Happenings - Making Connections: A Vehicle for Developing a Nursing Response to Violence Against Women and Children in Canada

Abstract

There can be no question that violence is a health issue affecting the lives of countless Canadian women and children (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2000). In the past decade we have witnessed a dramatic increase in public acknowledgement of the effects of violence in our society, due in large part to the influence of the mass media in providing vital information and reshaping attitudes. It is astonishingly clear, however, that, despite increased public awareness, nursing in Canada has been slow to systematically "adopt" violence as a health problem that falls within our domain. There are isolated examples of nurses' involvement in innovative educational and service projects across the country (e.g., Hoff, 1994). A small number of Canadian nurses have made important contributions to our understanding of the nature of woman abuse, the processes of leaving an abusive relationship and healing, and the strength shown by women who have been abused (Eriksen & Henderson, 1998; Henderson, 1990,1993,1995; Merritt-Gray & Wuest, 1995; Varcoe, 1997), as well as the health effects of abuse (Kerouac, Taggart, Lescop, & Fortin, 1986; Ratner, 1993, 1995a) and societal responses to woman abuse (Ratner, 1995b). Also investigated have been children's experiences of witnessing abuse (Bennett, 1991; Berman, 1999a, 1999b; Erikson & Henderson, 1992; Henderson, 1990, 1993) and the effects of these experiences on their health and development (Kerouac et al, 1986;