About

The Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children (CREVAWC) was founded in 1994 as a collaborative venture between The University of Western Ontario, Fanshawe College and the London Coordinating Committee to End Women Abuse. The Centre was established in response to a federal study on the problem of violence against women, prompted by the 1989 murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal. 

Mission Statement 

We facilitate the collaboration of individuals, groups and institutions representing the diversity of the community to pursue research questions and training opportunities to understand and prevent violence and abuse.  We serve local, national and international communities by producing useful information and tools to assist in the daily work to prevent and stop violence towards women and children and vulnerable adults.

Vision Statement 

The Centre is committed to the development and application of knowledge for the prevention of violence against women and children through promoting innovation, collaboration and equality.

CREVAWC joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Ontario in 2001. 

Our Core

Values

Equity: We recognize individuals and communities have unique needs in their struggles against violence and abuse

Advocacy: We use our resources to amplify voices seeking to challenge and change conditions that give rise to violence

Partnerships: We support social justice through collaborative relationships with organizations and communities

Gender based Intersectional Analysis: We recognize intersecting structural inequities create and impact experiences of violence, abuse and help seeking

Feminist Lens: We seek to understand how gender inequality impacts girls, women, trans and non-binary peoples

Integrity: We accept challenges by acting with transparency, respect and honesty

Diverse Ways of Knowing: Voices of people with lived experience, practice wisdom, research learning, and community knowledge are an integral part of our work.

Collective Leadership: We create safe spaces to explore new ideas and work collaboratively

Principles

  • We strive to build inclusive and safe workspaces by encouraging dialogue and respecting differences

  • We acknowledge our privilege individually and collectively. We strive to be accountable to those who experience violence and abuse.

  • We commit to producing knowledge that is reflective of diverse experiences, views, and perspectives

  • We strive to demonstrate our commitment to decolonization and anti-oppressive practices in our work

  • We strive to create useful resources to combat violence and abuse by writing in clear language and using a diverse array of communications including scholarly journals, popular publications, briefs and reports, traditional media and social media.

  • We commit to creating constructive change by connecting research, education, policy and practice

  • Creativity and innovation drive our long-term efforts to work for social change

  • We strive to align our work with our values by ensuring our work and our workplace is trauma- and violence-informed

Accountability

Advisory Board

Responsibilities of the Advisory Board:

  • Ensuring that the Centre promotes and develops community-centred action research guided by feminist principles, especially by the recognition of the relationship between violence against women and children and the context of systemic inequality and injustice in which it thrives
  • Meeting a minimum of two times per year
  • Ensuring that research activities are relevant to community concerns and the diverse nature of all the communities affected by violence against women and children
  • Ensuring the activities of the Centre are committed to collaboration in local, national and international research initiatives by maintaining links with the founding partners, community based organizations in London and the Alliance of Research Centres
  • Ensuring appropriate recognition of  contributions made by researchers, students and community partners
  • Receiving reports from the Centre staff
  • Recommending the appointment of new Research Associates (academic and community) to the Centre Directors.
  • The Centre reviews and accepts Research Associates for a renewable three year term on an ongoing basis which must be approved by the Centre’s Advisory Board.

Management Committee

Responsibilities of the Management Committee

  • Review and approve the annual budget.
  • Approve the annual report
  • Identify fundraising priorities.
  • Develop strategies to increase the integration of the Centre into the Faculty of Education through shared initiatives and resources.
  • Consult with the Advisory Committee on emerging and ongoing initiatives.
  • The Management Committee will meet at least two times per year (fall, winter and spring) and more often if necessary.

Our History

Heritage Plaque

Western University has recognized The Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children (CREVAWC) for its groundbreaking research and 25-year partnership with the community. The plaque, which is voted on by the Western community, celebrates significant research-related moments in the university’s history, and encourages the campus community and its visitors to learn how these contributions have benefited the social, financial, cultural and medical well-being of citizens in Canada and abroad. Learn More about the Heritage Plaque.