Manifest Change, a project of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW), won the Crime Prevention Ottawa’s annual Community Safety Innovation award last week for their efforts to make Ottawa safer for women.
Located in Centretown, Manifest Change uses workshops and social media outreach to make men more aware of violence against women, and educate them how to intervene where necessary.
Matt Schaaf, project coordinator at Manifest Change, said the project is important because it empowers men.
“As men, most of us aren’t really aware of the details of the kinds of violence women face on a daily basis,” Schaaf said. “When you see stuff happening, not just the obvious stuff, how do you intervene in some of those situations?”
Schaaf said workshops allow men to learn how to identify and stop smaller aggressions against women, like unwanted attention on the street or bus.
OCTEVAW started holding events for men in 2009, Schaaf said, but since launching the workshop series last October they have reached about 1,200 people, over 800 of whom are men.
“It’s important for guys to be in touch with what is happening on the front lines. Once we’re learning from survivor’s voices, it’s up to us to figure out what we can do, and not to be a superhero, but to notice these things,” Schaaf said.
Schaaf said Manifest Change is different because it seeks to engage both men and women in the process of preventing and ending violence against women.
“There are not a lot of projects that engage men, so we’re innovative.”