Knowledge Hub Bulletin 36 - October 2025
Final Knowledge Exchange – September 30, 2025
The Community of Practice assembled for its final Knowledge Exchange on September 30, 2025 in Toronto, ON. Alice Echaquan and Thérèse Niquay opened the day with some reflections and a traditional ceremony. In recognition of National Truth and Reconciliation Day, many participants wore orange. Brief presentations were shared by most of the projects representing the CoP and focused on lessons learned, project reach and impact, and what has been done to support sustainability after the funding ends.
All recordings and presentation slides from the Knowledge Exchange are now available through the Knowledge Hub Portal. CoP members are encouraged to visit the portal to access post-event materials. With permission, some presentations will also be available on project pages once they have been reviewed and edited.
Across the discussions, there was a strong sense of collective pride and mutual support — participants celebrated the progress achieved within and across projects, they shared the lessons they learned in their projects reaffirming the importance of collaboration over isolation. The event reinforced the understanding that strong relationships and trust are foundational to the sustainability of this work.
Brittany Datchko from Fuselight Creative documented the presentations and discussions in real-time through 2 graphic illustrations:
- Stories of learning and impact from trauma-and violence-informed projects
- Stronger together: Collective insights from a trauma-and violence-informed community of practice
Stories of Learning & Impact – Lessons from Trauma- and Violence-Informed Projects
This visual focuses on project-level stories of change, learning, and innovation. It portrays how trauma- and violence-informed approaches are being implemented across diverse communities, sectors, and populations.
Stronger Together – Collective Strength and Shared Insights
This visual emphasizes the relational, process-oriented, and adaptive nature of the CoP’s work. It reflects how members, while working across diverse sectors and communities, share a deep commitment to building trust, solidarity, and long-term impact in the communities they work with.
Save the Date:
Community of Practice meetings
December 10, 2025
March 4, 2026
Knowledge Hub Presents! Conference
More than 370 people registered for and attended the KH Presents conference in Toronto on October 1-2, 2025. Alice Echaquan and Thérèse Niquay offered traditional opening and closing ceremonies. There were more than 30 sessions offered by CoP members which included interactive workshops, training, and research findings from projects. In addition, more than 50 mini-presentations from organizations across Canada offered highlights of work related to various topics including sexual violence, working with men, human trafficking, healthy adolescent relationships, family law training, and more. A poster session was hosted on October 1, 2025 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. which engaged many students and organizations in sharing their research and work related to gender-based violence. Anna Ferdinand created energy for everyone with her trauma-informed movement sessions.
The conference has received positive evaluations:
- 86% the conference was relevant to their professional work or personal interests
- 76% the conference enhanced knowledge of trauma-and violence-informed practice and/or researchc
Quotes from Evaluations
- "I found the plenary sessions and panel presentations to be very enjoyable. The mini presentations were a great way to learn about so many different topics and interesting work that is happening. I also enjoyed the poster presentations and opportunity to network with a drink after a long day!"
- "The diversity of sessions were great! It was nice to have the opportunity to meet people from around the country and learn about what they were doing."
- "Very respectful and safe place. I enjoyed the French inclusion rather than just lip service that we are a bilingual country. It was truly inclusive of our French and Indigenous heritage."
News from the CoP
Dr. Lorraine Greaves appointed to Order of Canada
Congratulations are extended to Dr. Lorraine Greaves, who was recently appointed to the Order of Canada (C.M.) in honour of her exceptional contributions to advancing women’s health and gender-based research. Dr. Greaves is internationally recognized for her leadership in understanding the intersections of sex, gender, and health, particularly in the areas of addiction, tobacco use, and violence.
Lorraine is the founding Executive Director at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, after serving in the same role at the Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children in Ontario and is co-founder of the International Network of Women Against Tobacco. Lorraine is a co-investigator on the Strong Women project.
iHEAL program receives new funding to continue its work (iHEAL - Knowledge Hub - Western University
The iHEAL program has received $2.4 million in new funding from the Government of Ontario which will support its expansion to Elgin and Oxford counties and the City of St. Thomas, building on its successful implementation in London since 2021. Developed by researchers at Western University, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick, iHEAL is a free, evidence-based program connecting women who have experienced IPV with a registered nurse trained to provide personalized support around health, safety, relationships, and access to community resources.
iHEAL Program — Middlesex-London Health Unit
MediaSmarts : Resilience through DigitalSmarts
MediaSmarts will be hosting a free virtual training session for the Resilience through DigitalSmarts program in January 2026. This program provides digital media literacy resources for practitioners in the violence against women (VAW) sector and survivors of family violence - especially those who have experienced technology-facilitated violence and abuse. The training session will include a walkthrough of program content, including handouts and workshops that cover a number of topics such as online safety, privacy, and digital storytelling for survivors, as well as resources to support facilitators delivering this program such as the Trauma- and Violence-Informed Digital Media Literacy Education Handbook.
Sign up at this link or use the QR code to attend. You will receive confirmation once the date for the training session has been set. For more information, please contact info@mediasmarts.ca.
