The Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (abbreviated THANS) is a Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

-based organisation that runs

women's shelter A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

s. THANS was founded in 1989. THANS organises an annual

purple ribbon This is a partial list of awareness ribbons. The meaning behind an awareness ribbon Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colours and patterns are associated with different issues. ...

awareness campaign Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause o ...

in memory of the

École Polytechnique massacre École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. THANS conducted interviews with 34 physically abused women who subsequently sought resolution through

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

. In 2000, THANS released a report based on these interviews, stating that most of the women would not recommend legal mediation to other

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

d women. In 2008, THANS supported Bill 81, which they hoped would become the Domestic Violence Elimination Act, but Minister of Justice

Cecil Clarke Cecil Phillip Clarke (born April 12, 1968) is a politician in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality from 2012 to 2020, and represented the riding of Cape Breton North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, ...

chose not to call the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

for a third reading. In 2009,

Darrell Dexter Darrell Elvin Dexter (born 1957) is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who served as the 27th premier of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, he served as party leader from 2001 t ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

identified THANS in his promise to increase government funding of

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

s in Nova Scotia. In 2012, THANS partnered with the

World YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, Family SOS, Silent Witness Nova Scotia, and Leave Out Violence to host the

Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada The Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada is a professional award-winning touring ballet company based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Founded in 2002 by Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, CEO, and Artistic Director Igor Dobrovolskiy, Ballet-théâtre atlantique du Ca ...

's ''Ghosts of Violence'', a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

about

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

, in Halifax. Ann de Ste Croix is THANS' Provincial Coordinator.

References

{{Authority control Halifax, Nova Scotia Non-profit organizations based in Nova Scotia Organizations established in 1989 Violence against women in Canada Women's rights organizations Women's shelters in Canada Women in Nova Scotia