Myrna Dawson and Carleton University collaborators, Jordan Fairbairn and Rena Bivens, along with their community partner, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, have been awarded funding by Crime Prevention Ottawa to assess current research on the use of social media to perpetrate sexual and intimate partner violence and to identify current prevention efforts targeting these behaviours. Crime Prevention Ottawa (CPO) is dedicated to crime reduction and enhanced community safety in Ottawa through its support of collaborative, evidence-based crime prevention initiatives. The organization works closely with local residents, government, police, school boards, businesses, community services, child protection and other partners to reduce crime and build safer communities. Specific focus of the research will be to identify successful evidence-based programs and promising practices that aim to prevent various forms of violence and harassment associated with social media and to make recommendations for programming at the local level. Fairbairn is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Carleton University, and a former student at the University of Guelph. Bivens is an Adjunct Professor and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies, Carleton University. The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women is an non-profit organization composed of a network of member organizations and individuals located in Ottawa and surrounding regions, including women abuse and rape crisis agencies, victim services, child protection services, hospital and police representatives, the crown, probation and parole, health and counseling services, and academic researchers.
