The purpose of the Stepping Up project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a peer-facilitated dating violence prevention program for post-secondary students. Phase I of the program focused on recruiting and training student peer- facilitators, adapting the curriculum for a post-secondary population, developing the evaluation measures, ethics clearance, and establishing community partners and an advisory committee. Phase II included recruiting participants, implementing Stepping Up and completing pre, post, and follow-up measures. To consolidate learning the students then completed prevention projects and presented them to the university campus community. Repeated evaluations showed that students had increased knowledge about dating violence and resources and these changes persisted over time. Use of peers as facilitators and community partner involvement contributed to success. Challenges included scheduling the weekend, the time commitment for facilitators and participants, and project resources. Stepping Up is compatible with an academic setting with benefits for both the students and the institution.

Over the past several years three major events causing community disasters, two wildfires and a flood, have occurred in the province of Alberta, Canada. When these large-scale events occurred all community residents were asked to follow provincial emergency evacuation procedures, which included a move to an evacuation centre. In some cases, women and their children who were living at domestic violence shelters may have been unsafe since they might encounter the partner they fled at the evacuation site. These researchers encountered such a situation on our campus which is one evacuation centre. In this project, we gathered information from both shelter staff and emergency evacuation personnel about how such circumstances were managed and inquired about future best practices for evacuating women with or without children who are fleeing domestic violence. Interviewees shared insights to inform disaster management and shelter protocols.

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