Family Violence Initiative Evaluation, Final Report

4. CONCLUSIONS

The major findings and conclusions are as follows:

There is a continuing need for the Justice Family Violence Initiative. Research indicates that family violence remains a pervasive social and economic problem that continues to be an important justice issue. The prevalence of family violence within Aboriginal communities is much higher than the national average.

Family violence and bullying have devastating social, health and economic consequences for families, communities and society. Family violence places a significant economic burden on Canadians. Moreover, research has shown that children exposed to violence are 10 to 17 times more likely to have serious emotional and behavioural problems later in life compared to children who are raised in a non-violent setting.

The relevance of the Justice FVI has increased over time as the result of increasing attention given to family violence issues at the provincial and territorial levels; broader recognition of the different types of family violence (e.g., domestic abuse, bullying, elder abuse, etc.); enhanced understanding of the underlining causes of family violence; increasing awareness of and demand for services for victims of family violence; increasing population diversity, which has increased the need for culturally appropriate responses to domestic violence; a growing proportion of older Canadians, which has contributed to the prevalence of issues related to elder abuse; and the impact of new technologies such as the Internet, which has given rise to issues such as online sexual exploitation of children by family members.

Even though there are indications that rates of family violence have declined somewhat in recent years, the need for the Justice FVI may have increased because the issues have become more complex and the types of family violence have become more broadly recognized (i.e., domestic abuse, bullying, and elder abuse).

The Justice FVI is aligned with federal government priorities as well as Justice strategic outcomes and is consistent with the federal government’s role and responsibilities in addressing family violence. The Justice FVI goals are consistent with the Government of Canada priorities identified in the Speech from the Throne in recent years, particularly with the federal government’s commitments to ensure safe and secure communities and neighborhoods, prevent crimes, protect and support victims of crime, and increase the attention given to murdered and missing women. The activities of the Justice FVI contribute to the departmental strategic outcome, “A fair, relevant and accessible justice system that reflects Canadian values”.There is a major role for the federal government in terms of ensuring that family violence issues have a high profile at the federal level, raising public awareness, and providing coordination, collaboration and information sharing among jurisdictions. The objectives of the Justice FVI are also consistent with the Government of Canada’s commitment under the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/45 on Elimination of Violence against Women.

The Justice FVI is consistent with the federal government-wide Family Violence Initiative. The Department plays an important role in an integrated national approach to addressing issues related to the justice component of family violence. Federal partners indicated that the Department plays an integral and complementary role in the federal government-wide FVI as a subject matter expert in the areas of criminal and family law as well as a facilitator of public and legal education. The Justice FVI contributes to the federal government-wide FVI by increasing public and professional awareness; enhancing the ability of the criminal justice system to respond to family violence; contributing to the development and implementation of policy and legislation; and supporting data collection, research and evaluation efforts to identify effective interventions.

The activities carried out by Justice employees under the Justice FVI, as well as the funded projects, have been implemented largely as intended, producing the types of outputs envisioned under the Initiative’s three interrelated components. The activities carried out internally and the funded projects focus on a variety of issues related to family violence. These projects and activities reach/benefit a number of target groups such as legal and justice professionals (including front-line workers and service providers), victims of family violence, hard-to-reach communities, and stakeholders such as community and advocacy organizations, as well as the general public.

The Justice Family Violence Initiative is appropriately designed and delivered effectively. The relative role of the Justice FVI within the broader federal government is well-defined and its mandate, objectives and structure of the Justice FVI are clearly understood by the staff directly involved in the Initiative, as well as their colleagues within the Department. The Justice FVI is coordinated with other related activities within the Department through joint participation, in particular FVI activities, as well as through the Justice FVI Working Group, which meets three times per year to share information and includes members from the various departmental units contributing to the FVI. The Justice FVI is coordinated with other components of the overall federal government FVI through participation in FVI Interdepartmental Working Group and various sub-committees.

