infographics and pauses

Back in August I had the opportunity to work with the Ending Violence Association of Canada and Anova to create an infographic for a national survey they had conducted. The survey explored the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the services and survivors of gender-based violence in Canada. We wanted to create something to help communicate the key points of the data concisely and broadly. Here’s the finished product:

If this subject matter is of interest to you, you can check out the full report from the survey here. If you’re interested in a peek into the behind-the-scenes process of creating this infographic, then stick around, because this is the place for you.

While taking in lots of information seems to be one of my special skills, as someone who doesn’t work in the field of gender-based violence, my ability to meaningfully process the raw data from this survey was limited. Fortunately, my clients were experts in this area, and willing to co-create a process to share their knowledge with me so I could translate it into the graphic you see here.

In true pandemic form, we set up a zoom meeting with the three of us. Over the course of a couple hours, my clients read through their highlights from the survey results, and had a conversation about them. This allowed for some sifting through of vast quantities of data, as well as the introduction of nuance and deeper meaning to the realities that lived behind the numbers and written responses in the survey. Throughout our time on zoom, I listened carefully and took down notes, capturing a mix of statistics and direct quotes from the respondents, as well as the key connections being made about the impacts this data has on people across the country.

Once we had wrapped up our time of knowledge sharing I took a pause, for two reasons. The first was that I had just had a great deal of information pass through me in a relatively short period of time. Experience has taught me that when I’m not working live, it’s incredibly helpful for my brain and body to give that information some time to land and integrate before I start drawing. I took a breath, drank some water, got still, and let things settle.

The second reason for the pause was that, as someone whose general existence is fairly sheltered from the painful realities of gender-based violence, my heart needed some tending to after taking all this in. I spent a few minutes journaling about what was coming up for me as a result of this experience; reflecting on the privilege of my safety, and big feelings of both despair and gratitude. Before getting to work on creating this infographic, I needed to make some space to understand what was going on within myself. I firmly believe that a key part of listening, which is at the heart of all my work, involves noticing when what I’m hearing is coming from others, and when what I’m hearing is coming from myself. A pause does wonders for being able to make this distinction, and so, with a renewed sense of clarity, I then got to work turning our conversation into something that could be shared with others.

I am grateful for the projects that have continued to make their way to me throughout this pandemic. Each one has grown me in the direction of new skills and experiences professionally, and many of them have impacted me at the core of my own humanness too. This was definitely one of those times. Thank you to the Ending Violence Association of Canada and Anova for all the work you do, and thank you for inviting me to join you.