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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Rave</title> <atom:link href="https://www.theraveproject.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org</link> <description>Information on domestic violence in families of faith</description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2022 13:16:10 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2</generator> <item> <title>Clergy Responses to Domestic Violence in Australia</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/clergy-responses-to-domestic-violence-in-australia/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2022 13:16:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1065</guid> <description><![CDATA[There is a growing body of international research on domestic and family violence in the context of religion – its occurrence, the experiences of those affected, how faith groups are responding – but there is less known about Australia. We are working to address this gap in the case of Christian churches so that clergy,...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1063" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MiriamPepper-249x300.jpg" alt="" width="249" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MiriamPepper-249x300.jpg 249w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MiriamPepper.jpg 529w" sizes="(max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px" /><img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1064 alignright" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-200x300.jpg 200w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ruth-Powell-photo-2022-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />There is a growing body of international research on domestic and family violence in the context of religion – its occurrence, the experiences of those affected, how faith groups are responding – but there is less known about Australia. We are working to address this gap in the case of Christian churches so that clergy, leaders and churches at large can be better equipped to address the causes and consequences of violence.</p><p>We are Australian social researchers who run the <a href="https://www.ncls.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Church Life Survey</a> (NCLS). The NCLS is a five-yearly survey of thousands of Christian churches, hundreds of thousands of churchgoers and thousands of church leaders in approximately 20 Australian denominations (Catholic, Anglican and other Protestant). The NCLS covers many topics. For the first time in 2016, we asked clergy (and other local church leaders in churches where there is no clergyperson) about whether and how they had responded to domestic and family violence (DFV).</p><p>We found that two-thirds (67%) of clergy had previously dealt with DFV situations in their ministry, primarily responding to victims of abuse by referring them to specialist support services (77% of those who had dealt with such situations) and by counselling them (70%). The findings varied by denomination – with a particular depth of experience with DFV situations and strength of awareness of the needs of victims for safety and specialist support evident in the Salvation Army.</p><p>Concerningly, 41% of clergy who dealt with DFV situations provided marriage or couples counselling – even though victims and support services maintain that couples counselling is ineffective and unsafe.</p><p>A large minority of clergy who had dealt with DFV situations (44%) had either counselled perpetrators or (less commonly) referred them to support services. Given the complexities and risks involved in working directly with perpetrators, and the lack of evidence for what interventions with perpetrators actually work, understanding clergy practices in this regard is a priority.</p><p>Investigating in more detail how clergy are working with perpetrators is even more important because most Australian churchgoers attend church with their partner. In other research that <a href="https://anglican.org.au/our-work/family-violence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we undertook for the Anglican Church of Australia</a>, we interviewed Anglicans who had experienced violence from an intimate partner. We found that those who attended the same church as their partner at the time of the abuse tended to face complex challenges in disclosing their experiences and in receiving effective support from their church. This was especially the case when the abusive partner held positional and/or spiritual authority. This points towards a need for training and support for clergy so they are better equipped to respond in these very difficult situations.</p><p>Our findings from the 2016 NCLS on “Domestic and Family Violence: Responses and Approaches across the Australian Churches” have been <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/3/270" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published in the open-access journal <em>Religions</em></a>.</p><p>Data from the 2021 NCLS (conducted in late 2021 and into the first part of 2022) will soon be ready for analysis. We look forward to examining how clergy responses to domestic and family violence have changed in the interim – including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Miriam Pepper and Ruth Powell, 17 August 2022</p><p> </p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Memories of Violence</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/memories-of-violence/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 05 Jul 2022 14:56:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1060</guid> <description><![CDATA[As part of my doctoral research, I am exploring individual and collective memories of collective violence in India among Muslim and Sikh Canadians who immigrated to Canada. I understand collective violence as having a certain kind of intentionality to it based on political, economic, and religious grounds. A few examples are genocides, wars, pogroms, and...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-1059 size-medium" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973-275x300.jpeg" alt="" width="275" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973-275x300.jpeg 275w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973-939x1024.jpeg 939w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973-768x837.jpeg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973-1409x1536.jpeg 1409w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/IMG_1676_Facetune_13-08-2021-13-21-18-scaled-e1657031920973.jpeg 1708w" sizes="(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px" />As part of my doctoral research, I am exploring individual and collective memories of collective violence in India among Muslim and Sikh Canadians who immigrated to Canada. I understand collective violence as having a certain kind of intentionality to it based on political, economic, and religious grounds. A few examples are genocides, wars, pogroms, and riots. Among many other things, my academic journey has helped me develop this topic of study which is based on a few crucial themes—memory of violence, pre-migration trauma and their implications on post-migration living and settling in Canada.