Local students guided through the corridors of conjugal violence
The Brome-missisquoi consultation committee to counter violence against women (La Table de concertation pour contrer la violence faite aux femmes) launched a multimedia exhibit in Granby earlier this month on domestic violence.
The exhibit, a 12 metre by 8 metre labyrinth, opened on April 5 and is housed at the Centre Jean-paul Régimbal in Granby.
Serving as an educational tool to point out the warning signs of domestic violence, its cycle, its evolution, the possible consequences of the violence and the ways of getting out of it, the art installation was made available to students in Secondary IV and V from the Val-des-cerfs and Eastern Townships School Boards.
Roughly 800 students were expected to visit the exhibit, which will close this Friday, April 20.
Several animators and community volunteers, including members of the local police force, were on site to offer a guided bilingual tour of the multimedia exhibit to students.
The installation was designed to realistically portray the life of a young couple the same age as the students, allowing them recognize a toxic relationship through videos, special effects and the reconstruction of sets. The ultimate goal is to prevent and reduce cases of domestic violence as early as possible.
The exhibit was first designed in Saguenay-lac-st-jean in 2008, with the intention of circulating in Quebec schools. The labyrinth stopped in Hauteyamaska this past December and January and was viewed by 1650 young people, who came out more informed and more equipped to talk about the issue.
Since it was created ten years ago, community organizations have remarked the exhibit had a significant impact on young people. Bromont artist Claudia Bouvette was involved in the previous tour of the exhibit and agreed to be the spokesperson for the initiative a second time.
"It is quite natural for me to repeat my involvement, especially in my home region. My personal testimony has echoes in Haute-yamaska already. If it can help others, I want to continue reinforcing the message to share: Zero tolerance of dating and marital violence. It is essential for me to get involved, having already experienced a form of intimidation in a past romantic relationship," Bouvette said.
The consultation committee to counter violence against women focuses collectively on common objectives centered on the following themes:
Developing a language and a shared vision of the problem of violence against women.
Ensuring the safety of female victims of violence through services in the region.
Prevention women.
Establishing structures that allow services, of violence against training and awareness-raising activities to improve interventions with women.
Providing references to psychosocial support services for women and their children who are victims of violence to appropriate resources through a reference protocol.