Internet resources for Domestic Violence

The U.S. Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence  is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the costs and consequences of partner violence at work - and eliminating it altogether. From policies and programs to legal issues and legislation, CAEPV is a credible source for information, materials and resources for the business community.

METRAC (Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children)  is a not-for-profit, community-based organization that works to prevent and end violence against diverse women, youth, and children. METRAC has three main program areas: Community Safety, Community Justice, and Community Outreach and Education.

Shelter Safe ShelterSafe.ca is an online resource to help women and their children seeking safety from violence and abuse. The clickable map will serve as a fast resource to connect women with the nearest shelter that can offer safety, hope and support. 

Neighbours, Friends and Families  Neighbours, Friends and Families is a public education campaign to raise awareness of the signs of woman abuse so that those close to an at-risk woman or an abusive man can help.

Kanawayhitowin is a campaign to address woman abuse in Aboriginal communities across the province of Ontario, Canada. The Kanawayhitowin website has been created to support women experiencing abuse, families, communities and front line workers to better educate themselves with resources and strategies. The campaign engages and unites communities around the seriousness of this issue, and gives hope for the healing of future generations.

The Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women and Children  promotes the development of community- centred, action research on violence against women and children. The Centre's role is to facilitate the cooperation of individuals, groups and institutions representing the diversity of the community to pursue research questions and training opportunities to understand and prevent abuse. It serves local, national and international communities by producing useful information and tools to assist in the daily work against violence toward women and children.

The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence operated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, is a resource centre for information on violence within relationships of kinship, intimacy, dependency or trust. 

The Family Violence Initiative  operated by the Department of Justice Canada supports the development and delivery of public legal education and information to the Canadian public on family violence. These activities contribute to the prevention and reduction of family violence.

211Ontario.ca  provides easy access to community, social, health and related government services in Ontario. It has a bilingual directory of more than 56,000 agencies and services together on one searchable web site.

If you are a victim of violence, you may put yourself at risk if your abuser is able to “track” your computer use of the internet or email, if they identify the last telephone number you called, if they receive or access your voice mail or text messages, or if they can check your telephone bill for phone numbers called.

For safe computer use:

• Do a Web search on “cover your tracks” or “cyberstalking”.
• Check internet resources specific for victims of domestic violence and follow their instructions on internet and email safety, for example:
  • The Assaulted Women’s Helpline provides detailed instructions on “Erasing Your Tracks”
  • Find and use a computer at a public library, an internet café, at the home of a trusted friend, a shelter for women, school, other community resources, or at work.
  • Use an email password that your abuser will not know or be able to guess.  Do not write down your password.

For safe telephone use:

• Change your access code for phone messages if your abuser knows the code used.  Do not write down your access code.
• Find and use a public telephone, or use a secure telephone at work or of a trusted friend.
• Have a trusted friend or co-worker receive telephone messages for you (for example, if you are receiving calls from a lawyer, local shelter, police, etc.)
• When people are leaving you voice or text messages, ask them to be careful and to not identify the nature of the call or service (e.g.:  that they are phoning with information about protective orders or safety planning, or confirming an appointment with a lawyer or the Crown Attorney, etc.)

One way your employer or union might be able to assist you is to allow you to use workplace or union resources – such as computers or telephones – to find information, so long as these resources are not available to your abuser.  Co-workers, managers, union representatives or others in the workplace might be willing to receive messages on your behalf or help you to find resources.