</p><p>Dr. Catherine Holtmann and I wrote a chapter together which addressed theoretically how Indian Muslim immigrant’s pre-migration experiences of violence might impact their post-migration experiences of intimate partner violence. For example, we suggest that post-migration stress may trigger individual’s memories of violence and associated feelings of shame. We recommended that training for public service providers receive education and training in recognizing and responding to pre-migration trauma expressed by members of ethno-religious minority groups.</p><p>Other studies have explored how experiences of intense violence and the associated trauma linger on within individuals. Through a qualitative study, I am hoping to establish my argument that understanding pre-migration trauma and its implications requires understanding the memories of individuals and communities in their country of origin. By exploring the composition of memory, how people remember violence that they embodied, and how memories are communicated to the next generations are some important themes that should be understood to critically evaluate their implications on immigrants’ and refugees’ post-migration living experiences.</p><p>I will attempt to understand these complex issues surrounding memory, violence, and trauma by combining the conceptual frameworks of intersectionality, collective consciousness, and ‘referring’ as a social act. For example, intersectionality is adopted in this study to understand collective violence which characteristically targets certain ethnic or religious minorities. Moreover, the nature of collective violence also includes violence against women in varying degrees (for instance, the Rwandan genocide or the Bosnian war). Intersectionality also helps in understanding the implications of those memories while living in a new country and the shift in socio-economic standing from country of origin to country of residence. In my view, collective consciousness is constructed and influenced not just through social institutions like religion and families, but these institutions can be impacted and sometimes subverted by politicians and military personnel. This is why we see the complicity of governments, for example, during civil wars, riots, and genocides. ‘Referring’ as a social act is adopted as this study relies on understanding the lived experiences of Sikh- and Muslim-Canadian immigrant communities and their social contexts making their stories and interview responses social acts in themselves. A group’s memory of an event of the past continues to impact their present. In other words, when understanding collective memory of riots for a ethno-religious minority community, the riots may still impact the present. This highlights the intergenerational character of memory and how it is passed to newer generations who have not embodied collective violence but are affected by it in their day-to-day living. A prime example of this is Holocaust memories.</p><p>I hope my research findings can help in developing tangible recommendations and social policies that can positively impact post-migration living for immigrants and refugees in Canada and all over the world.</p><p>Misha Maitreyi, 5 July 2022.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Five things on my mind and heart . . .</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/five-things-on-my-mind-and-heart/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:36:49 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1054</guid> <description><![CDATA[It has been more than four years since I retired from a full-time academic position, work that consumed my time and energy and brought me into contact with students and colleagues in many locations. I loved my work, whether it was teaching in the classroom, conducting research, or disseminating the results through publications or speaking...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1053" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_20220601_161303-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_20220601_161303-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_20220601_161303.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />It has been more than four years since I retired from a full-time academic position, work that consumed my time and energy and brought me into contact with students and colleagues in many locations. I loved my work, whether it was teaching in the classroom, conducting research, or disseminating the results through publications or speaking engagements. But work alone never defined who I wanted to be as a person of faith, or as a mother, or as a fellow traveler on the journey we call life.</p><p>Retirement confirmed that for me.</p><p>But, unlike many, who I recall used to say after their own retirement, “I don’t know how I had time to work,” that I do know. Before retirement, I was often in a hurry, rarely lingered over breakfast or lunch, seldom read for hours at a time something that was not work-related, or just sat and looked at my garden or another favourite vista with no explicit agenda. Now, often, I can do things at the last minute, or change directions or plans without much difficulty. There is a lot to like about this season of life.</p><p>When Cathy asked me to write a blog, I decided that I’d share some things on my heart and mind as I am experiencing them now. I care as much about the suffering created by intimate partner violence as I ever did, I grieve about the way that the religious have often relegated talk about abuse to the back burner and turned their hearts and minds the other way, and I rejoice when others have found the courage and the resources to leave a life of fear and battery behind.</p><p>Here’s what I have been thinking about lately…</p><ol><li>I have a new grandbaby, Ellie, who was born to my younger daughter Christina and her husband Sean on February 6, this year. Welcoming a new baby into the family has been nothing short of wonderful. Babies are hard work (just ask their parents), they bring new worries and concerns, they deprive the adults of sleep and relaxation, but they add so much spice and excitement that it just bubbles over in so many ways. Of course, I am aware that this does not happen at the birth of every child, and that reminds me again of the important work of RAVE and other agencies to ensure that every family is a safe one for children to grow and thrive.