OUR VISION

An end to gender-based violence in Nova Scotia.
Gender equity in our systems and society.
A more just and peaceful world for all.

OUR MISSION OUR APPROACH

Be the Peace Institute is a non-profit working to address the roots and consequences of gender-based violence and advance systemic change for gender equity and social justice.

Be the Peace Institute is a feminist organization, meaning that equality among women, men and gender diverse people is a fundamental human right. It does not mean we exclude men—we need them as partners in achieving gender equity and welcome them as allies.  

Our focus is on multiple forms of violence directed at women, girls, female identified, trans and gender diverse people.

Our approach is intersectional and actively works to be anti-racist, anti-oppressive, trans inclusive and inclusive of people who experience discrimination based on gender, race, Indigeneity, culture, ability, gender expression, sexuality, age and socio-economic factors. We commit ourselves to learning and working in solidarity to achieve social justice for all.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We are guided by the lived experiences of survivors.

Non-judgemental, trauma-informed, culturally responsive and compassionate, we welcome survivors’ stories and honour their choices.

We work toward social and systemic change.

Gender-based violence is rooted in complex systems, patriarchal structures, and traditions of sexism and misogyny. These need to change if gender justice and equality are to be achieved.

We honour our partnerships.

Respect across difference and mutual learning help us build trusted partnerships for collaboration, shared leadership, and effective action toward systemic change.

We contribute to fostering peace.

In the face of gender-based harms and so many forms of oppression, we are committed to using our projects, research, and energy in the service of peace, healing and resilience in relationships, families, schools, workplaces and all our communities.

It takes courage.

Systemic gender-based change in the face of complex challenges and entrenched patterns is difficult emotional work. It is also inspiring. It takes persistence, humility, and the courage to ask hard questions, challenge injustice, step up, and risk making mistakes. It calls us to learn, self-reflect, act in accordance with our principles, and be inclusive even across difference. We are up for it.

WHAT WE DO

We engage with partners and colleagues on projects and initiatives to prevent, research, advocate, respond to or address the impacts of gender-based violence, and promote needed change.

  • We advocate for needed change to systems, structures and processes.

  • We engage in networks, coalitions, initiatives, teams and partnerships.

  • We convene and host gatherings to stimulate conversation and build collective capacity to tackle the issues and change harmful, outdated norms and narratives.

  • We share knowledge and resources.

  • We support and promote other violence prevention and healthy relationships initiatives.

  • We ally with those experiencing intersecting oppressions in common aims.

  • We ask important questions and seek innovative, collaborative pathways for action

Our partners may include those who have experienced violence, women’s advocates, service providers, local/provincial/federal government institutions and systems, private sector entities, community associations, interagency committees, academic researchers, and concerned citizens and communities.

We do this work with hearts turned to the countless women, girls and gender diverse people harmed by violence and striving to survive, overcome and thrive.

To learn more about Be the Peace Institute and what we do, check out this video!

 OUR TEAM

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Sue Bookchin, Co-Founder & Executive Director

Sue has had a varied career working in nursing, public health and organizational development, as a facilitator, coach, leadership trainer and stained glass artist. A founding Director of Be the Peace Institute in late 2015, Sue says, “All that has come before has called me to this.” It’s a professional and personal journey- one that lies at the intersection of a deep concern for social injustice, a commitment to contributing to healing in the world, a passion for equality and dignity for women, girls and gender diverse people, and outrage at the systemic inequities that continue to deprive them of equal opportunity, status and choice.

There is incalculable, individual and social harm that arises from gender-based violence. It takes unwavering effort with many committed allies, including men and boys, to tip the scales toward security and equity. It requires us learning to be allies with sisters of Indigenous and African descent, people in the LGBTQ2S+ community, and many others who face magnified risk of violence and marginalization every day, in overt and subtle ways.

“When I consider all the ways in which women have been dismissed, silenced and tortured throughout history, I can’t not do this work.” And if we are to have any hope of meeting the global challenges that threaten peaceable human co-existence, then gender justice, racial justice and social justice are an essential part of the path. The residues of patriarchy and white supremacy in all our systems and structures must become a thing of the past.

Be the Peace Institute is a vehicle to use my privilege in service to community and social change that honours all women, that values their indispensable role in a just and life-nurturing world and that cares enough to end violence against them for good.

