Grants and Contributions

Through this 22-month project, EVA Canada and the Improving Institutional Accountability Project (IIAP) will scale the work of IIAP Phases I & II to address barriers in access to justice for survivors of sexual violence who seek a criminal justice system response. Prior IIAP phases created and implemented the VAW Advocate Case Review (VACR) model now used to audit uncharged police sexual assault investigations in over 30 communities across Canada. IIAP’s three-prong model of systemic change combines supporting communities to implement local oversight of criminal justice system (CJS) responses to survivors, linking advocates across Canada to share promising practices, and finally, engaging national institutions, decision-makers, and advocates to develop consistent national policy, evidence-based practice, and system accountability mechanisms required for effective oversight, data transparency, and outcomes measurement of CJS responses to sexual violence. IIAP III will scale up to implement more VACR teams in new regions/provinces while strengthening sustainability in existing sites, collaborate with stakeholders to develop a framework to address significant national gaps in data collection, and create an evaluation framework for assessing effectiveness and outcomes of the variety of oversight mechanisms (including VACR) currently in use across Canada.

Through this 23-month project, La rue des Femmes in Montréal (LrdF) will expand its relational health intervention approach to strengthen the GBV sector. This project will allow for: 1) expanded access to support, through the establishment of strategic partnerships and collaborations strengthening a network of organizations in Montréal, making it easier for the women they support accessing relational care (both previously unhoused women who are now in permanent housing and women who are survivors of sexual exploitation); and 2) expansion into a new region (Nunavut) and among a new population (Inuit women). It will fill significant gaps in terms of support and access to specialized, responsive, trauma-informed relational care for underserved, isolated, hard-to-reach populations, as well as survivors of GBV with post-traumatic stress disorder. To this end, the project will include expanding relational care in Montréal and deploying the promising practice to partners in the form of training and clinical supervision. Expanding the promising practice to Nunavut through strategic collaborations with partners will make it possible to socially and culturally update and adapt the project, share knowledge and establish communities of practices. LrdF will produce promotional tools in French, English and Inuktitut as required to document or reproduce the project and to expand the promising practice.

Through this 24-month project, Sudbury Queers United Around Diversity (SQUAD) will address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. This will be achieved by 1) engaging community and local service providers to identify barriers faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; 2) assessing the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, especially trans, non-binary, Indigenous, and racialized/marginalized groups; 3) developing and testing tools, resources and workshops to help 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals access services and navigate the healthcare, employment, and social systems, while addressing root causes of hate and prejudices; 4) establishing and piloting a support program led by social work students, to empower members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, particularly those from racialized and Indigenous backgrounds; 5) evaluating the results, impact, and lessons learned from the project; and 6) developing a sustainable plan to ensure the continuation of efforts to address root causes of hate, provide support, and increase access to services for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Through this 12-month project, Uzima Women Relief Group International will build its capacity to advance gender equality for Black women in Toronto. It will address the need to ensure long-term financial health by strengthening financial management structures and skills, improving financial and activity reporting and increasing fundraising capacity. The project will include (1) the creation of a 3-year financial plan for the organization as well as (2) the creation of tools, resources, and processes to improve financial and activity reporting through training, workshops, seminars, in addition to (3) the development of a repository of project fundraising resources and the organization of two strategic retreats to improve and strengthen financial sustainability.

Through this 24-month project, Women’s Centre for Social Justice (WomenatthecentrE) will conduct research to help improve reproductive and sexual healthcare for Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, gender-diverse, and trans (IB-WG2SGDT) peoples, in the Greater Toronto Area. It will address the systemic barriers impacting their access to culturally safe healthcare, the effects of GBV, and policy gaps.

To do so, the project will conduct an environmental scan and literature review on reproductive justice in Canada and the U.S., engage in community consultations, and lead community-based participatory research to document lived experiences of reproductive injustice, GBV, and systemic racism. A National Advisory Council comprised of survivors, advocates, and knowledge keepers will support project oversight. In addition, a partnership with a community-directed group of birth workers of colour, living and working in Toronto will be established to ensure that the project is community-driven and culturally safe. A reproductive justice learning exchange hub will be established to share research findings, resources, and advocacy tools.

