On Monday, June 25, Canada's Minister of Health, The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced PREVNet will receive $550,000 in research funding to support an initiative aimed at addressing dating violence and promoting healthy relationships.
From March 2018 to March 2020, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) funding will support four PREVNet projects designed to build educators’ capacity to address dating violence while on the job, as well as in specific cultural settings in provinces across the country. In a 2015 Canadian study, 51 per cent of victims aged 15 to 19 years, and 46 per cent of victims aged 20 to 24 years, were victimized by a current dating partner. These age groups were also more often victimized by former dating partners.
Projects will cover critical subject areas, including: risk factors for gender-based violence in adolescent relationships; mental health; communication; conflict resolution; personal and interpersonal boundaries; victim blaming attitudes; the role of media and social norms; dominance, power, and privilege; the role of peers and of media; and more.
"PREVNet is pleased that the Public Health Agency of Canada has invested in this innovative project. Together with partners from across the country and across sectors, we are excited to co-create with educators the tools that they need to promote healthy relationships among youth that are free from abuse and violence," said Dr. Wendy Craig, Scientific Co-Director of PREVNet.