Building a Bigger Wave

Building a Bigger Wave Summary from the Online Survey November 7, 2011

Participants in the Survey • Excellent response rate - 62 responses • More than half of the respondents are leaders or past leaders with their VAWCC. • Survey responses provide a snapshot of history and current work of the sector across the province.

Not all VAWCCs are the same • 40% are multi sector committees with a focus on domestic and sexual violence. • 23% focus only on domestic violence • 13% focus on all forms of violence in intimate relationships • 13% focus on all forms of violence in communities • Some include Elder Abuse as well as domestic violence.

Membership and Participation • Over half of VAWCCs report a core membership • VAWCCs report that important sectors and services are not members or are inactive members • Membership differs in VAWCCs. Some are very successful recruiting a broad range of community partners. • Active participation by all members is an issue

Geography and Regional Connections • Two thirds of VAWCCs are in rural communities or rural areas with an urban centre. • Only 4% of respondents were in remote areas. • One third also belong to a regional coordinating committee. The remainder either don’t have a regional committee or don’t know if there is one

Structure and Funding • Most report their structure is effective and includes formal officers, minutes and a Terms of Reference. • Most have project subcommittees • 75% have paid staff within the past 5 years. • 80% receive government funding • 90% use government or foundation grants to carry out projects • Most do not fundraise or have member dues.

A rich and long history of community coordination • One third of VAWCCs in existence more than 20 years. • One third in existence more than 10 years • One third in existence less than 10 years.

VAWCC Work Top 5 activities reported in the survey: • Training on woman abuse issues (77%) • Awareness campaigns (71%) • NFF, VAF, Kanawayhitowin campaigns (61%) • Protocol development (59%) • Violence prevention campaigns (58%)

Successes • Awareness campaigns and projects • Court Watch • Projects for youth • Survivor engagement projects • Conferences and workshops • Promotion projects.

VAWCC Challenges • Member participation • Funding • Alignment of community and government priorities. • Low profile of committees in communities.

Collaboration • 70% of respondents said members work together effectively, have a shared vision, and welcome diverse opinions and expertise. • But 50% said that meeting are energizing and productive some of the time. How can time spent together be more productive? • Low levels of community recognition for VAWCC work is an issue

Questions to Explore Survey participants had a range of questions they would like to explore at the Provincial Forum: • Why do we want to collaborate? Who benefits? • What would be our vision and purpose as a provincial network? • How can we collaborate provincially? • Are we ready to collaborate? What are the obstacles?

Diversity • Some VAWCCs have a membership that reflects the diversity in their communities • Many said they either do not have a diverse membership, or diverse groups are members but don’t attend or participate. • About one third of the respondents said they are not working on increasing diversity. • The survey points to a need to increase diversity and look at engagement and inclusion strategies.

What do we want from the Forum? • There was strong support for the formation of a provincial VAWCC network. • Create a common voice and some common plans at the provincial level. • Practical tools – a shared list of VAWCCs contacts. • Information sharing and learning. • Connect and energize • Better understand collaboration and inclusivity

Thank You to Everyone for Participating in the Survey

Building a Bigger Wave