Grants and Contributions

Through this 24-month project, the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) will develop and put in place a promising practice in the form of a strategy to increase the ability of educators to provide effective consent education to boys and Autistic youth, which will strengthen the GBV sector. It will address the needs of educators, Autistic youth, and boys, taking an approach that considers various intersecting identities. To do so, the project will implement two sets of the same activities, with one focusing on Autistic youth and the other on boys. This includes scans and reviews of consent literature and educational resources, the development of consent education working groups, conducting online consultations of Canadian educators to determine consent education needs and effective implementation practices, and conducting focus groups with youth to understand their consent education needs and best practices for implementation. SIECCAN will then create and distribute summary reports of consultation and focus group findings, develop backgrounder educator guides focused on improving youth's consent knowledge, attitudes, and skills, as well as develop interactive e-learning consent modules and digital content resources on consent for educators to use with/for youth. The organization will subsequently conduct usability sessions to determine needed revisions to the digital content resources. SIECCAN will disseminate and facilitate the usage of the two sets of consent materials for educators by releasing and promoting the e-learning consent modules and the digital content resources on consent online, and sharing the backgrounder educator guides on the organization’s website, with their educator listserv, and with project partners. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the promising practice through a final report and will additionally work with SIECCAN to evaluate the change in educator knowledge and skills and ability to deliver consent education to Autistic youth and to boys. The external evaluator will also work with project partners to conduct two usability sessions, one with Autistic youth and one with youth (including boys) to determine the effectiveness of the two final digital content resources on consent. SIECCAN will disseminate all educator consent materials at national conferences/workshops to share information and facilitate implementation of the promising practice so that others may replicate it or expand upon it.

Through this 24-month project, Métis Central Western Region 2 Council Incorporated will develop and put in place the Heartbeat Trauma Release Method Therapy (HTR) with Indigenous girls, two spirit and trans youth experiencing gender-based violence to strengthen the GBV sector. The organization will work with their partners in the community and address the need to provide supports and services to Indigenous youth in Northern Saskatchewan who are at risk of perpetuating generational cycles of trauma and who struggle in their communities experiencing bullying, physical, mental, emotional abuse, and sexual exploitation.

To do so, the project will include hiring and training of staff on the Heartbeat Trauma Release Method Therapy, recruitment of Indigenous participants, adapting the HTR method, offering one-on one counselling and group therapy through healing camps, collection of feedback and recommendations from participants and the external evaluator, the creation of a manual and hosting a gathering for all participants. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the promising practice throughout the lifecycle of the project.

Métis Central Western Region 2 Council Incorporated will share the findings with the GBV Knowledge Centre and host a large gathering and invite all participants in all four cohorts to share their experiences while also sharing information on the promising practices so that they may replicate it or expand upon it.

Through this 24-month project, FOXY will develop, implement, and evaluate promising intervention practices that will advance knowledge and enhance empowerment supports for at-risk populations of gender-based violence in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut. Specifically, the project will design and develop a culturally safe, Northern-focused, gender-based violence prevention program based on evidence, best-practices and trauma-informed pedagogy. Youth, Northern-based researchers, clinicians, community members, and Elders will participate in all aspects of the development of the intervention. Specifically, the project will focus on young Northern and Indigenous young women (including trans-women) participants and gender-diverse youth.

This 24-month project aims to strengthen the Association des francophones du Nunavut’s (AFN) organisational capacities to continue to promote social and systemic changes in support of gender equality. Organizational capacity will be enhanced through the following activities: a review of human resources management, the improvement of internal procedures, and the training of AFN employees and volunteers.

In addition, community consultations will lead to the creation of a sub-committee of Francophone women within the AFN. It will provide them with an inclusive space to amplify their voices and actions and thereby promote the Nunavut feminist movement while strengthening the AFN’s ties with francophone feminist organizations across the country. It will also strengthen partnerships between the AFN and its community and government partners in Nunavut to maximize the impact of the organization’s initiatives for Nunavut Francophone women.

An external evaluation will evaluate the project’s effectiveness and guide the AFN in improving its future internal practices.

Through this 24-month project, Quadrangle NL Community Centre will build stronger capacity of 2SLGBTQI+ community organizations and networks to advance 2SLGBTQI+ equality. It will identify and address various barriers and gaps to supports and services for the community, as well as improve the organization’s tracking and evaluation of its programs and services. The project will include the development of a Community Advisory Board, the integration of results-based management practices, the creation of data collection and sharing methods for sector advocacy, and improvements to the organization’s internal financial reporting.