</li><li>A few weeks ago, Christina, Ellie and I travelled to Toronto to visit my older daughter Natascha, her husband Jaron, and their growing family (Aeris 6 and Alister 3). Introducing the cousins to each other and watching their excitement and bonding was more than worth the hassles of contemporary air travel. Distance and COVID have made family togetherness a challenge these last few years. Women experiencing abuse are often deliberately separated from the emotional and physical support of the extended family network. Once again, through my own life narrative, I was reminded of the many ways that a strong and supportive family help each other.</li><li>We are in the process of selling our home of 30 years and down-sizing our living arrangements. Have we ever accumulated a lot since we bought this big, old Victorian house! There are things that belonged to my grandmother, and my great-aunts, my mother and father, as well as all the things associated with different aspects, and stages, of our own lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. Boxes of pictures (pre-phone days), school report cards, art work, and athletic equipment are the legacy of our own families, there is china, crystal and silver that has been passed down from family, and of course, Dave and I have data dating back to our earliest research initiatives. Besides all the actual physical and emotional work associated with down-sizing, there is the reminder of what was important. It is vital to stop and think about that. Memories and the people they represent are what we are left with at the end of the day. Houses are just temporary places where they are sometimes held when our minds are too clogged up with to-do lists and other life necessities.</li><li>Books—we have so many of them. They inhabited our offices at the university and our home. Reading the spines tell you a lot about who we are and what we think is important to know. And, I admit, I am very attached to books. The ones I read, and the ones I have written. Giving books away is much easier for me than discarding them (er, rather recycling them). But, parting with many of them is something I must do. So I began to think about how important reading has been to my life and to my journey, really since I was a child. It opened opportunities and satisfied my curiosities. I have been re-reading some of the poetry of Mary Oliver recently and I must say there are few things more satisfying than to end the day with her.</li><li>I am blessed with many things in my life but at this time of change I am very thankful for my friends—those who have been there over the long haul. We all know that you can’t make new “old friends.” While it is right and good to be always open to new faces and new friendships, there is something very endearing about those few people who know you well, have walked the rough paths by your side, and still come, and laugh, and cry, and eat, and bake together, when you call out to them.</li></ol><p>Nancy Nason-Clark, 2 June 2022</p><p> </p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>A Path to Peace: Yoga in Colombia</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/a-path-to-peace-yoga-in-colombia/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2022 19:53:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1050</guid> <description><![CDATA[I spent the fall of 2017 in Bogotá, Colombia studying non-traditional and grassroots methods for addressing violence in contexts of war as part of my doctoral research at Western University. During my research fellowship with the Colombian non-profit Corporaciòn Dunna, I learned about the nuances of war and peace and the immense potential for mind-body...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1049" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Lefurgey-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Lefurgey-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Lefurgey.jpg 260w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />I spent the fall of 2017 in Bogotá, Colombia studying non-traditional and grassroots methods for addressing violence in contexts of war as part of my doctoral research at Western University. During my research fellowship with the Colombian non-profit Corporaciòn Dunna, I learned about the nuances of war and peace and the immense potential for mind-body integrated approaches to address complex and intersecting manifestations of violence. Dunna’s work across 67 communities in Colombia is reshaping peacebuilding from the ground up, creatively using the teachings from the ancient spiritual practice from India: yoga. Dunna’s programming has directly benefitted nearly 7,000 individuals including youth offenders, demobilized persons, military personnel, victims of armed conflict, victims of sexual violence, displaced persons as well as other low-income and at-risk populations, both directly and indirectly affected by the conflict. Their community-based programs integrate emotional and interpersonal recovery within broader ideas of societal rehabilitation and rebuilding as part of their nation’s recovery efforts towards sustainable peace.</p><p>The Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had only just signed their historic peace accord shortly before I arrived in Bogotá. The accord marked the symbolic end to a deeply complex conflict that lasted five decades during which over 250,000 people were murdered. Since 1985, more than 8 million have been forcibly displaced from their land and homes—the largest movement of internally displaced peoples in the world. During my fellowship, I interviewed Dunna’s staff and program participants, citizens-at-large, peace organizers and government officials about what this historic moment meant to them and about their hopes for the future. I heard about how these individuals and their communities remain overwhelmed by the complexity of violence and how deeply rooted it still is in Colombian society. Contrary to popular perception of the Colombian conflict, which was largely rural, the largest subset of the violence is organized criminal violence, primarily in Colombia’s cities, with family violence following closely behind. The violence of the armed conflict with the FARC is not isolated from broader structural and systemic violence such as European colonization dating back to the 16<sup>th</sup> century (which manifests in modern day largely as deeply entrenched social class structures and inequality), nor from the seemingly ‘everyday’ violence in interpersonal relations among neighbours or within familial and kinship structures.