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Stacey Godsoe, Project & Resource Coordinator

Stacey Godsoe is an educator by trade, a rural advocate, proud feminist and social justice champion. As former co-coordinator of Sexual Assault Services for Lunenburg and Queens (SASLQ), Stacey collaborated with key community partners to design and implement survivor-centred services and supports for victims of sexualized violence. Her other work has focused on gender equity, freedom from violence initiatives, gendered health and justice system reforms, community development, research, writing and project coordination in the public and non-profit sector. She chaired the Lunenburg County Community Health Board, actively supported midwifery regulation and access to breastfeeding support. One of her proudest moments was as Chair of the Greater Petite Area Community Association in a high-profile legal case to successfully keep the local elementary school open.

Stacey has led and co-led multiple projects with Be the Peace Institute since its inception. What continues to drive her work are the voices of those who have experienced violence and inequity and still keep fighting.  She hopes to contribute to key system changes to better serve those harmed and promote resolution and justice.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

If you would like to join our Board of Directors, please fill out this form and we will be in touch!

These amazing individuals bring a variety of skills, networks, and personal passion to our mission of forwarding the self-determination, freedom and safety of women, girls and gender-diverse people. We so value their stewardship and wise counsel.
Elana Wentzell — Director of Finance, Municipality of the District of Lunenburg (Treasurer)
Charys N. Payne — Director of Family Law & Child Welfare, ANSJI (Vice Chair)
Krista Smith - Graduate Student, Schulich School of Law & Founder, Root & Branch Workplace Conflict Resolutions (Secretary)
Heather Byrne - Project Manager, Policy and Innovation, Department of Community Services
Char Gagnon - UX (User Experience) Researcher (Chair)
Rayan Charara - Family Support Coordinator at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
Thunder Shanti Narooz van Egteren - Training Academy Atlantic Program Manager, Outward Bound Canada
Mary Jane Abram - Lawyer
Shila LeBlanc - Restorative practitioner, founder and CEO of Restorative Approach

Our Board & Staff! Back row (L-R): Thunder Shanti Narooz van Egteren, Elana Wentzell, Sue Bookchin, Char Gagnon, Shila LeBlanc
Front row (L-R): Rayan Charara, Stacey Godsoe, Mary Jane Abram, Charys Payne, Krista Smith (missing from photo: Heather Byrne)

LAND & PEOPLES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Be the Peace Institute acknowledges the privilege and responsibility of living and working on the ancestral and unceded territory of Mi'kma'ki, also known as Nova Scotia, and the territory of the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” in which we conduct our work, pursuing our vision for peace.  

We acknowledge the historic and current harms inflicted on the Mi'kmaw people, who have been living on this Land Mi'kma'ki for more than 11,000 years, by settler colonialism and the enduring effects of colonialism which persist in our contemporary systems and relationships.

Be the Peace Institute also respectfully acknowledge that Black peoples (African Canadian/Nova Scotians/People of African and Caribbean descent) were enslaved to, and on, these lands 400 years ago, while instrumental in the building of this nation’s infrastructures. The impact of that legacy continues today.

Our work is dedicated to improving discriminatory laws, policies, and practices across public and private spheres that are impacted by the continuum of violence, including racial and cultural violence. We pursue deepened learning in anti-racism and work to identify and dismantle oppressive systems. We are deeply committed to amplifying first-voice, learning from those with lived-experience who are the experts in their own lives.

In our commitment to truth, reconciliation, and decolonization we recognize that land acknowledgments are not enough and acknowledge the devastating consequences of our past and present shared history.

This shared history is at the heart of Be the Peace Institute’s efforts today.

OUR ROOTS

A coordinated community response to violence against women and girls in Lunenburg County.

The origins of Be the Peace Institute lie with Second Story Women's Centre, a women's resource centre serving Lunenburg and Queens Counties, Nova Scotia for over 30 years. With a 3-year grant from then Status of Women Canada, Second Story began a project to develop a coordinated response to gender-based violence and the Be the Peace Project was born.

Through 12 community working groups, the project focused on:

  • Promoting gender equity, peaceful relationships, compassion and inclusion

  • Fostering integrated services and infrastructure for vulnerable people

  • Gathering both women and men, as allies in preventing gender-based violence

  • Hosting community conversations to raise awareness

  • Working with youth and schools to promote healthy relationships

  • Supporting women affected by violence and engaging them in advocating for change

  • Working with police and the justice system to promote trauma-informed responses

Using part of the name that had become well-known in our community, Be the Peace Institute was conceived by the 3 coordinators of the project, Sue Bookchin, Nancy Ross and Helen Lanthier and launched in late 2015.

We continue to work closely with Second Story Women's Centre as a sister organization, as well as with many other community partners.  

FOR MORE on the Be the Peace Project, see the tabs below: