Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships

Invitation to Responsibility-Fostering Respectful Relationships

A proven method that encourages better role models to break the cycle of domestic violence.

The Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships is one of the sanctioned programs under the Program Option of the Saskatoon Domestic Violence Court. Men who plead guilty to a domestic violence charge in that court and who are assessed as eligible for programming by the Ministry of Justice, as well as men who are sentenced to undertake programming after having been found guilty, may present themselves to Family Service Saskatoon for admission into the Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships. The program is also open to men who wish to self-refer.

Helping men become responsible, caring partners and fathers.

The Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships makes a real difference in establishing a culture of respect and safety for women, men and children. Not only does the program affect the people enrolled in the program, but all those who cross paths with the individuals. The program aids in developing a culture among men that can then be brought into the community.

ABOUT MEN'S Working Group for Respectful Relationships

The Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships: Invitation to Responsibility – Fostering Respectful Relationships is a twice-yearly series of group sessions conducted by Family Service Saskatoon over a nine-week period. The groups are held on every other Saturday (9 a.m.- 4 p.m.) to facilitate accessibility for men who live outside of Saskatoon or who do shift work. This program is based in approaches used in narrative therapy. It focuses on men’s preferred ways of being partners and/or fathers, by creating conversation with participants about their values, knowledge and skills related to stopping abuse and (re)building respectful relationships. This approach draws on group members to support each other in taking responsibility and living the identities they prefer.

THE GOALS OF THE MEN’S WORKING GROUP FOR RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

  • TO ASSIST MEN IN MOVING TOWARD THE RELATIONSHIPS THEY WANT WITH THEIR PARTNERS, THEIR CHILDREN, THEMSELVES AND OTHER MEN

  • TO ASSIST MEN IN MOVING AWAY FROM BEHAVIOURS AND IDEAS THAT TAKE THEM AWAY FROM THE TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS THEY PREFER (E.G. YELLING, SLAMMING DOORS, ETC.)

FACILITATORS

The group is facilitated by two individuals, one woman and one man, trained in narrative therapy.

TOPICS COVERED

  • creating safety in one’s relationships with other men

  • gender expectations

  • re-authoring identity through a definition of values

  • defining abuse, which includes an analysis of gender and its relationship to abuse, as well as an exploration of types of abuse

  • taking responsibility and an exploration of distractions that lead away from taking responsibility

  • relapse prevention by studying the processes in which violence escalates and de-escalates, and by specifically studying past incidents of abuse

  • development of skills in perspective-taking and empathy

  • listening and sharing skills

  • healing and repairing, after abuse

Weekly homework assignments provide opportunities for the men to consider these themes, before and/or after the pertinent group sessions. Men are presented with a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program.

THE FEES

The Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships involves two pre-group interviews to help men establish their values in their stance against violence.

FIXED FEE

$100

FOR EACH OF THE 2 PRE-GROUP INTERVIEWS

FIXED FEE

$1300

GROUP REGISTRATION COST

TOTAL COST

$1500

For more information or to register please contact:

Helene Davis
helene.davis@familyservice.sk.ca
306-244-0127

What

Participants

Say

For several years, we’ve worked with some amazing men who have benefited from the Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships. Here’s what they have to say about the program.

Bringing out the details in an open setting helped me understand my abusiveness and how I need to change.

I now see that there is more to life than anger.

It made me realize that men can share their innermost feelings and that it is okay to feel regret and shame.

Through the reported data and methodology by the Canada Centre for Policy Alternatives, they estimate

9,623 incidents of intimate partner violence over the last five years in Saskatoon

McInturff, K. (2016). The Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada 2016: The Gender Gap in Canada's 25 Biggest Cities. The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

We Need your Help

Men who want to reconnect with their values of respect and integrity, and change their behaviours, might not have the opportunity to do so if this program no longer existed.

Through your support, you can make a real difference in protecting women and children, and help to prevent domestic violence.

All donors to the Foundation will receive a notice of the Annual General Meeting along with an email (or mailed, by request) report on the work of the Organization, including the Men’s Working Group for Respectful Relationships. Donors excluding those who wish to remain anonymous, will be recognized in this report.

Donors will receive a receipt from the Foundation as a registered Canadian charity, which can be used for income tax purposes.

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