Working with Teens to Prevent Family Violence

While emergency women’s shelters are an essential – often lifesaving – resource for women and children escaping domestic violence, preventing abuse before it starts has long been a focus of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. In addition to granting millions of dollars to shelters from coast-to-coast for critical services like trauma counseling, job training and support for children who have witnessed abuse, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has also prioritized a 20-year national partnership with the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), providing $4 million in funding to support violence prevention.  

Whenever Royal LePage professionals from across Canada gather together to raise funds for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, these proceeds are earmarked for the prevention of family violence. Each year, a grant is made by the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation to CWF to fund programs in communities across the country that teach youth how to create safe and healthy relationships.

Delivered in both school and community-based locations, Teen Healthy Relationship grantees work with youth of all genders, aged 10-19, on learning about dating and relationship violence, gender stereotypes and online safety. 

Benefits of these programs cannot be overstated. A recent evaluation of Teen Healthy Relationship programs* found that participation increased teens’: 

• ability to articulate the components of a healthy relationship, as well as the appropriate feelings and behaviours associated with healthy relationships; 
• sense of equality and understanding that all genders should have the same opportunities; and
• relationships skills, including effective communication, healthy boundary setting and conflict resolution.

Teens in the programs also experienced positive effects including improved self-esteem and self-efficacy which reduce the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating violence.

“Taking a long-term view to preventing family violence is an essential component of our work,” said Shanan Spencer-Brown, executive director of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. “To truly move the needle on family violence we must ensure that future generations are equipped to nurture relationships with one another that are respectful, safe, fair and supportive.”  

“[The program] was really interesting and it helped me with A LOT of things, such as knowing what a good relationship looks like, how to spot abusive behaviour, etc. I really enjoyed this program and had a lot of fun doing it.”

“This is the best program! I was nervous to join but I kept coming back.”

*_{National Evaluation of the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s Teen Healthy Relationships Program, 2019-2017. Prepared by Tracy Byrne and Sarah Cunningham. September 2017. Available: https://www.canadianwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/THR-evaluation-report-exec-summary-2018-en-FINAL.pdf}