</p><p>I sought out to understand how these different expressions of violence were related and how they intricately, cyclically and intergenerationally informed one another. More specifically, I explored how a practice like yoga is being used to address violence and shape individual and collective levels of peacebuilding in Colombia. In many respects, yoga is an opportunity for Dunna’s participants to connect with others and socialize, yet the effects of the practice reach much further. Interviewees shared that yoga is a space for them to rebuild social fabrics and trust in their communities. For example, some participants shared that yoga is useful in building compassion for others and co-existing with neighbors despite differences and polarizing political and religious views. Participants also shared how yoga classes benefit their relationship within their families and help them cope with conflict, control reactivity, and find patience in parenting. Most significantly, participants living in low-income social housing complexes where Dunna works reported less violent incidents in their community overall since the yoga programs began.</p><p>On an individual level, yoga is a tool to promote mental health, resilience, and emotional recovery. Yoga helps participants calm their nervous system—moving out of a state of prolonged hypervigilance and nervous system dysregulation (e.g., this translates to experiences such as being easily reactive to stimulus, feeling on edge, tension in the body, disassociation, and anxiety). Living chronically in this bodily state has compounding physiological and psychological consequences and can result in longstanding chronic health problems. For participants with a range of symptoms of complex trauma such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, unexplained pain and PTSD, aspects of yoga such as focused breathing, present-moment and bodily awareness and opportunities for introspection are particularly helpful. The emotional and psychological benefits reported by participants include the increased ability to focus, regulate emotions, cultivate feelings of safety, and contemplate past experiences. On a physical level, participants of Dunna’s yoga programs frequently report fewer ailments such as physical pain or headaches and better sleep.</p><p>Dunna’s work demonstrates the unique potential of yoga as a practice in individual and collective rehabilitation from trauma and facilitates a deeper understanding of the psychosocial and relational dimensions of peacebuilding. The lessons from their work are far reaching and offer insights into the impacts of out-of-the-box thinking to address violence and the role of contemplative, meditative and mind-body integrated aspects of spiritual and embodied practices like yoga. We can reflect on Dunna’s work and the transferability of lessons to non-war contexts and how they may help fill the gaps in violence prevention, outreach and care.</p><p>For more information, participant testimonials and academic research related to yoga’s impact on violence in Colombia, please visit Dunna’s website <a href="https://www.dunna.org/home-english/">https://www.dunna.org/home-english/</a>.</p><p>You can also read our open-access publication, “Yoga Social Justice and Healing the Wounds of Violence in Colombia” in UC Berkeley’s <em>Race and Yoga Journal</em> for more context: <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3c14s15j">https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3c14s15j</a>.</p><p>Dr. Mayme Lefurgey, 9 May 2022</p><p><em>Mayme Lefurgey is a postdoctoral researcher at the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research and the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick. She holds a Ph.D. in Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies (collaborative program in Transitional Justice & Post-Conflict Reconstruction) from Western University. She is a member of the New Brunswick Women’s Council and an advocate for women with brain injury with the non-profit, PINK Concussions.</em></p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Who Cares?</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/who-cares/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2022 20:36:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1045</guid> <description><![CDATA[My Iranian friend arrived here two months ago. She didn’t know many things. I called her – when I found out that this family arrived, I called them. I offered to them, “Please, come to our house for a dinner I prepare for you because you haven’t settled anything for your house now.” The family...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1044" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1044" class="wp-image-1044 size-medium" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ZevaNaomi-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1044" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Denise Rowe</p></div><p><em>My Iranian friend arrived here two months ago. She didn’t know many things. I called her – when I found out that this family arrived, I called them. I offered to them, “Please, come to our house for a dinner I prepare for you because you haven’t settled anything for your house now.” The family came to my house for dinner.</em></p><p>This quote comes from a conversation I had with an Iranian-Muslim immigrant mother who had also recently arrived in Canada. She knew how hard it was to settle into a new home, especially when you have young children. She was still adjusting to her new life, but she reached out to a family whom she didn’t know, because she cared. She and her family had experienced care from members of the local Iranian community. In addition to her role as a caring mother, she made it a priority to care for others.</p><p>Care is a gendered religious and secular value. Religious traditions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, emphasize that women are essentially caring – it is part of their nature. In Canada, women, religious and non-religious, still shoulder most of the responsibilities in caring for young children and elders in families. Women are more likely to be employed in caring professions such as nursing and early childhood education. Certainly, girls and women are socialized into caring roles in families. Care is expressed through concrete activities of such grocery shopping, cooking and serving meals, doing laundry, listening to problems, encouraging those who are struggling, showing hospitality to friends and neighbours, and celebrating holidays together. For religious women, caring service builds the virtues of patience, kindness, generosity, compassion, sacrifice and forgiveness. For many religious women, practices of care are a meaningful part of their identity.