Nov. 25, 2019
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – Monday, Nov. 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; Dec. 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women; and Dec. 17 is the International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence begins on Nov. 25 and runs until Dec. 10, Human Rights Day.

Wilfrid Laurier University has many experts available to speak about topics related to gender-based violence.

Stacey Hannem, associate professor in the Department of Criminology, is an expert on the effects of crime on the lives of marginalized and vulnerable persons. She is currently conducting research on families affected by crime and incarceration, sex work in Canada and the social construction of consent. Contact: 519.755.2053 or shannem@wlu.ca.

Ginette Lafrenière, associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work, director of Laurier’s Social Innovation Research Group and director of the Manulife Centre for Community Health Research, is an expert on gendered violence, women’s health, community engagement and arts-based social development. Contact: 519.884.1970 x5237 or glafreniere@wlu.ca.

Shoshana Pollack is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work and director of the Walls to Bridges Canada program, which brings incarcerated students and campus-enrolled students together to learn as classmates. She is an expert on violence against women, mental health, prisons, the criminalization of women and childhood abuse. Contact: 519.884.0710 x5220 or spollack@wlu.ca.

Jennifer Root, assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work, is an expert on gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, child exposure to woman abuse, and other forms of trauma perpetrated against women and girls. She is currently researching resistance, help-seeking and conceptions of safety among women who’ve experienced gender-based violence. Contact: 519.756.8228 x5458 or jroot@wlu.ca.

Eliana Barrios Suarez is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work and a social worker. She both researches and, in her practice, supports those affected by violence against women. She is an expert on trauma, resilience and gendered resistance against violence and injustice. Much of her research focuses on fostering community engagement to prevent sexual violence in the global South, particularly Peru. Contact: esuarez@wlu.ca or 519.884.0710 x5273.

Andrew Welsh is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and associate dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences. He is an expert on the constructions of crime and justice in the media and popular culture and has studied how gender and violence are portrayed in films and on television. Contact: awelsh@wlu.ca or 519.756.8228 x5847.

Ellis Furman is a PhD student in the Community Psychology program. Their current research focuses on gender-based violence in the LGBTQ2S+ community, particularly in families and intimate partnerships, and the resources available for victims of violence in these communities. Furman was recently awarded a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for their research. Contact: furm0500@mylaurier.ca.

Halina (Lin) Haag is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Social Work and a social worker. She is researching intimate partner violence and brain injuries and the barriers women survivors of violence encounter when accessing services and returning to work. She developed a free educational toolkit, called Abused & Brain Injured, to help those providing care to women survivors of violence. Contact: hhaag@wlu.ca.