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Brandon University has released a first-of-its-kind resource designed to make it easier for survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence in rural, remote and northern Manitoba to find help, no matter how far they live from major centres.
The new Rural, Remote and Northern Manitoba Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Resource Guide brings crisis lines, shelters, counselling, advocacy, medical services and culturally grounded supports together in a single, accessible tool. It is available both in print and as a downloadable digital guide.
Developed by BU’s Rural, Remote & Northern Gendered-Violence Research Team in partnership with the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters (MAWS) and Klinic Community Health, the guide will be maintained and updated by MAWS and Klinic going forward.
“Violence does not discriminate by geography, but access to help too often does,” said Dr. Bernadette Ardelli, Vice-President (Research & Graduate Studies) at Brandon University in a release. “Survivors in rural, remote and northern regions, especially Indigenous women and girls, Two Spirit and gender-diverse people, newcomers, youth, and individuals with disabilities, face urgent barriers. This guide helps close those gaps with clear, culturally informed, region-specific pathways to support.”
A one-stop map through a complex system
The guide is the product of more than a year of work, including a provincewide scan of service providers and direct conversations with frontline organizations. Research assistants documented everything from shelter capacity to transportation options, virtual care, transitional housing, childcare and protection order supports.
Those details were then transformed into regional maps and simple, easy-to-read tables outlining the services in each health region. A legend explains the available supports, while a provincewide list of 24/7 crisis lines ensures help is easy to find quickly.
“These systems can be overwhelming to navigate, especially in a crisis,” said research assistant Hillary Derewianchuk. “We wanted one place where community members, healthcare providers and support workers can go when someone is experiencing gender-based violence. It’s incredibly rewarding to see it now in the hands of people who will use it every day.”
Illustrations by Brandon artist Merissa Mayhew and maps by research assistant David Vo were incorporated to make the guide visually approachable and less intimidating for readers.
Higher risk, fewer services
The research team highlights a stark reality: women in rural and northern regions face a significantly higher risk of intimate partner and sexual violence, often paired with fewer available services and major barriers to accessing help. Those obstacles can include long travel distances, limited privacy in small communities, and a lack of culturally safe supports.
The guide also acknowledges the impacts of colonization and the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people, framing the work as part of a broader commitment to truth, reconciliation and community partnership.
“When nearly half of Canadian women have experienced intimate partner violence, resources like this become essential,” said MAWS provincial coordinator Tsungai Muvigi. “This guide offers clarity during confusion, connection during isolation, and hope during incredibly difficult moments.”
Frontline tool for healthcare and community workers
Klinic Community Health’s Hummingbird Program, which treats survivors of sexual violence from across Manitoba, sees every day how geographic barriers can worsen trauma.
“Having a resource like this, comprehensive, accessible and current, will make a real difference in helping survivors find the support they need,” said Ashley Stewart, medical services coordinator.
The guide is intended not just for survivors but for the people they are most likely to turn to first: nurses, physicians, teachers, social workers, Elders, shelter staff, community advocates and even friends or family members.
The guide forms just one piece of a wider research program at Brandon University examining how gender-based violence is experienced outside urban centres. Current projects include a pilot study on childbirth and early parenthood for people with a history of sexual violence, as well as a graphic-novel-based education project for nursing students aimed at challenging rape myths and improving conversations around consent and trauma.
Funding for the guide came from several BU and community research funds, including the Faculty of Health Studies Research Grant and the Gender & Women’s Studies Margaret Laurence Endowment Fund.
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