Government of Canada supports survivors of gender-based violence in the Northwest Territories Français
YELLOWKNIFE, Feb. 28, 2020 /CNW/ - Everyone deserves to be safe and to live life free of violence. When violence does occur, it is crucial that survivors have access to timely supports and services that meet their needs.
That's why today, Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced that the Government of Canada will invest $1 million in YWCA NWT, a women's organization working to increase women's safety across the Northwest Territories.
YWCA NWT will address service gaps and barriers in the Northwest Territories by testing different ways of providing safe homes in smaller, remote communities that currently do not have spaces for women who experience violence. An important aspect of the project will be collaborating with local stakeholders, including survivors of gender-based violence and community and political leaders, to realize sustainable solutions. It will work to ensure that survivors of gender-based violence in small communities can rely on timely, reliable, and trauma-informed services.
On December 3, 2018, Minister Monsef announced more than $50 million in funding for nearly 60 projects in communities across the country, such as the one featured today. This funding will 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 YWCA NWT 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 for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development
"People facing gender-based violence deserve not only protections, but also a pathway to thrive and realize their potential. To achieve this, we will need sustainable funding that addresses gaps and supports for everyone, including underserved groups in rural and remote regions of Canada. I am pleased to make today's announcement as this investment by the Government of Canada will help YWCA NWT pilot alternatives to safe homes to better support survivors in our territory."
Michael McLeod
Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories
"This funding by the Government of Canada will give us more stability and improve our resources, helping us in this work of securing a better future for women and families across the Northwest Territories. We look forward to making new partnerships and creating service provisions that are truly survivor-driven in our efforts to address gender-based violence."
Lyda Fuller, Executive Director
YWCA NWT
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 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.
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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 (e.g., 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.
Northwest Territories Project
Today's announcement profiled an organization selected for federal funding in the Northwest Territories:
YWCA NWT
Project title: Safe Homes Pilot to increase women's safety in rural northern communities
Funding amount: $1 million
YWCA NWT will apply new strategies to address gaps in support for survivors of gender-based violence. It will test different ways of providing safe homes in three smaller, remote communities in the Northwest Territories that currently do not have safe spaces for women who experience violence. The project will build on the findings of the Safe Homes program implemented in several remote communities in British Columbia, as well as previous research conducted by YWCA NWT. It will collaborate with communities throughout the region to develop survivor-driven strategies and solutions.
Since 1966, YWCA NWT has worked to ensure safe and equitable communities, helping women, girls and families realize their potential. It provides a variety of services to people in the Northwest Territories, including transitional housing to women and families, shelters to assist women and families fleeing violence, empowerment programs and afterschool child care.
Associated Links
- YWCA NWT
- Gender-Based Violence Program
- It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
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SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada
Alex Howell, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-862-7245; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 1-855-969-9922
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