The Journey to Justice: A Guide to Thinking, Talking and Working as a Team for Young Victims of Crime in Canada's North
Alison Cunningham (2009)

This 90-page guide takes the basic principles of helping children and teenagers testify in court and adapts them for use in Canada's northern territories: Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Taking into account contextual features of northern justice -- including circuit-court parties travelling to far-flung and isolated communities -- the material is designed for judges, justices of the peace, prosecutors, police, witness coordinators, victim service workers, shelter staff and educators. Also addressed are the needs of witnesses with diagnosed or suspected fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The document is being distributed across northern Canada with funding from the Policy Centre for Victim Issues, Department of Justice. To request a copy, please contact Alison Cunningham.

Helping an Abused Woman: 101 Things to Know, Say and Do
Linda Baker & Alison Cunningham (2008)

Of relevance to anyone who works with women any where, the topics addressed give the reader insight into how abuse affects women and gives them concrete ideas to apply in their work including worksheets to use in group or individual work with women. You'll find 10 assumptions about abuse of women in intimate relationships, the reasons all helping professionals should understand abuse dynamics, 10 principles informing work with an abused woman, the 5 paradoxes of abuse, 10 features of listening to abuse disclosures, 10 common control tactics used by abusive men, 10 points about rationalizations for abuse and the messages they send, 5 common characteristics of controling men, 10 points about coping with abuse, 10 thoughts and feelings blocking emotional leaving, and 10 promises not to make to women.

Helping Abused Women in Shelters: 101 Things to Know, Say and Do
Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker (2008)

Helping women in a residential program such as a abused woman's shelter, refuge or transition house is a unique opportunity to provide intensive support at a time of crisis and transition. Building on the material in the first "Helping Hands" guide, this second guide is written specifically for those who work in shelters, refuges, transition houses, safe houses and second-stage housing, grounded in an understanding of the unique context and the needs expressed by women. You'll find concrete "tool box ideas" for interventions with women, reference to the latest research, ideas for discussion as a staff team, and worksheets and other handouts to supplement your one-on-one or group work with women.

A Full and Candid Account: Using Special Accommodations and Testimonial Aids to Facilitate the Testimony of Children
Alison Cunningham & Pamela Hurley (2007)

These seven concise handbooks help prosecutors, victim-support workers, judges and others understand and meet the needs of children who testify in court. Topics covered are: overview of issues related to child testimony, testifying outside the courtroom (e.g., via CCTV), witness screens, video-recorded evidence, designated support person, hearsay evidence and children, and children and teenagers who testify in domestic violence cases. This initiative was undertaken with funding from the Department of Justice Canada.

Little Eyes, Little Ears: How Violence Against a Mother Shapes Children as they Grow
Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker (2007)

A booklet developed with funding from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Public Health Agency of Canada. Topics addressed include facts & figures, ten ways a child can be changed by living with violence at home, and some myths about woman abuse and children. This is a concise source of information for anyone wanting to understand how children experience violence against their mothers and how those experiences may shape them as they grow, from infancy to adolescence. Order copies at no cost from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence web site.

Woman Abuse Affects our Children: An Educator's Guide
Linda Baker & Peter Jaffe (2007)

This Educator's Guide and its Facilitator's Manual were developed by an Expert Panel formed as part of the Government of Ontario's Domestic Violence Action Plan. The English-language panel developed these training materials to better support women and their children, and reduce abuse. The panel included representatives from provincial elementary teacher organizations, principal councils, school and Native guidance associations, Ontario faculties of education, community groups supporting immigrant and refugee women, and organizations from the violence prevention field.

Helping Children Thrive / Supporting Woman Abuse Survivors as Mothers: A Resource to Support Parenting
Linda Baker & Alison Cunningham (2004).

This 76-page resource is written for service providers assisting mothers who have survived woman abuse. Material addresses the needs of abused women as mothers, how abusive men parent, how abusive men affect family dynamics, effects of power and control tactics on mothers, the potential impact of witnessing abuse on children of different ages, and strategies used by young people to cope with violence in their homes. Guidance on parenting children who have lived with violence is also offered. Forty-two pages serve as handouts or worksheets for women, as an adjunct to individual or group interventions on abuse or on parenting. Disponible également en français : Pour aider les enfants à mieux réussir.

What About Me! Seeking to Understand the Child's View of Violence in the Family, by Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker (2004).

This study involved an exhaustive review of the literature on child exposure to domestic violence (almost 400 sources) integrated with extensive clinical experience to create a revolutionary new framework for understanding, studying and intervening with children who have lived with woman abuse. Case studies illustrate key points and child drawings bring to life the experience of violence through young eyes.

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