Hamilton group to launch book marking Woman Abuse Prevention Month

November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month and a local women's advocacy group is raising awareness with the launch of a book written by survivors.

Women Against Violence Empowering Survivors (WAVES) - the survivor advisory group under Hamilton's Woman Abuse Working Group (WAWG) - is launching the book at an event on Nov. 24.

Authored by more than 10 women from Hamilton and neighbouring regions, the book, Riding the Waves: the Ebb and Flow of Women Experiencing Violence," is a collective work - with photographs, artwork, articles and poetry from members of WAVES - detailing women's experiences with violence and overcoming those situations.

Bianca Mallon, a member of WAVES who designed and edited the book, said the main reason for the book was to share stories and raise awareness" among other survivors and those facing abuse.

We really want to give survivors and victims hope because we've all been there, dealt with our own abusive situations and gotten out of it," Mallon said. And we want to spread awareness and educate people."

A first of its kind in the Hamilton area, the book took about two years to be completed, with authors and contributors given a choice to publish their names or stay anonymous.

I have turned my genuine love and compassionate nature toward myself, to heal and empower and be with all the feelings and trauma that come from domestic violence," Lisa, a WAVES member, wrote in the book.

Despite what I have been through and continue to endure, I have my physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health ... I have my freedom and my sanity, and those are priceless," Olga, another member, wrote.

WAVES has also planned a series of soft launches for the book at various shelters and organizations across Hamilton, connecting with survivors and having conversations around themes of intimate partner violence.

Violence against women has grown during the pandemic, with women's shelters in Hamilton struggling to keep up with the demand for service.

More than half the women's shelters in Canada reported an increase in the number of crisis calls compared to before the pandemic, according to Statistics Canada.

The event on Nov. 24 at the Waterfront Banquet and Conference Centre will also feature the first public screening of a Hamilton sexual assault services navigation video and an art exhibit from Good Shepherd's survival art group.

Thea Symonds, the project co-ordinator at WAWG, said everyone has a role in ending gender-based violence" and events raising awareness create more visibility on the resources and services that exist in our community."

She said raising awareness about gender-based violence isn't for those facing violence but for everyone else around them ... to understand what the warning signs (of abuse) are."

Women in crisis often find themselves isolated, Symonds said. If others around them are aware and approach the individual with compassion, it could empower survivors to be able to share what is happening to them."

Events as such, she said, are one way to reduce those barriers or isolation and feeling of not knowing where to turn."

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com

Hamilton Woman Abuse Prevention Month event

When: Nov. 24, 1 to 4 p.m.

Where: The Waterfront Banquet & Conference Centre, 555 Bay St. N.

Tickets are free. Register at: eventbrite.com/e/hamilton-woman-abuse-prevention-month-event-tickets-452139159397