Government of Canada supports survivors of gender-based violence in Labrador

Nouvelles fournies par

Department for Women and Gender Equality

04 sept, 2019, 08:30 ET

HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, NL, Sept. 4, 2019 /CNW/ - Ending gender-based violence is crucial if we are serious about giving everyone the same opportunities to join and grow Canada's middle class. We all benefit when women, girls and people of all genders are safe and free to live their lives to the fullest.

That's why today, Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade and Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, announced that the Government of Canada will invest $2 million in two women's organizations serving women in Labrador.

Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre (NLSACPC) is receiving $1 million to provide sensitive and consistent support to women who have been sexually assaulted in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and surrounding communities in Labrador through a regional network. They will work with key stakeholders, such as Indigenous elders, Indigenous governments, key non-profit partners, and funders, and create safe spaces to support survivors during their journey in the aftermath of violence.

Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (PLIAN) is receiving $1 million to pilot a service to help Indigenous women whom are survivors of violence and other survivors of violence to navigate the legal system with a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed approach. It will offer increased access to justice for Indigenous peoples, newcomer women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2 persons, and other populations that are marginalized and more vulnerable to violence.

Last year, Minister Monsef announced more than $50 million in funding for nearly 60 projects in communities across the country, including the two  announced today, to support survivors of gender-based violence and their families, including those who have been underserved, such as Indigenous women and their communities, children and youth, LGBTQ2 individuals, ethno-cultural women, women who are newcomers, refugees or non-status, and women living with disabilities.

Quotes

"With this investment, we are funding NLSACPC and PLIAN to support survivors and their families. The gender-based violence funding envelope was developed in partnership with leaders from the women's sector, whose advice continues to inform Canada's first Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. Leaders asked for more dollars over a longer period of time to meet the ever growing demand for their services, a simplified application process, and resources to help provide supports for the most underserved and marginalized survivors of gender-based violence. Our government listened. Gender-based violence must not be tolerated, and we will continue to work with survivors, community partners, the private sector and other orders of government to end GBV in all of its forms."

The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.
Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality

"Taking informed action within our own communities is an important first step towards ending gender-based violence, and the Government of Canada is dedicated to working with local organizations in pursuing this crucial goal. This funding announcement will provide $1 million to NLSACPC for building structural responses to assist survivors of sexual assault in Labrador, and $1 million to PLIAN for creating an inclusive legal navigator service for survivors of violence. It is our hope that supporting these organizations will contribute to a better sense of safety here in Labrador."

Yvonne Jones
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade
Member of Parliament for Labrador

"Our region's response to sexual violence is in great need of attention and collaborative work. With the Government of Canada's support and the engagement of Indigenous and community partners, we plan to develop and implement an inclusive model of response that will map out the actions, resources, and next steps required to offer the most culturally and trauma informed resources to Labradorians impacted by sexual violence."

Nicole Kieley, Executive Director
Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre (NLSACPC)

"Access to legal supports that are culturally sensitive and trauma-informed remains a challenge throughout Labrador, particularly for survivors of gender-based violence. We are thankful for the support from the federal government to develop a pilot legal navigator service that we believe will significantly enhance the legal support available in Labrador. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners throughout the region to develop the most effective and responsive legal navigation service that we can."

Kevin O'Shea, Executive Director
Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (PLIAN)

Quick Facts

  • In June 2017, Women and Gender Equality Canada (formerly Status of Women Canada) announced the first-ever federal Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence.
  • To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $200 million across government to prevent gender-based violence, support survivors and their families, and create more responsive legal and justice systems.
  • The Promising practices to support survivors and their families call for concepts is the largest amount of funding ever announced for programming to specifically support diverse groups of gender-based violence survivors and their families.
  • Gender-based violence can have lifelong impacts on an individual's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Additionally, the effects can be serious and costly. Annually, the economic impact of intimate partner violence and sexual assault is estimated to be over $12 billion.

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Backgrounder

Women and Gender Equality Canada's Gender-Based Violence Program

Following the June 2017 announcement of It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, Women and Gender Equality Canada (formerly Status of Women Canada) launched the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Program in January 2018.

The GBV Program complements the department's Women's Program, and helps organizations working in the GBV sector to develop and implement promising practices to address gaps in supports for survivors and their families.

While violence affects people of all genders, ages, cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and socio-economic backgrounds, some populations are more at-risk and face additional barriers to accessing services. The GBV Program responds to this need by providing funding to eligible organizations at the local, regional and national levels for projects that address gaps in supports for specific groups of survivors, including Indigenous women, and other underserved populations, such as children and youth, LGBTQ2 communities, non-status/refugee/immigrant women, seniors, women living in official language minority communities, women living in northern, rural and remote communities, and women living with disabilities.

Call for concepts: Promising Practices to Support Survivors and their Families

In January 2018, Minister Monsef announced $20 million in funding for a call for concepts as part of the new Gender-Based Violence Program. Following Budget 2018, the funding for the Gender-Based Violence Program more than doubled, meaning that more organizations, such as sexual assault crisis centres, are better able to help population groups at the highest risk of experiencing violence. The GBV Program piloted an innovative approach to supporting community organizations, which includes:

  • a longer funding period of up to five years; 
  • a two-stage application process, which reduced the administrative burden for applicant organizations. Less information was required in the initial concept phase, which meant a leaner application process for organizations;
  • eligible recipients were expanded to include labour groups and unions; provinces, territories, municipalities and their agencies; research organizations and institutes, centres of expertise, educational institutions (i.e. universities, colleges, CÉGEPs, secondary schools, school boards/school districts), as well as public health institutions, hospitals, and health care service providers; and
  • testing and evaluation of promising practices is emphasized, which will lead to clear impact and results for Canadians.

Labrador Projects

Today's announcement profiled two projects selected for federal funding in Labrador: 

Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre (NLSACPC)
Project title: Coordinating Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Network in Labrador
Funding amount: $1 million

NLSACPC will provide sensitive and consistent support to women who have been sexually assaulted in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and surrounding communities in Labrador through a regional network. They will work with key stakeholders, such as Indigenous elders, Indigenous governments, key non-profit partners, and funders, and create safe spaces to support survivors during their journey in the aftermath of violence.

NLSACPC provides support and resources to anyone who has been impacted by sexual violence. It is deeply committed to further establishing Labrador-specific resources using both a culturally-informed and trauma-informed lens.

Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (PLIAN)
Project title: Piloting Collaborative Legal Navigation Support for Survivors of Violence in Labrador
Funding amount: $1 million

PLIAN will pilot a service to help Indigenous women whom are survivors of violence and other survivors of violence to navigate the legal system with a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed approach. It will offer increased access to justice for Indigenous peoples, newcomer women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2 persons, and other populations that are marginalized and more vulnerable to violence.

PLIAN is an independent non-profit organization and registered charity dedicated to improving access to justice by educating individuals in Newfoundland and Labrador about the law and its applications. It prioritizes the revision of existing trauma-informed, survivor-focused training on enhancing support for survivors of sexual violence to further include more information on intergenerational trauma and the impact of colonialism.

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SOURCE Department for Women and Gender Equality

Braeson Holland, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, 343-549-8825; Valérie Haché, Senior Communications Advisor, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 819-420-8684

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