Through this 24-month project, the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale (RMFVVC) will develop and implement a promising practice to provide workplaces the tools to better protect immigrant women employees who are victims of intimate partner violence and strengthen the gender-based violence sector. The promising practice will present the specific types of intimate partner violence in a migration context; the specific barriers preventing immigrant women from accessing support services and networks; as well as the appropriate protection and support measures that employers, unions, and employees can implement to take these into account. To achieve this, the project will include developing tools, such as a practical guide and an information kit, to raise awareness of this issue in different workplaces with a high concentration of immigrant women workers. Training will be implemented to create safer and more supportive work environments for immigrant women employees who are victims of intimate partner violence and to assist in referring them to appropriate resources. Personalized support will also be offered to workplaces to guide them in implementing concrete measures to this end. The RMFVVC will also engage its member shelters to recruit outreach staff who will be equipped to encourage and better support employers across Quebec to implement measures that more effectively support and protect immigrant women who are victims of intimate partner violence. Communities of practice will be established to enable workplaces to share best approaches for responding to the diverse realities of immigrant women who are victims of intimate partner violence; these women will be involved throughout the project. An external evaluation will measure and evaluate the impacts of the promising practice. The RMFVVC will organize a virtual event and a conference to inform other workplaces and shelter associations about the promising practice, and allow them to replicate or expand it.

Through this 36-month systemic change project, Grande Prairie Women’s Residence Association (Odyssey House) will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity or representation in leadership and decision-making roles through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within the social services sector including breaking down silos and encouraging more effective and equitable sharing of resources in Northern Alberta by creating the Hope Hub Grande Prairie platform, a unified database to minimize revictimization, implementing tailored training programs and establishing a robust governance structure. The project will include a coordinated approach to empowering women to take leadership of their lived/living experiences and exercise autonomy over their service journey. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project.

Additional funding will support adjustments/changes to the capabilities and the implementation of the collective database while also providing wages for a community project navigator who would support systemic change, further building collaboration and communication between agencies and stakeholders to ensure consistent access to collective database.

Through this 24-month project, Réseau Femmes du Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario will develop and implement an approach to educate and raise awareness among young girls who have witnessed parental domestic violence, in order to strengthen the GBV sector. This project will address gaps in the availability of prevention and intervention resources for high-risk youth, particularly local, French-language resources adapted to official language minority communities in southwestern Ontario. To achieve this, the project will include interactive workshop modules carefully developed with experts and implemented within participating francophone schools, for young girls aged 13 to 18, and with the participation of young boys as allies. An external evaluation will measure and assess the impact of this promising practice. Réseau-Femmes du Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario will organize a public event and develop a final report to share the results of the promising practice with the community, local organizations and other stakeholders, so that they may replicate it or expand upon it.

Through this 24-month project, Les 3 sex* will develop and implement a gender-based cyber violence prevention program for young boys to strengthen the gender-based violence sector. The project will address the lack of access to services that help counter online radicalization and disinformation leading to gender-based cyber violence against women and 2SLGBTQI+ people. It will target young boys who are vulnerable to the influence of messaging from the manosphere. This will include consulting with partners; collecting data; creating awareness resources; and applying, evaluating, and disseminating innovative practices. An external evaluation will measure and assess the impact of these promising practices. Les 3 sex* will disseminate the promising practices and share the assessment report to inform other organizations of the promising practices so that they can replicate or scale them.

Through this 24-month project, Hamilton Trans Health Coalition Inc. (HTHC) will build stronger capacity of 2SLGBTQI+ community organizations and networks to advance 2SLGBTQI+ equality. It will address: the barriers that exist for trans, gender-diverse, and non-binary people who have been denied the necessary educational and professional development opportunities due to intersectional systemic oppressions; the gaps in best practices by developing a model employment program that lowers barriers to entry; the barriers that exist for low-income individuals seeking gender affirming health care and; the need to make it easier for communities of any size to follow in HTHC footsteps to build much-needed local capacity by sharing these best practices widely. The project will include a) the review of job descriptions, classifications, pay grids, volunteer program and succession planning; b) the study of the feasibility of a social enterprise to fund continued systems navigation through fee-for-service skill-building engagements with non-healthcare employers; c) establish and support innovative partnerships and planning activities that could, after this project and using newly identified resources, sustainably address gender affirming health needs of low-income individuals excluded from private care; d) refine human resources policies and strengthen employee supports and internal career pathing practices; and e) develop & disseminate HTHC start-up guide.