</p><p>However, in situations of family violence, a woman’s role as caregiver is exploited. When her husband demands that she serve the needs of the family instead of working, then fails to give her enough money to feed the children, and prevents her from spending time with friends, he is controlling and preventing her from caring.</p><p>An example comes from a Filipina-Christian immigrant woman who told me about her sister:</p><p><em>Her husband was just using her, and she wouldn’t listen to our advice. . . Then they decided to move to [another city] which is really hard for us because she already had a stable job here. . . I can’t even call her now because she doesn’t have a cell phone now. She did it for her husband – to satisfy him – so that she wouldn’t have any communication with the people around her, so she gave it all up. . . One time when they were still here, she called me around 11:00, she was crying, her husband is beating her and threatened that he will kill her. . . She said, “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t handle it anymore!”</em></p><p>Women of faith need help in understanding domestic violence and recognizing when their role as caregivers is being abused. Religious leaders can help by affirming the interdependence of women and men in families. They need to talk openly about how caring for others depends on taking care of oneself – put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others. Self-sacrifice in a situation of abuse is not a virtue. It is also necessary for religious leaders to explicitly describe abusive attitudes and behaviours and publicly condemn them. This information can help ensure women’s safety and spiritual fulfilment when caring for others.</p><p>Catherine Holtmann, 14 April 2022</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Navigating Family, Faith, and Violence</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/navigating-family-faith-and-violence/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 19 Mar 2022 12:43:59 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1041</guid> <description><![CDATA[Years ago, I interviewed a young Muslim woman who was born in Iraq and had lived in Libya and Dubai before her family immigrated to Canada. Alea[1] and her older brother, Nasir, were studying engineering at the same university. Alea did not consider herself particularly religious. She didn’t wear a hijab but she prayed daily,...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1040" style="width: 179px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1040" class="wp-image-1040 size-medium" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AK1-169x300.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AK1-169x300.jpg 169w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AK1-576x1024.jpg 576w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AK1.jpg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1040" class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Abeer</p></div><p>Years ago, I interviewed a young Muslim woman who was born in Iraq and had lived in Libya and Dubai before her family immigrated to Canada. Alea<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> and her older brother, Nasir, were studying engineering at the same university. Alea did not consider herself particularly religious. She didn’t wear a hijab but she prayed daily, avoided pork and alcohol, and fasted during Ramadan. She found it difficult to make friends at university because most of her classmates were male. Her parents didn’t want her hanging out with non-relative men unless Nasir was with her. When she tried to make friends with other Muslim women students, Alea found them either too religious or too open to things she didn’t want to do, like drinking. Trying to socialize often resulted in grief. Alea was very unhappy and spent most of her time alone. She went to student counseling services but didn’t find it helpful:</p><p><em>I saw them once and then I just stopped ‘cause I didn’t feel comfortable. Like, ok what’s the point in going and telling them, and they can’t do anything for me because I understand it’s a cultural thing. And in my point of view its very wrong culture, but I have to live with it because it’s my culture right? Like either I can run away from the house and live my life independent but then I am going to lose my family, right? So it’s kind of you have to decide: either live with it, or . . . But I couldn’t leave my home for sure, my parents are the most important thing in my life.</em></p><p>Alea loved her parents but disagreed with the Iraqi-Muslim values which compelled them to control her social life. A counseling professional could not help Alea navigate the conflict between her love for her family and her critique of their patriarchal religious/cultural practices. Alea saw her problem as all or nothing – love her family and accept their values or leave them.</p><p>While Alea didn’t call the experiences with her family abusive, they had a negative impact on her mental health. She couldn’t find someone who could help her navigate her love for her family along with a renegotiation of her religious/cultural background. From a faith perspective, this is a normal developmental process for a young adult. It is unfortunate that a counsellor couldn’t help her, but not surprising, given that most public service professionals in Canada have no training in working with clients from minority religious groups. This is also often the case when a religious survivor of family violence seeks help. Few domestic violence service providers understand that women’s ethno-religious values and practices are potential resources that can be harnessed in the face of challenges.</p><p>Secular professionals need information and training in order to learn how to ask questions about the importance of a survivor’s cultural and religious beliefs and practices, become familiar with the different religious and cultural resources in their local communities, and encourage religious survivors to negotiate the impact of their experiences of abuse on their beliefs and practices. Religion is not a static set of rules to which believers assent once and for all but rather a way of life. A religious life is a continual encounter between everyday realities and the stories, symbols and practices of a religious group.</p><p>One example of Muslim women’s negotiation between their faith and contemporary culture is the <a href="https://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE)</a>. WISE is a faith-based movement that was created by leading Muslim women scholars, activists, artists, religious and civil society leaders from more than 25 countries. WISE asserts that gender equality is an intrinsic part of Islam and violence against women should never be tolerated.</p><p>Catherine Holtmann, 19 March 2022</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Alea and Nasir are pseudonyms.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Shame</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/shame/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2022 19:11:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1035</guid> <description><![CDATA[Shame is an emotion that everyone can experience but not everyone experiences in the same way. According to Brené Brown, shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging. Feelings of shame have both physical and cognitive elements. In other words, we can experience...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1037" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1037" class="wp-image-1037 size-medium" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IPVhome3.jpg 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1037" class="wp-caption-text">Photo by Denise Rowe</p></div><p>Shame is an emotion that everyone can experience but not everyone experiences in the same way. According to <a href="https://brenebrown.com/topics/shame/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brené Brown</a>, shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging. Feelings of shame have both physical and cognitive elements. In other words, we can experience shame as heat and discomfort in our bodies and shame leads us to think that we are bad or that there is something wrong with us. Experiences of shame bring up fears of being abandoned by those we love or rejected by the groups we belong to.</p><p>Shame is relational – feelings of shame point towards breaks or tensions in our most valued relationships.</p><p>Many conservative religious groups teach that mothers are created for caring and nurturing their families. My research with Christian and Muslim women shows that care is an important aspect of their identities and practices. Caring for others through service is meaningful to women. Their physical and emotional labour helps ensure that their husbands, children, grandchildren and aging parents are fed, clothed, encouraged, and ready to face the world each day. Caring service to others develops women’s virtues of patience, kindness, generosity, hospitality, compassion, self-sacrifice and forgiveness.</p><p>Religious women deeply value the caring relationships that they contribute to both inside and outside of their families. This is one of the reasons why violence and abuse within families of faith causes them enormous pain.</p><p>Religious survivors of family violence often report feeling shame. Some of the feelings of shame arise because women believe they have failed in their responsibilities for caring. When religious leaders idealize in-tact, happy families, women whose families do not match that ideal feel judged. Perhaps a woman has been told time and again by her husband that she is a bad mother or a selfish wife and she believes him.</p><p>Whether it is the church’s ideals for families or the abusive actions and words of her husband, a religious woman’s feelings of shame must be addressed. When we fail to address victim’s shame in communities of faith, fear, blame and disconnection are the results.</p><p>As a victim of violence, a religious woman should not be blamed for the suffering in her family – she has not failed. She is not the cause of her broken family. Responsibility for violence and abuse lies with the perpetrator of harm. Her husband has broken his promises to love and honour her when he manipulates emotionally and hurts her physically.</p><p>Empathy is necessary in acknowledging religious women’s experiences of abuse and feelings of shame. Religious leaders and followers can develop empathy by <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/stories0/">listening to women’s stories</a> in order to understand their perspectives. Listening to the stories of survivors and providing them a safe space for exploring and navigating their feelings and beliefs about shame can restore connections between them and communities of faith.</p><p>Catherine Holtmann, 17 February 2022</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Cultural Perspectives on the Common Good</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/cultural-perspectives-on-the-common-good/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:16:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=1029</guid> <description><![CDATA[My colleague, Dr. Mohammed Baobaid at the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration, suggests that we think about the differences between collectivist and individualist perspectives in cultures. These differences have an impact on how we intervene in situations of family violence. Some cultures place more emphasis on collectivist values – individual identities are...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1032" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1032" class="size-medium wp-image-1032" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/istockphoto-1146655240-170667a-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/istockphoto-1146655240-170667a-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/istockphoto-1146655240-170667a-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/istockphoto-1146655240-170667a.jpg 416w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1032" class="wp-caption-text">A tree of life with abstract rainbow flowers</p></div><p>My colleague, Dr. Mohammed Baobaid at the <a href="https://mrcssi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration</a>, suggests that we think about the differences between collectivist and individualist perspectives in cultures. These differences have an impact on how we intervene in situations of family violence. Some cultures place more emphasis on collectivist values – individual identities are subsumed as part of the collective. What is good for the whole – the community – is prioritized and individuals are more likely to think about how their actions impact the community before they think about their own personal goals. However, collectivist perspectives can prevent victims of family violence from disclosing their experiences for fear of the repercussions for the group. For example, women from racialized Muslim minority groups are hesitant to speak out about family violence because of negative public perceptions of Muslims fueled by Islamophobia. This makes it more difficult to ensure the safety of individuals from violence within collectivist cultures.