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Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children

Shape Your Life Project

Measuring the Effects of Shape Your Life Project on the mental and physical health outcomes of victims of domestic violence

Shape Your Life (SYL) is a free, trauma informed, non-contact boxing program for self-identified women who have experienced violence. The program operates as a partnership between Dr. Cathy van Ingen, Associate Professor in Kinesiology at Brock University and Joanne Green, Executive Director with Opportunity for Advancement. 

Learn more: www.shapeyourlifeboxing.com


Project at a glance: 

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Click here for the Shape Your Life Project PDF

Research briefing:

Final Reports:


Read Final Report (PDF) - 2019

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Read Final Report (Web Page) - 2019

 

 

Read Final Report (PDF) - 2022

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Read Final Report (Web Page) - 2022

 

Community of Practice Members

Cathy Van Ingen, Brock University

Kim Gammage, Brock University

Tania Jivraj, Brock University

Project Resources

  • Outside the Ring Documentary
  • Shape Me- Nari- Shape Your Life Boxing Program was inspired by the words shared with Shape Your Life by participants about their process of surviving and healing from violence and trauma through the Shape Your Life Boxing program in Toronto, Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM5rlT0VrSQ
  • Cathy van Ingen shares her work on Shape Your Life, a free, non-contact boxing program in Toronto, Ontario for female identified survivors of violence. Dr. van Ingen is an associate professor in Kinesiology at Brock University and co-founder of Shape Your Life. Her research focuses on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXt1gwesXl0
  • Shape Your Life Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQthEa-HfmA
  • Brock professor says boxing program help women regain control of their bodies https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/brock-professor-says-boxing-program-helps-women-regain-control-bodies/
  • Getting lost as a way of knowing: the art of boxing within Shape Your Life by Cathy Van Ingen (2016): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2159676X.2016.1211170