Brock professor says boxing program helps women regain control of their bodies
“I immediately fell in love with how visceral it is and how hard it is, and how it’s really like learning a language.”
Cathy Van Ingen came to boxing in a way you might expect from an academic – through research. A history course had her learning about legends like Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali, and seeking out stories of the sport’s female pioneers like Emma Maitland and Aurelia Wheeldin. “I read my way into the boxing ring,” she says. And once she stepped onto the canvas, she was hooked.
“I immediately fell in love with how visceral it is and how hard it is, and how it’s really like learning a language.” As co-founder of Shape Your Life, a free boxing program for women and trans survivors of violence, Dr. Van Ingen has taught this language as a way of overcoming trauma.
Those who’ve experienced violence have “lost control over their body,” she says. “The gym is one place – for some of them it’s the only place – where they feel their body is back under their control.” Over the course of 10 years, the Brock University professor has supported more than 1,200 women – refugees who fled violence abroad, sex workers, women with violent partners or who grew up in violent homes – to not only hit a speed bag, but build resiliency and community connections.
To that end, the program takes a “trauma informed” approach: it adapts to the realities of living with violence, from poverty to physical and mental challenges.
Shape Your Life recently received $420,000 from the Public Health Agency of Canada to investigate the effects of what Dr. Van Ingen calls “physical activity interventions” for survivors of violence. With the help of Brock exercise psychologist Kimberley Gammage, Dr. Van Ingen will engage boxers in surveys, focus groups and interviews throughout the 14-week program.
“It’s complicated because all funders really want is this beautiful, tidy, redemptive narrative,” Dr. Van Ingen says. Instead, her tools will encourage participants to share, in their own words, their successes and their continued struggles. The point, she says, is to “never lose the woman in the statistic.”
Featured Jobs
- Fashion - Instructional Assistant/Associate Professor (Creative & Cultural Industries)Chapman University - Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Economics - Associate/Full Professor of TeachingThe University of British Columbia
- Vice-President Research & Scientific EngagementMS Canada
- Public Policy - JW McConnell Professor of Practice McGill University
- Public Policy - JW McConnell Visiting ScholarMcGill University
More from News
-
Headlines for December 6, 2024
CBC NewsQuebec adopts bill to restrict international student enrolmentUniversities, opposition worry about Bill 74 undermining academic autonomy. CTV NewsUWindsor lands amongst top research universities in CanadaThe University of Windsor has been named one of the top research universities...
-
Headlines for December 5, 2024
City NewsOttawa outlines $2B in spending for artificial intelligence computing powerThe federal government says it will spend up to $1 billion to build public computing infrastructure for the Canadian artificial intelligence sector, part of a $2 billion...
-
Headlines for December 4, 2024
CNW NewsFederal government establishes council to deliver Canada's first National Infrastructure AssessmentSean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, announced the new Canadian Infrastructure Council, an expert advisory body that will deliver the country's first-ever National...
-
New life for Dimensions
A little over a year after the program was quietly shut down, it has been quietly revived.
More from Articles
-
Take part in UA’s gender equity survey
Help promote strategies towards meaningful change.
-
Engaging the public in sidewalk astronomy
The #popscope project energizes public spaces through experiential, free-choice learning.
-
New zine developed by OCAD U students helps artists perfect the art of tabling
‘The goal was to create something both practical and visually engaging,’ says one of the creators.
-
Quebec universities concerned about losing their autonomy
Ottawa has tightened the belt on international student admissions in Canada. Now Quebec wants to implement further changes, but universities are worried the Legault government might go too far.
Post a comment
University Affairs moderates all comments according to the following guidelines. If approved, comments generally appear within one business day. We may republish particularly insightful remarks in our print edition or elsewhere.