Family Violence Prevention Month

November 1st marks the beginning of Family Violence Prevention Month in Alberta. Family Violence Prevention Month began in Hinton, Alberta as a local initiative in 1986 and this grassroots effort inspired the Alberta Legislature to support family violence prevention as an ongoing provincial initiative, resulting in the creation of Family Violence Prevention Month. Today, hundreds of Alberta communities and thousands of individuals are actively involved in preventing family violence by providing public education and services.

Alberta has the third highest rate of family violence among Canadian provinces, a number that has only gone up over the course of the pandemic. Family violence describes a pattern of abusive behaviours within a relationship characterized by intimacy, dependency or trust. These types of relationships can include:

• Children exposed to or experiencing family violence;

• People in intimate partner relationships, including dating relationships; and

• Seniors experiencing abuse from family members.

Family Violence Prevention Month is meant to bring awareness to the issues around family violence and to highlight the services and supports available in the community, these include:

• The Family Violence Information Line offers anonymous support from trained staff 24/7 in over 170 languages. Call 310-1818 for assistance. Supports and services are available, including financial aid, housing/shelter and pet safety.

• Online chat is also available at alberta.ca/SafetyChat (8am to 8pm in English only).

• The 24-hour Seniors’ Abuse Helpline is available 7 days a week: 780-454-8888

• Women’s shelter support can be found at: https://acws.ca/

For more information on how the City of Edmonton works to prevent Family Violence please visit: https://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/for_family_individuals/family-violence-prevention-team