Upcoming Opportunity: ConnectED Parents Email Learning Series
The ConnectED Parents project, led by Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence team at the University of Calgary, is launching a free 12-week email learning series starting in November 2025. The initiative offers two tailored streams: one for community leaders and one for parents designed to strengthen leadership, connection, and healthy relationship skills among families and communities.
Each week, participants receive a brief, research-informed email packed with practical tips, examples, and small reflection challenges to apply immediately in their personal or professional lives.
You can register for one or both streams by scanning the QR code provided in the attached poster or by visiting the registration link directly. All materials are concise, easy to follow, and grounded in current research on relationship health and community well-being.
We encourage all CoP members to share this flyer within their networks or with any organization or individual working with families.
Healing Arts for Newcomer Family Wellbeing – November 12, 2025
Join the HEAL project at their event : Healing Arts for Newcomer Family Wellbeing, a special event celebrating the Hubs of Expressive Arts for Life (HEAL) Project—an initiative that bridges the arts, mental wellbeing, and settlement sectors to promote healing and connection among newcomer families.
This interactive evening will guide participants through an artful experience exploring how creative expression can help address and prevent family violence, with a special focus on supporting newcomer women survivors of gender-based violence.
📍 Toronto Public Library, 789 Yonge Street
🗓️ November 12, 2025 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM (EST)
Healing Arts for Newcomer Family Wellbeing Tickets, Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite
Connections for Breaking the Cycle – program evaluation
An academic study led by Kirsten MacAulay and published in Behavioral Sciences explored the impact of the Connections program, which received funding from PHAC between 2016 and 2026. The research team interviewed mothers who have experienced interpersonal violence and held focus groups to understand how participation in the Connections program changed their lives. The results were two-fold: Mothers said they experienced clear changes in how they saw themselves, navigated their interpersonal relationships, and parented their children. They also strongly believed these positive outcomes were directly related to participating in the program. Another key finding was that the mothers developed greater self-compassion, self-reflection, and self-forgiveness through their participation in the program. These qualities acted as important pathways for change, leading to increased confidence and empowerment. Overall, the research not only showed that the Connections program works, but also helped explain how it works. The authors stressed that understanding the pathways to change is just as important as knowing whether a program is effective. By identifying the pathways that lead to positive outcomes, researchers and practitioners can better understand the underlying mechanisms of change and use that knowledge to design or adapt programs.
Citation: MacAulay, K., Andrews, N. C. Z., Motz, M., Lee, G. J., & Pepler, D. J. (2025). Perceived Pathways of Change in an Interpersonal Violence Intervention for Mothers: The Importance of Self-Compassion. Behavioral Sciences, 15(6), 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15060739
Marie-Vincent Foundation – Launch of the Pathways and Compass Programs
The Marie-Vincent Foundation celebrated the official launch of its two new sexual violence prevention programs: Pathways (Voies) and Compass (Boussole). Building on nearly a decade of experience since the creation of their first prevention program, Lantern (Lanterne), these two initiatives represent a major milestone in the Foundation’s commitment to protecting and empowering children.
Pathways offers prevention content tailored to the realities of children aged 4 to 12 who require additional support, a group particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. Compass extends this legacy with a comprehensive prevention program for children aged 6 to 12 and their networks of care and support.
Both programs were made possible through the collaboration of numerous dedicated partners and with the generous support of the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Welcome Linda Mavura
Linda Mavura is passionate about mental health and is well versed in equity-centered environments from her lived and work experience in three countries. She has a background in trauma and violence informed community programs through her work with a women’s mental health and homeless prevention program where she was involved in program development and fund development. She is a Steering Committee member of London’s All Our Sisters Committee, an advocacy group for women facing homelessness and housing insecurity. Linda joined the Knowledge Hub team in July and was instrumental in organizing many of the final elements of the knowledge exchange and conference.
Baby Announcement
Jessica Webb, Implementation Coordinator for the Knowledge Hub went on parental leave at end of July and is a new proud mother. Gus was born September 3, 2025. Congratulations to the new family!
Congratulations Esther
Esther Li joined the Knowledge Hub team earlier this year as Media Technician – an essential support for our online meetings, website updates, graphics needs, conference implementation, and webinar series. Esther is moving on to a new position with the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children (CREVAWC) as an Editorial and Graphic Design Assistant. We are excited that she has found a permanent role with the CREVAWC team and will still be involved with the Knowledge Hub.
Knowledge Hub Team
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- Anna-Lee Straatman, Project Manager, astraat2@uwo.ca
- Esther Li, Media Technician, nli293@uwo.ca
- Jessica Webb, Implementation Coordinator, jwebb63@uwo.ca
- Katreena Scott, Academic Director, kscot47@uwo.ca
- Linda Mavura, Implementation Coordinator lmavura@uwo.ca
- Meaghan Furlano, Research Assistant, mfurlan4@uwo.ca
- Nicole Jeffrey, Postdoctoral Associate, njeffre4@uwo.ca
- Sabry Adel Saadi, Implementation Coordinator, Francophone Liaison, ssaadi2@uwo.ca
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