The Justice FVI has been successful in developing strong relationships within the Department as well as with other federal government departments, provincial and territorial governments, NGOs, academic researchers and other subject matter experts active in the field by focusing on common/shared areas of concern/interest in order to effectively build consensus, secure commitment/buy-in, and advance a collective agenda.

The nature of most FVI activities makes it difficult to collect performance data on the impacts of the implemented activities. This challenge is compounded by the fact that the current PMS was developed in 2004 and does not reflect the most recent changes in the Justice FVI logic model.

The activities carried out by the Department under the Justice FVI have made progress against the targeted outcomes. The Justice FVI does not provide direct family violence services; rather, it works to influence the policies, regulations, laws and practices which are in place as well as to increase the level of awareness, knowledge and skills amongst those operating in the system. While recognizing the limits of its modest budget and staff complement, the results of the evaluation indicate that the Justice FVI has made notable progress in:

Strengthening the Capacity of the Justice System.
The Justice FVI has provided input into legislative reform by examining existing and proposed federal legislation through a family violence lens. Various research projects, conferences and support for professional development created by the FVI help identify best practices, increase knowledge of emerging issues, and enhance efforts in addressing various aspects of family violence in the justice system across the country and internationally. Policy analysis supporting changes in legislation, legal research and development of training and other materials have also contributed to strengthening the capacity of the justice system to address family violence.
Enhancing Public and Professional Awareness, Understanding and Skills.
The Department has developed materials that are language-specific and culturally appropriate; supported the development of resources to provide the public with current information about family violence issues; made public legal educational material and information available through its website; made materials available through other means including the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, the websites of PLEI organizations, and conferences; and worked with other organizations such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which distributed targeted materials (e.g., “Abuse is Wrong in any Language”) to newcomers. Various activities and materials developed by the Department such as particular PLEI materials as well as funding of PLEI groups, and supports provided for community workshops raised awareness of specific issues such as elder abuse, child sexual abuse, family violence in Aboriginal communities, and abuse in rural areas. Funded projects improved the visibility of family violence issues and topics within targeted communities, increased knowledge of the issues and individual rights and responsibilities, and improved ability of community organizations to effectively respond to family violence.

The development of tools, training materials and resources for professionals generated through research and funded projects have led to more informed decision making by courts, police officers, and other justice system professionals. It also increased the capacity of those involved in various justice system processes and services to better address the needs of the victims of family violence. Events such as workshops/conferences helped to sensitize justice system professionals to the unique dynamics of family violence matters.

Stakeholders suggested that efforts to enhance public awareness and understanding of justice-related family violence issues would benefit from a greater focus on the prevention of family violence. Although the evaluation has found that the Justice FVI has been effective in developing PLEI materials, particularly materials in plain language, its efforts to disseminate these materials widely have proven to be less successful. In the past, Justice has also utilized the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence for the distribution of PLEI materials. However, as of June 30, 2011, the Clearinghouse no longer disseminates hard copy publications.
Improving the Ability of Stakeholders and Communities to Address Needs and Issues.
The Department has acted as a catalyst to bring stakeholder and community representatives together, which created opportunities for information sharing and dialogue, demonstrated effective approaches and best practices, and resulted in stakeholders and communities working together on issues of shared concern. The collaborative approach used in developing projects such as the Domestic Violence Urgent Response Project has resulted in an improved understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence on the part of each partner involved. It has also contributed to higher success rates with victims in terms of obtaining evidence and testimony, which in turn has contributed to the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in addressing family violence.

The Justice Family Violence Initiative is delivered efficiently. The level of investment in the Initiative is very small relative to the cost of family violence in Canada. The Justice FVI has made efficient use of the modest resources available, which have declined in recent years even though the demand for project funding and other support has increased. The activities supported through the Justice FVI have adopted measures such as leveraging and in-kind contributions to ensure that outputs and outcomes are generated at a low cost.