BB NEWS Continued from page 1 hursday, February 17,2022 | 10 @ to continue into adulthood,” aid Harford. © Operating from the idea ”" a that “hurt people, hurt peo- z pl and armed wit s grant from Public Safety Fd Canada, Radius is pilotinga & program targeted at the per- ig Petra £ “The. vast majority of young people that we work with have experienced trau- themselves." Radius' Youth Dating Vi- olence (YDV) Intensive In- tervention Program is fo- cused on individuals — in Halton Radius Child & Youth Service SE <x PREVENTION - INTERVENTION -RESEARG wwwradiuschild-youthservices.ca Graham Paine/ Metroland Radius treats children and families affected by violence. Radius' clinical director. A 2017/18 Health Beha- viour in School-Aged Chil- dren study, the first nation- al study in Canada to look at adolescent Gating a ince — between the ages of 12-24 whoare using violence within a dating relation- ship. “We were determined to engage in work with those who use violence in their re- lationships, as that is where the targeted change needs to occur," said Bente Skau, tration), showed | thar this behaviour "impacts a sub- stantial minority of Canadi- an youth and is a serious health problem." One in three youth who had dated reported adoles- cent dating violence, wheth- er it was psychological, physical or cyber abuse, ac- theifp.ca ShelfGenie EVERYTHING WITHIN REACH’ a Meighbourly: company TRANSFORM YOUR HOME AND UPGRADE YOUR STORAGE “What is clear is that there is not a direct causal pathway to engaging in violence." - Bente Skau, Radius’ clinical director cording to the study. Statis- tics showed that the major- ity of victims experienced psychological abuse. This can include manip- ulation, name calling, con- trolling behaviours, threat- ening, isolation from friends, and_gaslighting, said ford. "Many people who experience psychologi- cal abuse find themselves questioning if they are even being abi , because the victim into believing they deserved to be treated that way, or convincing them that the abuse never hap- (289) 14-2325 | shelfgenie.com * : — === Ponca (gastightingy ” it makes the YDV pro; = “unique world- TIN 3 YOUTH EXPERIENCE DATING VIOLENCE: STUDY incredibly difficult to ask someone to take responsi- bility for their actions, when likely no one has even been accountable to them for the harm they have ex- perienced. By using a trau- ma-informed approach, we process the harm they expe- rienced in order to help them learn to take account- ability for the harm they have caused," said Harford. wide" is tl a Comprehensive trauma ssment, as well as py with a des- jgnated clinician until treat Gaitnes services tend to be manualized, group- based treatment, and al- though this can be very ben- eficial to some clients, re- search has not always sup- ported the efficacy of this type of program, said Har- ford. "We understand that it is Referrals to can come from schools, pro- bation officers, community or youth ions are available for those who tive close to the Oakville o1 Etobicoke Radius offices, with the virtual option opening the free program up to clients across the province. Radius staff will deter- mine the program's success through clients’ completion of before and after psycho- metric questionnaires, as well as with post- treatment follow-ups i the Canadian Police Infor- mation Centre to find out if any additional charges have been accrued, said Harford. More and more research is coming out related to teen ting violence, said Skau. “What is clear is that there is not a direct causal pathway to engaging in vio- lence. There are a myriad of risk factors.... It is our hope to contribute to the body of how research by examining or when young people are able to desist from using vi- olence in their intimate re- lationships,” added Skau. Radius’ current Public Safety Canada grant willex- pire in June 2024. one. are searching for fu- re/permanent funding, g the work of ending YDV will be far from complete by the end of the grant," said Skau. To learn more about the YDV program, visit radius- cys.ca.