VOLUME 25, NUMBERS 1,2 27 Opening the Floodgates ESTHER BLUM, TUULA HEINONEN, PAULA MIGLIARDI AND JUDY WHITE The Aftermath of an Immigrant Women’s Action Against Violence Project and its Evaluation Cet article décrit comment un programme de formation et une évaluation basés sur la communauté posent des défis qui mènent à mieux comprendre les participantes immigrantes, les préposés et les organismes qui offrent des services. Sous les pressions subies par les stagiaires en service, on a recommandé des ressources matérielles appropriées, des programmes pour les hommes et des sessions de formation pour les formateurs afin que les immigrantes soient mieux assistées et prévenues contre la violence domestique. During a storm, water levels rise and waves of water rush forth. In the same way that nature causes water to over- flow, so too can other human processes lead to waves that cannot easily be controlled. After the waves subside, we use the experience to improve strategies and methods for a better outcome in the future. This article describes how a training program and community-based evaluation started as a wave that posed challenges and led to learning and insights. We illustrate how community-based re- search of a training program to help immigrant women learn about domestic violence for themselves and their communities effectively led to individual change and community and program development. Making WAAVs: The Immigrant Women’s Action Against Violence Project (WAAV) Domestic violence happens across all cultural, ethnic, social and economic groups. Attention to the association between immigration and domestic violence is beginning to surface (Menjívar and Salcido; Migliardi, Blum and Heinonen). To date there is no conclusive evidence of the prevalence and incidence of domestic violence in immi- grant communities in Canada. While some studies show that the incidence of domestic violence is not higher in the immigrant population when compared to the general population (Menjívar and Salcido). Other studies indi- cate the opposite (Brownridge and Halli). In spite of these discrepancies, the literature demonstrates the existence of factors that are unique to the immigrant context which contribute to the experience of domestic violence within immigrant communities. Some of the factors are changes in gender roles and the family, mistrust and/or lack of information about services and resources for domestic violence, isolation, community and personal attitudes toward domestic violence, and language barriers (Shiu- Thornton, Senturia, and Sullivan; Sullivan, Bhuyan, Senturia, Shiu-Thornton and Ciske; Sullivan, Senturia, Negash, Shiu-Thornton, and Giday). Different strategies have been developed to prevent domestic violence. Many of these interventions have involved changes to the justice system. Other strategies focus on counseling women dealing with domestic vio- lence or encouraging group support. However, little has been systematically explored regarding domestic violence prevention strategies engaging immigrant women. The Women’s Action Against Violence (WAAV) project was a prevention education initiative developed in part- nership between the Immigrant Women’s Counselling Services (IWCS) and the Sexuality Education Resource Centre (SERC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba with support from a Community Advisory Group (CAG). The project intentions were to provide a space for immigrant women from different ethnic and national backgrounds to exam- ine, using a participatory workshop format, the issue of violence against women, with a focus on family violence. One of the objectives of the project was to enhance women’s capacity to become informal resources in their communities on family violence. Between 1999 and 2003, over 50 women attended the 10 to 12 two-hour interactive and participatory sessions focusing on topics that included definitions of abuse; the cycle of violence; cultural and social expectations and gender roles; sexuality; self-esteem; healthy and unhealthy relationships; community resources available to women facing violence; and the political, justice and social serv-