Alberta’s junior hockey players including the Lloydminster Bobcats and the Bonnyville Pontiacs are to participate in training to target gender-based violence.
Both teams are scheduled for 2.5 hour-sessions in the first week of November.
This as the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) with funding from the Canadian Women’s Foundation will make sessions in the Leading Change program available to the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) players.
The ACWS says they gear their program to building leaders in violence prevention. The organization has been running the Leading Change program for over a decade with sport teams at the minor, junior and professional levels.
“The training ACWS provides to athletic teams can spark vital culture change around sexual violence and sports,” says Ann Decter, senior director of community initiatives and policy with the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
Organizers add the program examines the culture surrounding gender-based violence and seeks to develop healthy masculinity.
The training will also coincide with the start of Family Violence Prevention Month in November.