Meet the London women trying to get more domestic violence education into Ontario schools

A group of recent graduates from King's University College in London, Ont., who created a resource to teach kids and youth about intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention, say getting the program into schools has been difficult, despite buy-in from some school boards. 

The workbook, called Breaking the Cycle, is developed by former psychology students Lucy Fisher, Sofi Kotilehti and Jessica Mitchell. Through exercises and activities, it explores healthy versus risky relationship patterns, consent, bystander interventions, cyber safety, building self-esteem and setting boundaries.

"This program could save a lot of lives and that starts with our youth," said Kotilehti.

"We want to break the generational cycle of abuse and we truly believe, that if implemented within the school board, it could have a tremendous impact not just for IPV but healthy relationship behaviours in general."

Despite the overwhelming support the trio has received from local shelters, organizations and school boards, they said implementing the modules into curriculums remains a challenge until the province makes it a requirement. 

"There are just so many moving parts and so many different levels of government that you need to break through to get somebody to listen. The hiccup just seems to be that it's not mandatory," said Mitchell.

"Even the consistency across programs is unstructured. It's all subjective and up to teachers. It needs to be a top down approach for it to trickle down and be a mandatory thing that's consistent across all grades."

A statement to CBC News from Ontario's Education Minister Jill Dunlop said the government is taking steps to protect students from the harmful effect of intimate partner violence.

"This includes curriculum updates that teach students about their rights, healthy relationships, respect, and consent, as well as enhanced cybersecurity and social media protocols," the statement read.

"Our historic investment in mental health, a 577 per cent increase since 2018, also supports students who are struggling with the emotional and psychological toll of intimate partner violence all year long."

"There's so much out there that we're piggy backing off. We're relying on the police, who are already overworked and all of these remedial efforts from non-profit organizations that have such a hard time keeping up already," said Mitchell.

"It was really surprising for us to hear that there was no preventative measures, so our goal was to try and eradicate it at its root so we didn't have to put so much pressure on all these resources in our community just to try and fight this."

Youth a high risk for domestic violence 

Data from Western University's Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children found the highest-risk group with domestic violence and domestic homicides are between ages 15 and 24. 

Earlier this month, a 16-year-old girl in Ottawa suffered serious injuries in what her family described as a brutal attack allegedly committed by her ex-boyfriend, 18. In July, Breanna Broadfoot, 17, from London died in hospital after she was fatally stabbed by an 18-year-old in a case police have linked to domestic violence.

The group also received input from survivors of intimate partner violence, who expressed how crucial it is for young people to be aware of signs of abuse, especially if they aren't taught about it at home, said Mitchell. 

"A lot of people grow up in abusive or unhealthy environments and they believe this is normal behaviour so when they see it from a partner, it doesn't cause a red flag to them. It doesn't always start with a bruise and it shouldn't wait for that to happen to be considered violence," she said. 

The program, initially a class project, won the group an Agnes Penner Prize in March, which King's gives to projects that focus on issues faced by the community and have the greatest potential to benefit society.

They hope these modules can encourage positive conversations about the issue among youth and facilitate a safe space for them to share their experiences, said Fisher. 

"One of the most important things is that we need to be more connected as a society and youth need to feel supported because sometimes it just takes one person to help then," she said.

The trio said they're planning to work with upper levels of government to bring this education into all schools across Ontario. They believe early intervention among vulnerable populations like children and youth is important to foster healthy relationships, they added.