In Canada, nearly 8 in 10 victims of police reported intimate partner violence are women and girls. 

Indigenous women are especially at greater risk of being sexually assaulted by their intimate partners and are more likely to have experienced severe and potentially life-threatening forms of violence.

Praxis Forum’s Follow the Shepherds Canine Programs are dedicated to combating violence at the community level, by working with inmates and young offenders, in curbing their deviant behavior and enhancing their potential for successful reintegration, and gifting eligible women with a trained canine companion for their security and protection. 

The canines play a dual therapeutic and rehabilitative role with inmates and young offenders, and enable women, and their children, to experience a higher quality of life, security and peace of mind, recovery from trauma, improved self-esteem and greater control over their lives.