</p><p>Canadian culture, on the other hand, tends to prioritize the needs and desires of the individual over that of the community. Individualist perspectives have been influenced by liberalism, an ideology that promotes individual rights and civil liberties within democratic societies. Collectivist and individualist perspectives are not polar opposites but exist on a continuum because, as we all are aware, within Canadian culture there are people who promote and work for the common good. Likewise, in primarily collectivist cultures, individuals pursue their goals despite pressure to conform to community norms. Public interventions in situations of family violence in Canada are primarily individualist. In order to manage risk, individuals are separated from relationships – women are advised to seek safety in a transition house, children are removed from families, and men are arrested, charged and incarcerated. These interventions are designed to provide safety in the short-term but do not address the long-term needs of survivors or perpetrators.</p><p>I suggest that many Christians in Canada embrace a collectivist faith perspective while living in individualist culture. At least from my perspective as a Catholic, my faith tradition and involvement in social justice activities has taught me to prioritize the common good. Christians believe that our church community is the Body of Christ alive in the world. We are all interconnected. My faith has enabled me to learn about and develop compassion for the people in my community and beyond who suffer injustice. Through no fault of their own, people are born into situations of inequality based on the ethnicity, gender, class and ability of their parents. These social inequalities are the result of human social structures. Based on compassion and love for my neighbours, I try to work together with others for social justice.</p><p>As a sociologist of religion, I have learned that family violence thrives in circumstances of inequality in which the power of some groups of people depends on the lack of power for other groups. It appears that family violence takes place between individuals, which of course is true. Violence between individuals occurs when one person tries to exert power and control over another through physical, sexual, emotional, financial, or spiritual abuse. However, the conditions that allow family violence to be such a widespread social problem are the result of cultural or social forces. All cultures have created and maintained social inequalities. This sends the message to citizens that inequality is “normal” and that coercive control is an acceptable means of maintaining power. For example, structures based on ethnicity/race are evident in the historical socio-economic inequalities between Canada’s Indigenous and racialized immigrant groups compared to the white majority.</p><p>Thus, our work to provide effective interventions in situations of family violence should consider the problem at multiple levels – certainly at the level of relationships but also at the community level. Working for the common good when it comes to family violence, means that religious groups must also advocate for access to affordable housing and transportation, childcare, and legal services, as well as improved access to mental health care and secure employment. Religious leaders can help congregations connect the dots. Solving the problem of family violence includes addressing the conditions of social inequality experienced by families and working for the common good.</p><p>Catherine Holtmann, 10 January 2022</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>There is Hope and Progress</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/there-is-hope-and-progress/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2020 16:03:21 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=939</guid> <description><![CDATA[This past Sunday, I listened with thankfulness as one of our pastors clearly and helpfully addressed domestic violence in his sermon. He talked about the importance of the church being a safe place for survivors, he talked about the power-and-control dynamic of domestic violence, and he urged victims to seek help. He spoke positively about...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_700" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-700" class="size-medium wp-image-700" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/201711_book_launch_Steve-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/201711_book_launch_Steve-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/201711_book_launch_Steve-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/201711_book_launch_Steve-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/201711_book_launch_Steve.jpg 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-700" class="wp-caption-text">Rob Blanchard Photo UNB</p></div><p>This past Sunday, I listened with thankfulness as one of our pastors clearly and helpfully addressed domestic violence in <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/preaching-sermons/">his sermon</a>. He talked about the importance of the church being a safe place for survivors, he talked about the power-and-control dynamic of domestic violence, and he urged victims to seek help. He spoke positively about the important work of a nearby women’s shelter and of his conversations with the director.</p><p>It reminded me of how much things have changed. When I began serving as a pastor in the 1980s, domestic violence was rarely mentioned in public, and the dynamics of Intimate Partner Violence were not understood by many (not only in churches, but in society in general). I remember for the first time mentioning domestic violence ever so briefly in a message in the early 1990s, and hearing the thankful response of women in the congregation who were survivors—just that brief mention had been liberating and empowering for them, and it was <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/resources/from-religious-leaders/">something they had never heard before in church</a>. It was the first step that led the congregation to begin to respond meaningfully to the needs of victims in our community.