of the HRN Project was to develop a more coordinated and effective social system response for those who experience gender-based violence in the Thunder Bay district.   

The HRN Project involved: 

• Developing protocol and training for those who respond to women at high risk of harm from gender-based violence 
• Coordinating formal training by recognized experts for legal and service system personnel including core concepts of anti-racism and anti-oppression, as well as the impacts of colonization, intersectionality, cultural safety and gender-based analysis  
• Presenting the latest research on gender-based violence theory and practice which includes the use of minimizing/mutualizing language, perpetrator pattern approaches, coercive control and trauma informed approaches  
• Building working connections, share expertise and provide training and knowledge exchange between women’s anti-violence advocates and legal system players   
• Designing a process that puts women who experience gender-based violence at the centre of the systemic response using dedicated advocacy position(s) through trusted intermediaries. This community-based advocate, or “High Risk Navigator” would work with women across legal and social sectors to ensure they have appropriate support, referrals and ongoing, effective safety planning that is trauma informed, uses anti-oppression and anti-racism frameworks and recognizes the impacts of colonialism. 

Art of Resistance Conference (2019)

Building upon the Honouring Our Stories (HOS) Project, we held an arts-based conference around the theme of resisting sexual violence the following year. Funded by the Ontario Arts Council and held January 18-20, 2019, the Conference introduced concepts of healing from and resistance to violence through art, movement and storytelling workshops, and provided analysis and training on sexual assault prevention. With support and guidance from Elder Brenda Mason, artists, survivors and staff involved in the Honouring our Stories Project worked together to design the core programming for the conference, which included:

• Women survivors from the HOS Project co-facilitated a new series of one-photo digital storytelling workshops with conference participants, with digital story artists Community Story Strategies
• Screened the HOS digital stories and held a panel discussion with HOS participants and artists
• Dr. Charlene Senn (Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence, University of Windsor) gave a keynote address explaining the theory behind effective sexual assault prevention
• Hosted the Ghomeshi Effect, a verbatim dance theatre performance about sexual assault to Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay, where they performed for a sold out audience made up of conference participants and the general public.

Honouring Our Stories Project (2016-18)

The intention of Honouring Our Stories Project was to address sexual violence and harassment against women through arts-based activities. The NOWC partnered with the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Thunder Bay Police to focus on the dignity of women who have survived sexual violence, and brought their stories to the police, through art and digital storytelling workshops. Police officers also told their stories in a parallel series of workshops. This process is created a mutually constructive dialogue between women survivors, police and the public. The completed digital stories by participants established the opportunity for dialogue by seeing and hearing each others’ experiences and perspectives. Some key conversations that took place include: exploring how trauma affects and connects survivors and participants; recognizing the gaps in the system to holding perpetrators to account; different forms of coping and healing; what responses survivors experienced after disclosure; and associations and public perceptions of survivors and victims.

The Honouring Our Stories Project culminated in the Spring of 2018 with a formal exhibit of digital stories and artwork by women survivors and police officers at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, including an Artists’ Talk. This two-year community-engaged project was funded by the Ontario Arts Council.

40 Fabulous Feminists and Amazing Activists of Northwestern Ontario (2013-16)

40 Fabulous Feminists and Amazing Activists of Northwestern Ontario is a self-published book that started as an initiative for the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre’s 40th anniversary, celebrated in 2013. Locals were asked to nominate their favourite feminists and female activists, which we then shortlisted and researched to produce a collection of 40 profiles. NWOWC Executive Director, Gwen O’Reilly, noted at the launch in March 2016, “All the women profiled are inspirational, and the book will show readers just how influential they’ve been in the community. If you have any preconceptions about feminism or women’s activism, they will be shattered, because the breadth of the work that women do is very clear. They work not just for women but for their communities.”  Researched and written by PhebeAnne Wolframe, 40 Fabulous Feminists and Amazing Activists of Northwestern Ontario is dedicated to one of the 40 women, Margaret Phillips, who ran the Northern Woman’s Bookstore — the last feminist bookstore in Canada — until she passed away in 2015. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Thunder Bay Women’s Court Watch Program (2007-09)

Thunder Bay Women’s Court Watch Program was a joint initiative between the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre and Faye Peterson Transition House, launched in 2007. Court Watch programs were a form of community oversight where trained volunteers systematically monitored the treatment of criminal court cases related to woman abuse. Quantitative and qualitative data was used to assess the consistency and adequacy of sentencing, provision of safety for women, adherence to domestic violence policy and attitudes of court personnel, among other concerns. The data was collated and published in order to provide the public and professionals with a snapshot of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system’s response to woman abuse. Faye Peterson House, with support from the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre, funded the program for 2008/09.