A few weeks ago, LJI journalist Sam Gillett spoke with Katie Taylor from the Women and Children’’s shelter in Barrie. 

She explained how the pandemic has made issues of domestic violence and intimate partner violence more difficult to deal with. 

Now, the shelter is offering free training sessions for Barrie’s youth; aimed at stopping violence among our city's teens. 

Intimate partner violence among young people in Canada is an issue that might not be talked about but is prevalent in our country -- and city.

PREV net, a national research hub into violence prevention, estimates that between 10-30 percent of teens report being victimized by an online dating experience, and 20 percent have experienced violence by an intimate partner. 

These issues affect women far more than men. And they aren’t talked about -- only about 10 percent of teens who have experienced these kinds of violence come forward. 

Barrie’s women and children shelter's new suite of programs is aimed at bringing the issue out in the open -- tackling the ways in which systemic beliefs and attitudes lead to unhealthy social behaviors and relationships. 

To chat about this more, here’s Sam's conversation with three staff from the shelter. Ashley Jenereaul, Kaela Affrunti, Janet Trichilo, are heading up the workshops. 

While COVID-19 protocols have limited the program's in-person events, they've focused on discussions around rape culture, discrimination, mental health and more. 

In the spring, a new suite of programs will be released in the Barrie area.

In this video, the program facilitators introduce themselves and then we dive into the issue of violence and prevention amongst teens in our city.