A look at some of the work being done in N.B. to prevent intimate partner violence

Over the last month and a half, Global News has brought you six stories shedding light on intimate partner violence in New Brunswick.

We’re wrapping up the series by showcasing what some are doing to prevent the abuse from happening.

We first introduced Sarah Sherman, an intimate partner violence survivor, whose estranged husband’s attack made headlines.

She turned her own story of survival into advocacy and support for other survivors.

“It took me 55 years to find my voice and even though it doesn’t always go over well and sometimes I feel judged and sometimes I am self-critical, I still think it is important,” she said.

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“If it just helps one person in that room, that’s worth it.”

Valerie McMurtry runs a foundation supporting children in Canada’s welfare systems. She says there are often generational cycles of abuse.

One way her organization, the Children’s Aid Foundation Canada, works to reduce this is by focusing on fathers who have already perpetrated intimate partner violence.

“Sometimes people have asked us why we’re supporting resources for violent men. I really think that men need help being held accountable for their behaviours,” she said.

“You hear some pretty amazing stories about men who really had no idea how to be fathers, because they’ve come from their own generational trauma.”

Similarly, White Ribbon is a global movement aimed at preventing intimate partner violence by changing narratives with men and boys. The co-chair of White Ribbon Fredericton was formerly the city’s police chief and sat on the province’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee about a decade ago.

“If we can prevent it before it happens, that is so much better than having to deal with the aftermath,” Barry MacKnight said.

For more on this story, watch the video above. 

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