This 24-month project aims to scale Vesta Community, a survivor-centered practice, to reduce barriers to reporting gender-based violence (GBV) across Canada. It will expand services to reach marginalized populations, including immigrant, refugee, and non-status women, while addressing gaps such as limited culturally responsive services, barriers to reporting, and a lack of accessible, trauma-informed pathways to justice and support.

The project will strengthen frontline capacity through community engagement, training, and collaborative research and data gathering to better understand survivors’ needs and systemic barriers. A secure, culturally responsive platform: the Navigator Program, with enhanced privacy features will be developed to protect survivor information and provide them with trusted guides to help access services. Additionally, outreach and awareness-building activities will reduce stigma and raise awareness of available supports. Evaluation and measurement will ensure the framework’s ongoing improvement and scalability.

By the project’s end, survivors will have greater access to responsive, trauma-informed services, and the GBV sector will be better equipped to support them. Findings will be shared nationally to promote replication and systemic change.

Through this 30-month project, Rainbow Resource Centre, Inc. will address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This will be achieved by identifying systemic change opportunities and raising awareness about hate and discrimination and the forms it takes in the media, online and in the community. In an effort to advance and protect queer rights, the organization will look to increase the representation of 2SLGBTQI+ people in all sectors by facilitating focus groups to identify top issues for employers experiencing gender transitions in the workplace, by creating online eLearning modules, developing a toolkit, offering training opportunities for employers and the health care sector, and by implementing a strategic marketing campaign to promote the tools that shape a more collective response to addressing improved equality for all community members.

Through this 24-month project, 2Spirit Manitoba Inc. will address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQI+ communities in urban and rural Manitoba. More specifically, through community involvement and engagement with Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, the project will address hate and discrimination and improve access to inclusive services to better support the community members in the province. The organization will host and facilitate workshops and sharing circles, collect feedback from participants, conduct a needs assessment on 2Spirit anti-discrimination, conduct surveys, develop an evaluation logic model and matrix, and develop community-informed toolkit resources for the members and other service providers.

By the end of the project, 2Spirit Manitoba Inc. will change attitudes, behaviours, and increase knowledge and education within the sector to promote equality and wellbeing of 2SLGBTQI+ individuals across the province.

Through this 24-month project, the Alliance Arc-en-ciel de Québec will address the Québec City 2SLGBTQI+ communities’ needs and barriers to equality. To achieve this, the organization will launch an awareness campaign to educate the public about the realities sexually and gender-diverse people experience in the events industry. It will also collect data from event promoters to determine their specific needs and outline customized solutions. Then, the Alliance will adopt practices for inclusion and cross-sectoral collaboration with the festivals and events industry. It will also develop a best practice guide and training for the events industry to foster the creation of safe spaces and address intersectional barriers.

Through this 26-month project, the Montréal Youth Coalition Against Homophobia will address 2SLGBTQI+ communities’ needs and barriers to equality. More specifically, the organization will address barriers to appropriate healthcare facing the trans and 2SLGBTQI+ communities in Montréal and Quebec, namely in terms of access, navigation, professional competencies, and quality of care.

To achieve this, the organization will create an accessible, easy-to-navigate web application to help queer and trans people find appropriate care that meets their needs. The Coalition will establish a community expert committee to support the project. It will also develop a community-expertise-based best practices guide as well as training for gender-affirming care providers. An approval process for the application will be developed and followed during the project, which will end with the launch of the application and community guides.

By the end of the project, 2SLGBTQI+ communities will be able to rely on an easy-to-find web application that is managed jointly by 2SLGBTQI+ led community organizations. The application will list practitioners who follow the standards of care for, and meet the ongoing and evolving needs of, the trans community.