About the Project

She Is Your Neighbour is an awareness project and storytelling series created by Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. The project aims to explore the realities and complexities of domestic violence by sharing stories from people of all walks of life.

For too long, domestic violence has been viewed as a personal and private issue, rather than a societal problem. There is often shame and stigma associated with domestic violence which can make it difficult to talk about. For many of us, it’s not something that we want to talk about, think about, or imagine happening – especially not in our own neighbourhoods.

Unfortunately, avoiding it won’t make it go away. The reality is, domestic violence IS happening. It impacts many different people, in many different neighbourhoods.

That is why we created this awareness project to emphasize that she is your neighbour and we all have a role to play in ending domestic violence.

Starting the Conversation

In 2019, She Is Your Neighbour was launched in the form of a blog series and social media campaign. We asked community leaders to share their perspectives on domestic violence and explain why they are invested in ending it. These community leaders became ambassadors of the She Is Your Neighbour project. Together, we explored different types of abuse and challenged the misconception that domestic violence refers only to physical violence. Many ambassadors shared stories of emotional, psychological, and financial violence that they have witnessed or experienced.

Since then, the project has evolved. We’ve held information nights, given presentations, printed and sold books, and more. The project was named Best Marketing Campaign at the Cambridge and North Dumfries Community Awards in 2019.

In fall 2020, the first season of the She Is Your Neighbour podcast was released. In this podcast, we take a deep dive into domestic violence. Through thought-provoking discussions we addressed hard topics like domestic violence and the drug trade, violence against Indigenous women and girls, challenges for transgender youth seeking support, and more.

We continue to create new seasons of the She Is Your Neighbour podcast, and we will be releasing our third season in spring 2022! 

Beginning with a Blog Series

Expanding into a Podcast

What’s Next?

We encourage you to get involved! Read a blog story, tune into the podcast, start conversations, and use the hashtag #SheIsYourNeighbour. We can’t do this without you! We all have a role to play in ending domestic violence.

What is Domestic Violence?

There are many forms of domestic violence, all of which include attempts to maintain power and control over the thoughts, beliefs and behaviour of a woman by creating fear and/or dependency. All forms of abuse result in the woman feeling powerless, unequal and unsafe.

Forms of Domestic Violence

Domestic abuse includes but is not limited to:
* Emotional
* Physical
* Psychological
* Financial
* Sexual
* Verbal
* Spiritual

Know the signs

Signs of domestic abuse include but are not limited to:
* Insults or put downs, name calling
* Violent outbursts
* Threats of violence or harm
* Threats to destroy property or harm pets
* Forced sexual acts
* Physical assault
* Control over finances
* Unkept promises of change

We all have a role to play in ending domestic violence

Subscribe to Podcast
Skip to content