Committees

Women’s Voices for Action Committee (the Accountability Committee of the Woman Abuse Council )

The work of the Women’s Voices for Action Committee is vital to the development of a coordinated community response to woman abuse. This committee is composed of women survivors of abuse who play a critically important advisory role and provide input into all the work of the Council, including policy and program development. The Women’s Voices for Action Committee was one of the first committees created by the Council, because from its inception, the Council had a commitment to integrating the voices of women who have experienced abuse into all of its work.

The members of Women’s Voices for Action Committee attend monthly meetings where the current work of the Council is discussed and reviewed. The Committee has final comment on all Best Practice Guidelines and pilot projects. As well, Committee representatives try to attend at all meetings of the standing committees of the Council.

Members of the Committee have also been invited to join external advisory committees and policy review and training initiatives to bring forward the voice and experience of survivors. Among the committees that members sit on are: Toronto Police Service Community Advisory Committee, Legal Aid Domestic Violence Training Project Advisory Committee, Scarborough Access Project, and Emergency Medical Services Domestic Violence Training Project Advisory Committee. Their input ensures that the survivors' point of view is represented and that agencies and institutions are held accountable for their interventions. Their participation helps move the community toward a more consistent and integrated approach to the issue of woman abuse.

Some of the key initiatives that have come out of this Committee are: the Women’s Speaker’s Bureau, Silent Witness, Walk the Talk to End Violence Against Women and Women’s court Watch.

Women’s Voices for Action Committee members provide their services on a voluntary basis to the Council. In order to ensure that members do not incur expenses, the Council provides members with an honorarium and reimbursement for babysitting and transportation expenses. There are currently ten active members. New members are recruited on an ongoing basis through our projects and activities.

Find out how you can get involved in our work.

Projects and Activities of Women’s Voices for Action

a. Women’s Speakers Bureau

In 2006, members of our active Women’s Speakers’ Bureau made over 45 presentations to groups ranging in size from 10 to 300 people. Members of the Speaker’s Bureau have had extensive media experience and have been interviewed by a variety of media including print, radio and television. Women who are survivors of abuse are available to speak to community groups about the impact of abuse on their own lives. They describe the need for the community to take action and encourage agencies to develop mechanisms to involve survivors of abuse in their planning and programs.

Members of the Women’s Voices for Action Committee promote the speakers’ bureau to community groups, provide ongoing training and support to volunteer speakers and develop resources for the speakers to distribute during their presentations. Speakers are available to speak on a variety of issues related to woman abuse. Contact us if you would like to book a speaker for your community or social action event. Agencies/ organizations are requested to provide an honorarium for each speaking engagement

Call the Woman Abuse Council at 416-944-9242 or email wact@womanabuse.ca

b. Walk the Talk Shoe Exhibit

Walk the Talk Shoe Exhibit commemorates Ontario women who were killed by their intimate partners. Community agencies and family members donated and decorated a pair of shoes for each woman and child murdered. The display helps viewers appreciate the real people behind woman abuse statistics. To mount the display in your area or at an event, please contact the Woman Abuse Council at 416-944-9242 or email wact@womanabuse.ca

c. Silent Witness

Silent Witness is an interactive, dramatic workshop that is designed to increase understanding about the barriers women in abusive situations face when they seek help. To book a workshop, please contact the Woman Abuse Council at 416-944-9242 or email wact@womanabuse.ca

d. Healing Expression Workshop - Coming soon

We are developing workshops that use creative expression to help survivors of abuse to heal and to learn more about their communities. Watch for more information.