Photo: Sarain Fox for the #ReferHer Campaign with Women’s Shelter’s Canada © Juliia Christ
By Raye Mocioiu
There are storytellers who pass along a message, and those who understand storytelling as a responsibility. Sarain Fox is firmly the latter.
An Anishinaabe dancer, filmmaker, activist, and cultural leader, Fox has built a career as an artist, advocate, and storyteller. Through film, television, and movement, her work consistently centres Indigenous voices, challenges systemic barriers, and creates space for stories that have too often been overlooked or misunderstood.
“It is the artist’s work to speak truth to power,” she shared. “Dance pulled me through some of the hardest times of my young life and led me to where I am today. Film, the work I do to document injustice, is all part of the movement. The work I do is for the next generation and the generations before me who paved the way.”
Part of the power of storytelling is in how it can reveal what others have been conditioned not to see. When told truthfully, stories ask audiences to confront their assumptions and look beyond the surface. For sensitive and often hidden issues like gender-based violence—an area in which Fox has lived experience—the way we tell stories becomes all the more important.
“When considering who would serve as the voice of the Refer Her campaign, Sarain Fox immediately came to mind,” said PSA director Kat Webber. “She brings a quiet emotional access rooted in truth, expressed through her eyes and voice in a way that is profoundly captivating. Beyond her artistry, she is a compassionate activist, mother, and woman widely respected in her community for her courageous integrity, warmth, and deep empathy. I was truly honoured when she agreed to be part of the project, knowing the message would resonate.”
A Lifelong Advocate
For Fox, this initiative strikes a personal chord. Raised by a single mother, a social worker supporting women fleeing violence, she grew up seeing how domestic violence can destroy a life and how community support can restore it.
“I’ve always been aware of women’s work and the ways that women carry an invisible load of responsibility,” she explained. “I saw women with their children finding their way out. Often, our own home was a safe place for them. I saw the power that support and advocacy gave them, and it inspired me.”
Early exposure to such a sensitive issue shaped her lifelong commitment to women’s rights and protection, and taught her that being part of a strong community meant seeing beyond the surface and responding with care. It also taught her that, no matter what, your story can change.
“Sarain brings a rare mix of truth-telling, empathy and advocacy in helping to spread awareness of this issue,” said Anuradha Dugal, Executive Director of Women’s Shelters Canada (WSC). “One survivor even told us that she reached out to Sarain to thank her for taking part in the campaign, and Sarain responded to her directly and compassionately.”
Through her work with WSC, Fox is able to carry forward the lessons she learned from her mother, even drawing on her own journey with domestic violence in adulthood.
“From my own experiences, I know the stigma and judgment associated with speaking your truth,” Fox continued. “I feel so honoured to be part of this campaign and to be helping with this work in any way I can.”
What Workplaces Don’t See
One of the greatest barriers to addressing domestic violence is not a lack of data; it’s a lack of understanding. When the story we’re told is incomplete, so too is what we understand of it, and how we see our own roles within it. Changing that begins with looking deeper than what’s visible.
For far too many women, violence doesn’t stay at home. It follows them into the workplace, shaping how they show up, how they’re perceived, and whether they can stay employed at all. Too often, survivors are filtered through institutional lenses that reduce their experiences to behaviours that can be explained away as red flags, like lateness, absence, and being disengaged or inconsistent at work. The context behind these behaviours—the fear, the control, the violence—is left out of the story entirely.
“I personally know what it’s like to have to show up to a workplace with people you care about and hide what’s happening at home,” Fox shared. “I know what it’s like to not be able to achieve the kind of performance you have worked so hard to achieve. For so long, women have been made to feel ashamed and afraid to speak up, and so their stories are ignored.”
But the statistics are impossible to ignore: In Canada, one in three workers has experienced domestic violence in their lifetime. More than 80 per cent say it has negatively affected their work. Many lose opportunities, promotions, and even their jobs because the reality they face is invisible to those around them.
“Domestic violence is a workplace safety issue,” explained Dugal, who has spent more than 25 years working to support women, children, and gender-diverse people fleeing violence. “When a woman experiences domestic violence, it follows her to work, affecting the safety, productivity, and well-being of the entire team.”
Don’t Let Violence Write Her Reference
New national research from WSC reveals that while one-third of working Canadians have been confided in by a colleague about domestic violence, many still feel workplaces are not taking it seriously. There’s a gap in awareness as much as there is in action. But how can we take action in situations that happen behind closed doors? Turns out, it can start with something as simple as writing a letter.
#ReferHer, a new campaign from WSC, is a multi-platform campaign spanning broadcast, digital, and print that invites communities to stand behind women by reimagining the reference letter as an act of belief. It reframes so-called “poor performance” and asks employers to consider what might be happening beyond what they can see.
This campaign goes hand in hand with a national Domestic Violence & Your Workplace training program, designed to help employers and employees recognize the signs of domestic violence, respond appropriately, and connect individuals to the support they need.
Developed with support from Women and Gender Equality Canada, the training is being delivered across the country in partnership with regional shelter organizations to keep support accessible and locally informed.
How We Change The Story
Addressing domestic violence requires more than individual awareness; it demands collective responsibility. As a national organization supporting more than 600 shelters nationwide, WSC helps bridge frontline services and systems-level advocacy.
And from that vantage point, the challenges are clear—access to safety, for one, is not equal.
“We often say that a woman’s access to safety and services shouldn’t depend on her postal code,” said Dugal. “That’s why we’ve been advocating for a comprehensive, well-resourced National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.”
Women are life-givers, future creators. When children grow up seeing a society that cares for mothers and understands their challenges, they learn that behaviour. They become adults who lift women up.
But even with national frameworks in place, gaps remain, particularly in funding. Shelters across Canada are operating with chronic shortfalls in core funding and are struggling to cover basic expenses such as staffing, food, and utilities. Many rely heavily on fundraising just to keep their doors open, while some cannot meet operational costs at all.
At the same time, demand is rising. Shelters are seeing higher rates of violence, increased severity, and longer stays, driven in large part by another compounding crisis: the lack of safe, affordable housing.
Without stable housing options, women are often forced to remain in shelters longer than intended, limiting space for others in need. Some delay leaving abusive situations altogether, unable to afford a safe alternative. That cycle is exactly why campaigns like #ReferHer matter. As Dugal explains, meaningful change must begin by centring those most impacted.
“My vision is a world without violence,” Dugal continued. “How we get there is by centring the voices of survivors in all their diversity… We need them to be considered the primary experts, not policymakers or governments or even non-profits like our own.”
Systemic change takes time, but awareness can begin anywhere, even in something as routine as a performance review, a conversation between colleagues, or a decision to ask a different question. Change begins with how stories are told, who tells them, and whether the listener is willing to see and respond differently.
“We have to see one another and understand our unique lived experiences to have meaningful relationships,” Fox said. “Storytelling allows a way to do that. To share and dialogue with one another. When we allow our stories to be heard, we allow ourselves to be seen. That is the most powerful form of activism.”
Stories are never passive. They shape systems, influence decisions, and determine who is seen, who is believed, and who is supported. When stories change, and their messages change with them, everything else follows.
To learn more, access resources, or sign up for the Domestic Violence & Your Workplace training, visit ReferHer.ca
