Tag: workshop

RÉSAL community of practice activities

The ICPC remains actively involved in the process of developing a community of practice with the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL) on the prevention of violence committed and suffered by youth aged 12 to 25 in Montreal. To follow up on the training sessions offered in the fall of 2021, a series of six clinical activities were organized in November and December to continue the conversation started between community workers in prevention.

These clinical supervision activities aimed to promote cooperation and horizontal knowledge transfer allowing organizations with important practice needs to find support and adapted methodological guidance. The activities were organized around the following themes:

  • Violence prevention in street gangs | November 25th and December 2nd, 2021
  • Sexual violence prevention | November 26th and December 14th, 2021
  • Street work and youth intervention | November 25th and December 9th, 2021

These sessions created a safe space to exchange on ethical dilemmas and/or professional isolation. The significance of these clinical activities was extensively appreciated by the participants. First, they offered a reflective dimension that furthered their practice allowing them to question their reflexes and to share their worries and their difficulties. Second, these activities created knowledge and recognition connections between workers from different backgrounds and areas of work, an aspect essential to the improvement of common work and to the better mutual understanding of each other’s challenges.

Overall, these training sessions and clinical activities of the RÉSAL’s community of practice reached 95 participants mostly from community organizations in and around Montreal.

Training session on online hate prevention offered by the RÉSAL

As part of the development of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL)’s community of practice, an organization of which the ICPC is a member and the coordinator, a third training session of a series of activities planned this fall was held on November 4th. It focused on online hate prevention and aimed to familiarize the participants with the concepts of radicalization leading to violence and of hate-motivated acts. It also addressed various extremist expressions on social media, presented the existing initiatives and tools in the fight against online hate, and shared inspiring attitudes to face online hate.

The activity was hosted by Anne-Sophie Bedziri and Jeanne Plisson, advisors at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV) on issues and challenges related to radicalization leading to violence.

Among the highlights of the workshop, there were:

  • The importance of properly deconstructing the vocabulary (radicalization, extremism, terrorism) to use it well. Radicalization itself can lead to social progress and positive actions and doesn’t necessarily imply violence.
  • The many forms that hate-motivated acts can take: hate-motivated incidents, hate speech, and hate crimes. While the latter falls under the jurisdiction of the law, it is still difficult to fight hate-motivated incidents and hate speech under current legislative measures.
  • Multiple resources can be combined to limit radicalization leading to violence and hate-motivated acts online. Expressing interest in the youth involved in these phenomena, encouraging doubt, and reinforcing protective factors, are important considerations for field workers.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Violence prevention in street gangs

Sexual violence prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

Training session on sexual violence prevention offered by the RÉSAL

As part of the development of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL)’s community of practice, of which ICPC is a member and the coordinator, a second training session in a series of activities planned this fall, was held on October 28. It focused on the prevention of sexual violence and aimed to explore the importance of language and of certain concepts in sexual violence prevention and review legal aspects and helpful attitudes for field workers.

The activity was hosted by Katherine Lapierre, project manager for the sex education programme and counselor for L’Anonyme, a RÉSAL member that works to promote safe behaviour and egalitarian relationships among youth.

Among the highlights of the workshop, there were:

  • The importance of inclusive language in prevention and interventions among youth to create a safer environment and to limit stigmatization.
  • The many shapes and forms in which violence can appear in day-to-day life without necessarily being recognized as such by the victims or by the perpetrators (sexual coercion, harassment, stealthing, etc.).
  • Despite a common misconception, around 2% of complaints around sexual assault are false accusations. This fact contrasts with a common vision that tends to easily question the account of victims.
  • Lastly, although a number of tools exist to accompany youth on this topic, how workers react to the disclosure of violence (listening, interest, trust) remains key for the following procedure with victims.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Violence prevention in street gangs

Online hate prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

Launch of the RÉSAL’s community of practice

The ICPC had the pleasure of organizing the launch of a series of workshops and activities offered by the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL) as part of the development of its community of practice. Supported by the city of Montreal, this process aims to provide a bigger space for the sharing knowledge and experience around different forms of violence committed and suffered by youth aged 12 to 25. It is specially targeted at community workers in the North-East of the island of Montreal to equip them to deal with various problems met in their daily activities.

For the first theme of the fall on violence prevention in street gangs, the local stakeholders were able to attend a day-long workshop given by René-André Brisebois, instructor and lecturer at the University of Montreal for the last decade, and Professional Coordinator of the Institut universitaire jeunes en difficulté (IUJD)’s Center of Expertise.

Aiming to deconstruct common prejudices around street gangs and criminalized youth networks, the workshop highlighted some key aspects:

  • The ethnicized dimension of the term “street gang” and the complex reality of this phenomenon;
  • The social and personal characteristics pf gang members, as well as the affiliation and disaffiliation trajectories of youth within these groups;
  • The most effective approaches, preventive actions, and interventions for preventing the joining of gangs and for reducing related crimes.

Overall, around 15 participants were present at the workshop given at the BAnQ Grande bibliothèque and all sanitary recommendations were followed. This first workshop will be followed by clinical supervision activities this fall to delve deeper into the issues raised from the fieldworkers’ experience.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Sexual violence prevention

Online hate prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

The ICPC participates in an SPVM workshop on police intervention policy

On Tuesday September 28th, the ICPC took part in a workshop lead by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (Montreal police department, SPVM) on police intervention policy. Adopted in July 2020, the Politique sur les interpellations policières marks an important cultural turning point and provides a framework for the organization’s intervention practices. The SPVM is the first police force in Quebec to implement such a policy.

Among the issues discussed at the workshop, a focus was put on the following themes:

  • The difference between social interactions, interventions, police stops, custody for questioning, and arrests;
  • Legal issues related to various police practices;
  • The application context for and the issues related to the newly implemented intervention form.

This workshop aimed to demystify police intervention practices and to educate the public on the practical implications of the new policy in the SPVM. We thank the SPVM and the Borough of Saint-Léonard for inviting us to take part in this workshop and to exchange with local actors.