At a distance, gender‑based violence can look like a series of isolated incidents. Up close, it’s a culture—one that reaches from homes and rural communities all the way into schools, workplaces, and the highest levels of politics. In part two of this conversation, trauma therapist and social worker Kristina Fifield joins Alex to dig into the deeper cultural and systemic forces that keep violence in place: from internalized misogyny and survivors not being believed, to risk assessment tools that miss danger because they don’t account for trauma. Drawing on years of frontline work and her role with the Mass Casualty Commission and Progress and Monitoring Committee, Kristina explains how political rhetoric, social media, and visible misogyny in public office all send a message: people can hold power, cause great harm, and face no real accountability. She connects those messages to what’s happening in classrooms, workplaces, and rural communities—where violence is increasingly normalized, and where under‑resourced systems leave both survivors and those causing harm without meaningful support. They also unpack why some of the most important work has to happen long before a crisis: in early prevention, in how we design services, and in whether we’re willing to work with people who are using violence—not just those living with its impacts. They discuss: Internalized misogyny & women not believing women: How disbelief and judgment from other women can be one of the deepest harms survivors face—and why we still don’t talk about it enough. Power, privilege, and “respectable” perpetrators: Why people in positions of authority (professionals, community leaders, those in government) are often shielded from scrutiny, even when patterns of coercion and abuse are present. Political misogyny and normalized harm: How openly misogynistic behaviour from people in the highest offices lowers the bar for what we accept in everyday life—and gives others “permission” to use violence. Risk assessments that miss real danger: The limits of tools like the ODARA and the Jacquelyn Campbell Danger Assessment—and why so many women killed by partners were never designated “high risk.” The window of tolerance & trauma responses: How shutdown, dissociation, people‑pleasing, and hypervigilance can shape what survivors say (or don’t say) during assessments—and why a “low score” can’t be taken at face value. When systems mistake survival for safety: What happens when police, hospitals, and community services don’t recognize nervous system dysregulation—and interpret minimization or confusion as a lack of risk. Coercion hidden inside support systems: How well‑intended programs, like housing benefits or specialized services, can become coercive when survivors are forced to work with specific organizations or follow narrow pathways to qualify. Who is (and isn’t) allowed to refer or assess: Why independent therapists can’t complete certain danger assessments or access some benefits with clients—and how those rules leave people falling through the cracks. Working with people who cause harm: Why building shelters and services for survivors isn’t enough on its own, and what it looks like to hold both compassion and accountability when working with those using violence. Prevention, schools, and standardized responses: How individual principals, teachers, and boards can block or enable gender‑based violence education—and why Kristina believes we need national standards, not just local discretion. Trauma‑informed spaces in practice: From where someone sits in a room to whether they can step outside or get a snack, Kristina shares how small choices can restore safety, control, and dignity during deeply vulnerable moments. Throughout the episode, Kristina returns to one core idea. If we don’t understand trauma, we will keep misreading danger. And if we keep leaving responses up to underfunded, piecemeal systems, rural communities and marginalized survivors will remain the most at risk. The conversation closes by connecting these insights to the One Door project: a purpose‑built, trauma‑informed centre in rural Nova Scotia designed so that women, youth, elders, and gender‑diverse people don’t have to navigate a maze of disconnected services or prove their risk over and over again. Instead, they can walk through a single door and be met by coordinated, wraparound support that sees the full context of their lives. Learn More & Support One Door To learn more about the One Door campaign, the new centre, and how you can support this $5 million capital project, visit: https://onedoor.awrcsasa.ca Chapters 0:00 Power, Privilege & Hidden Abuse0:19 Hate, Trauma & Speaking Up After the Mass Casualty1:28 Internalized Misogyny & Women Not Believing Women3:41 Microaggressions, Family Dynamics & “She Deserved It” Narratives6:17 Cultural Resistance, Misogyny Online & Political Permission for Violence7:48 Violence in Schools & Normalization in Institutions8:56 Fear, Disempowerment & Educators’ Trauma Responses9:22 Trauma, Shutdown & Why One-Size-Fits-All Responses Don’t Work11:17 Serial Perpetrators, Mixed Experiences & Manipulation by Design12:38 Survivors Before the Mass Casualty & Being Erased from the Story14:35 “Would Anything Be Different Today?” Accountability & What Has (Not) Changed15:56 RCMP Changes, Emergency Alerts & Limits of Procedural Fixes16:42 Missed Opportunities, Information Silos & High-Risk Files17:54 What “High Risk for Lethality” Really Means—and What’s Missing19:23 When “High Risk” Tools Miss the Women Most in Danger20:59 Silos, Short-Term Funding & Unequal Access Across Communities24:00 Carceral vs. Non-Carceral Responses & Restorative Justice Debates25:13 Who Gets GBV Education? Bias, School Gatekeeping & Standards25:48 ODARA, Danger Assessments & Falling Through the Cracks26:56 Risk Tools, Trauma, and the Desmond Inquiry Lessons28:50 Window of Tolerance: How Trauma Shapes What Survivors Can Say30:23 Fear, Coercive Control & Why Survivors Minimize Risk32:35 Making Assessments Trauma-Informed in Real Time35:57 Space, Safety & Small Choices That Change the Room36:49 Subtle Coercion in “Support” Systems & the Housing Benefit Gap38:46 Bureaucracy, Gatekeeping & When Survivors Refuse Certain Services40:21 High-Risk Femicide Cases with No “High-Risk” Designation41:34 Advocacy, Fear in Systems & How Policies Become Coercive43:54 Working with People Who Cause Harm: Compassion & Accountability45:02 Early Intervention, Anger, and Starting This Work Young47:14 Progress, Gaps & Monitoring the Mass Casualty Recommendations50:28 Closing Reflections & The Promise of One Door