Thunder Bay Women’s is a joint intiative between Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre and Faye Peterson Transition House, launched in 2007. Court Watch programs are a form of community oversight where trained volunteers systematically monitor the treatment of criminal court cases related to woman abuse. Quantitative and qualitative data is used to assess the consistency and adequacy of sentencing, provision of safety for women, adherence to domestic violence policy and attitudes of court personnel, among other concerns. The data is collated and published annually in order to provide the public and professionals with a snapshot of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system’s response to woman abuse. Faye Peterson Transition House, with support from Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre funded the program for 2008/09, since we were unable to secure funding from outside sources. Our report, and volunteer application forms are available on the Faye Peterson website: www.fayepeterson.org
Court Watch Program
