In Love and in Danger

1) Category:
• Specific program

2) Issues Behind the Program:

• Several schools and community organizations were concerned about the violence
present in dating relationships between young adolescents.
• Some alarming statistics emerged in 1990 showing that more and more adolescents were
involved in unhealthy and abusive relationships.
o Adolescent girls were emotionally and physically abused, and sometimes, killed by
intimate partners.
o In 1991, a young adolescent in Toronto was assassinated very close to her home by
her boyfriend.
• In the United States, some statistics have shown that one out of every four adolescent
girls experiences violence in their dating relationships before finishing secondary school.
Canadian statistics are not far behind.

3) Objectives:
• To prevent violence in teen dating relationships.
• To raise public awareness about the phenomenon of rising violence among adolescents
in their intimate relationships.

4) Environment:
• Secondary schools

5) Target Group:
• Students from 12 to 17 years old

6) Key Words:
• In love and in danger, coeuréaction, school-family-community partnership, specific
program, violence, prevention, safety, intimate relationships, youth, violence against
women, conferences, workshops, discussions, projects, non-violence, Family Services à
la famille Ottawa

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/. Page 1 of 4
7) Program Description:
• In Love and In Danger was developed as a collaboration between Family Services à la
famille Ottawa, the Ottawa Catholic School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District
School Board to address the rising concern about dating violence among youth and as
much as possible, to nip violence in the bud.
• The program is led by a volunteer steering committee. Committee members include
school board staff, community organizations and secondary school students.
• The In Love and in Danger program reaches thousands of students each year through:
o two annual conferences;
o community outreach;
o follow-up projects and activities organized in local schools.
• Each secondary school is invited to send a team of students and a teacher or other staff
member to the conferences.
• The conferences entail close cooperation between educators, social workers and
community service professionals.
• The schools allocate time so that students have the opportunity to implement their
projects.

8) Steps:
I. At the beginning of the school year, students participate in a day-long dynamic and
interactive fall conference at which they receive information concerning violence
against women in intimate relationships. Each school team has the opportunity to learn
skills and to develop action plans.
II. The students return to their schools with ideas, strategies and plans, so that they can
pass this information on to their peers.
III. Schools encourage and support the students in the development of their project.
IV. At the end of the school year, these students attend the spring conference in order to
discuss their projects and celebrate their successes.

9) Activities/Actions:
• The conferences prompt students to become a part of the solution as opposed to being
part of the problem, for example, by developing projects promoting non-violence.
• The conferences are always interactive and dynamic. Students are encouraged to get
involved with the subject, to discuss and to listen to others in order to learn and to
develop their own project about ending violence in teen dating relationships.
• Time is allocated at the fall conference for brainstorming project ideas and for thinking
up an action plan which outlines the specific needs of their school.
• The spring conference allows students to present and explain their projects.
• Projects or activities vary according to the needs of each school.

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/. Page 2 of 4
10) Resources Required:
• Human resources:
o Educators, teachers, social workers
o Volunteers
• Facilities:
o Speakers
o Equipment, material, locale
• Financial resources:
o Financing to cover certain project costs such as staffing, administration and
coordination

11) Roles of the Participants:

• The team of students:
o participates in conferences, workshops and activities;
o draws up projects and action plans;
o develops the project in their school;
o engages the student body in the issue of violence prevention;
o presents and explains their project and its concluding results at the spring
conference.
• A teacher or staff representative:
o participates in conferences, workshops and activities;
o helps the students draw up projects and action plans;
o helps with implementation of the project in the school;
o encourages students in their initiatives.
• Educators, social workers and community service personnel:
o present the various training programs and conferences;
o provide therapeutic and non-therapeutic support to students during the
conferences.

12) Scientific Basis or Validity:

• Results from the ILID Spring Conference 2010 (Participants: 74 students in Grades 9-12
from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic District School
Board) revealed that, since participating in the In Love and in Danger program:
o 88% of students agreed that they know more about the causes of dating violence;
o 91% of students felt that they had learned more about what contributes to a healthy
relationship;
o 91% of students agreed that dating violence can affect people from diverse
backgrounds in different ways;
o 95% of students felt that they have a clearer understanding of what relationship
violence is;
o 89% of students said that they are less likely to criticize their partner’s looks,
actions or friends;

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/. Page 3 of 4
 o 87% of students felt that they now know more about how to determine if they are
being abused in a relationship;
o 90% of students felt that they have a better understanding of the difficulty people
have leaving an abusive relationship;
o 97% of students felt that violence is never acceptable in any relationship.
• The program is entering its seventh year.

13) Program Material:

• Brochures on violence in intimate relationships among young people:
http://www.familyservicesottawa.org/documents/dating_violence_pamphlet.pdf
• Guide (to help students plan their projects/activities):
http://www.familyservicesottawa.org/documents/Youth_Initiative_Planning_Guide.pdf
• Posters:
http://www.familyservicesottawa.org/documents/NO_FFL_POSTERS.pdf
http://www.familyservicesottawa.org/documents/strength_posters.pdf

14) Additional Information:

• The information contained in this factsheet was taken from:
o http://www.familyservicesottawa.org/english/ilid.html .

15) Contacts:
• Laurie Rektor, Director of Community Programs
Family Services à la famille Ottawa
312 Parkdale Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4X5
Tel.: 613-725-3601, ext. 118
Email: lrektor@familyservicesottawa.org

This factsheet was taken from the following website: http://rire.ctreq.qc.ca/. Page 4 of 4