</p><p>Domestic violence continues to be a horrible problem in our society, and too many churches are complicit in their silence. There are still too many congregations where domestic violence is never mentioned and is misunderstood. Too many victims feel shame. But there is hope and there is much progress. There are many encouraging signs of ways that research, advocacy, and community partnerships are making a difference. Most denominations now provide clear, informed, helpful public statements about domestic violence and many provide good resources for their congregations. Increasing numbers of theological seminaries have begun to provide appropriate training for their ministerial students. Churches are more likely to <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/resources/learning-to-build-bridges-between-churches-and-community-based-resources/">work with community partners</a> to address the problem and to respond to the needs of victims. Clergy are more likely to condemn domestic violence in their sermons.</p><p>There is much work to do and more research to complete and disseminate. There are still <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/violence-around-the-world/">far too many victims</a>. But we can celebrate the progress that has been made as increasing numbers of religious congregations and their leaders better understand how they can have an important role in bringing safety and hope, as well as practical and spiritual support, to those in their midst who suffer violence at home.</p><p>Dr. Stephen McMullin, 16 December 2020</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Celebrating the Life of Dr. Barbara Fisher-Townsend: A woman of hope</title> <link>https://www.theraveproject.org/celebrating-the-life-of-dr-barbara-fisher-townsend-a-woman-of-hope/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cathy Holtmann]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2020 19:01:53 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hope]]></category> <category><![CDATA[religion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[research]]></category> <category><![CDATA[violence]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theraveproject.org/?p=929</guid> <description><![CDATA[For over thirty years, Barb and I worked together in some capacity. And the four of us, pictured here, worked collaboratively for over 15 years. As a RAVE team, we wrote and published articles and books together, organized conferences and professional gatherings, and presented webinars and talks, both in person and online. We all loved...]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_930" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-930" class="size-medium wp-image-930" src="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.theraveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201711_book_launch_7093.jpg 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-930" class="wp-caption-text">Rob Blanchard Photo UNB</p></div><p>For over thirty years, Barb and I worked together in some capacity. And the four of us, pictured here, worked collaboratively for over 15 years. As a RAVE team, we wrote and published articles and books together, organized conferences and professional gatherings, and presented webinars and talks, both in person and online.</p><p>We all loved working with Barb: she was conscientious, industrious, fair-minded, and generous with praise. She was also a lot of fun: whether we were eating at a restaurant, debriefing in a meeting on upcoming responsibilities, or savoring a few minutes after a job well done, she would have a humorous tale to share, often from her past, that made an ordinary moment quite extra-ordinary.</p><p>Barb loved to eat well and laugh a lot. She loved to shop, to bake and to share. But most of all, she longed to enrich the lives of those with whom, and for whom, she worked. She was a researcher devoted to understanding the impact of domestic violence and her scholarship was by nature a cooperative venture.</p><p>In the University of New Brunswick announcement of her October 11<sup>th</sup> passing, the President, Dr. Paul J. Mazerolle, wrote that “Friends, coworkers and family members will remember Barbara as an exemplary colleague with a teaching style that was lively, innovative and engaging.” Throughout her career with our RAVE Project, Barbara put her whole heart into whatever she was doing.</p><p>On Saturday, November 21<sup>st</sup>, 2020, there was a time of remembrance to celebrate the life of Dr. Barbara Fisher-Townsend. Together with her husband, David Townsend, a small group of us gathered in-person at my home in Fredericton, joined by a much larger group on-line, to celebrate Barb’s life.</p><p>Steve shared that Barb was a woman of hope. In his words: <em>Many people are hopeful, but Barb’s use of the word hope had a deeper meaning than that. When I first met Barb in the old RAVE office at UNB when Barb was a post doc, she pointed out to me the word HOPE on one of the shelves and emphasized that for her, that was what RAVE was about. She was a researcher and a writer and a teacher and an academic, but for Barb it was more than an academic exercise. She had hope that she would make a difference. When she interviewed victims, when she interviewed perpetrators, when she wrote, and when she taught, she was seeking to instill hope. Many people have hope for themselves; Barb had hope for others. I think that was a reason why Barb found meaning in her work with women of faith-because in their faith she saw reason to encourage hope.</em></p><p>Hope in the future played an important role in her own life, as she wrote in the preface to our 2015 Oxford book, <a href="https://www.theraveproject.org/the-rave-bookstore/"><em>Men Who Batter</em></a>. She completed her PhD in Sociology well into her 50s, motivated to excel, in part, by some of those challenges she had faced when she was much younger. Not only was hope a concept she had studied, but Barb knew its impact on her personal life.</p><p>In her reflections on the impact of Barb, Cathy writes: <em>Barb’s example as a life-long learner, scholar, mother and friend inspired me to join the Religion and Violence Research Team as a graduate student and become a sociologist.</em> Family and friends have been quick to share that Barb’s enthusiasm for life, including her work life, and her big heart are amongst her most endearing qualities.</p><p>Barb’s pleasing manner, her strength in the face of tremendous obstacles, her generous spirit, her great stories, her laugh, her relentless interest in others, and her desire to help those impacted by domestic violence—women, men and children—overcome all of the challenges they faced, will live on in our minds forever.</p><p>Nancy Nason-Clark, November 24, 2020</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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