Breaking the Silence
Final Report of the Engagement Process for the Federal Strategy to Address Gender-based Violence

The federal government is one actor among many working to end GBV. Provincial, territorial and municipal governments, civil society and grassroots organizations all play important roles in preventing and addressing GBV.

Understanding GBV

GBV is violence perpetrated against someone based on their gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender. GBV is a product of an unequal society; it has its roots in the patriarchal structure of society, and is intensified by other forms of discrimination, including, racism, colonialism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and poverty. For example, in Canada, colonialism shapes the experiences of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Violence can have lifelong impacts on a person’s health and well-being. Impacts can include physical and mental health conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, sexually transmitted infections, absence from school or work and social isolation.

GBV also has significant economic costs. The estimated costs of intimate partner violence against Canadian women alone are $4.8 billion dollars per year. The majority of costs are borne by victims, for items such as health care, lost education, physician visits and lost childcare services. In addition to third party costs, including impacts on children and family, and loss of future income, it also has a significant burden on the criminal justice system (e.g. police, court proceedings, incarceration, legal aid, etc.) and civil justice systems (e.g. protection orders, divorce proceedings, child protection, etc.)^Footnote 1 .

Calls to Action

Addressing gender-based violence is a priority internationally and nationally. For example, The United Nations UNiTE campaign called upon member states to adopt and implement well-resourced, multi-sectoral national action plans that emphasize prevention. The Strategy to Address Gender-Based Violence responds to international and domestic voices calling for immediate and sustained action to address GBV in Canada.

Canadians with diverse experiences and perspectives were invited to participate in the engagement process through various fora.

Hearing from survivors was an important part of this process. SWC also sought input from frontline workers, researchers, justice workers and advocates. Participants included Indigenous women, LGBTQ2 and gender non-conforming people, young women, women with disabilities, and men and boys working to end GBV. Participants often spoke from multiple experiences: for example, some people who work to address violence are also survivors of GBV themselves.

To inform the Strategy, the Government of Canada:

• Established an 18-member Ministerial Advisory Council for a two-year term as a forum to advise the Minister, and exchange views, promising practices and research on issues related to GBV;
• Hosted thematic roundtables on:
  • youth and online GBV
  • justice system approaches
  • violence against Indigenous women and girls
  • promoting social and cultural change
  • supporting the safety and well-being of survivors
  • preventing and addressing child maltreatment, in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada;
• Hosted regional roundtables in Vancouver, Yellowknife, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Montreal and Halifax, as well as individual meetings in these cities;
• Met with survivors of various forms of GBV in small group settings;
• Conducted an online, voluntary survey designed to identify Canadians’ priorities related to GBV, and to hear about the effectiveness of current initiatives to address GBV;
• Invited the Canadian public to provide comments via email to a dedicated email address;
• Hosted an expert panel on primary prevention of GBV; and,
• Co-hosted roundtable on shelters and transition housing with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

1. Preventing GBV: Building the Foundation for Social Change
   • Participants suggested taking a life-course approach to GBV. This means preventing and intervening with populations across the lifespan — from early childhood, to addressing the unique vulnerabilities of youth, to supporting adults and seniors. Participants identified children as a priority.
   • Participants outlined a number of promising practices aimed at preventing GBV across the lifespan, including:
     • Engaging men and boys in preventing and ending GBV. This includes teaching healthy masculinity, engaging men and boys in prevention strategies, programs that help men and boys develop their Métis, First Nations and Inuit identities, and rehabilitation strategies for men who have used violence;
     • Taking an Indigenous approach to preventing GBV, with a focus on honouring the family;
     • Promoting healthy relationships, including supporting students in high school and university/college in learning about consent;
     • Offering women tools to help identify violence and escape violent situations (for example, embedding safety information in newcomer settlement programs; legal education; or financial literacy); and
     • Delivering innovative public education campaigns such as social media campaigns against online violence.
   • Participants recognized that, while there is good work being done to prevent GBV, challenges remain.
     • There are difficulties sharing knowledge and resources, which means that prevention activities are uneven across jurisdictions, and researchers and frontline workers must continuously “reinvent the wheel”.
     • While recognizing the distinction between federal and provincial/territorial funding mandates, participants emphasized the importance of sustained funding for community-based programs, noting that short-term funding creates challenges.
2. Supporting the Safety and Well-Being of Survivors and Families
   • Participants recognized strong, independent, feminist women’s organizations as important for supporting and advocating for survivors of GBV.
   • Participants identified promising practices related to service-provision for rural, remote and vulnerable populations. These include:
     • Mobile programs that provide supports in remote northern communities;
     • Providing services run by and for language minority communities and culturally appropriate services run by and for Indigenous communities; and
     • Art-based programs for youth, particularly LGBTQ2 and gender non-conforming youth.
   • Participants also identified equitable and accessible services for vulnerable populations as a challenge. This includes:
     • Shelter accessibility for women with disabilities and shelter accessibility and safety for LGBTQ2 and gender non-conforming people; and
     • Culturally appropriate shelters for on-reserve and off-reserve Indigenous populations.
   • Participants identified the following as challenging areas for organizations involved in frontline service provision:
     • Coordination between various health and social services;
     • Training for frontline professionals and others working in the area of GBV in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed practices and in working with members of vulnerable populations; and
     • Funding for advocacy, support for survivors, and shelters, both on-reserve and off-reserve.
3. Moving Forward: Promoting Responsive Legal and Justice Systems
   • Participants recognized the importance of a justice system that is safe, inclusive and anti-oppressive, addressing fears related to reporting violence to police.
   • Participants identified the following as challenges:
     • Supports for women in all aspects of the justice system, from advocates for survivors to supports for incarcerated women and for women reintegrating following incarceration.
   • Participants identified the following promising practices to address barriers and alleviate the perceived lack of safety related to reporting violence:

     Survivors stressed the importance of being treated with respect and dignity by law enforcement and justice officials, and receiving the resources and support they need to understand their rights.

     • Promoting community-based supports for survivors and their families going through the through the justice system;
     • Provide healing centres, restorative justice practices, and culturally-responsive counselling and rehabilitation programs; and
     • Provide trauma-informed training for justice system personnel.
   • Potential areas of legislative intervention into GBV were identified, including online GBV, human trafficking, as well as immigration law that addresses newcomer women’s unique vulnerabilities to intimate partner violence.
     • Taking into account the cycle of violence and the need to focus on children, participants also suggested amending legislation related to intimate partner violence, custody of children, and corporal punishment.

4. Reflecting on Federal Activities

   Participants underscored the importance of the following key elements of a Strategy:

   • Leadership and Coordination
     • The federal government has a role in championing anti- GBV work, and in promoting best practices. The federal government also has a role in coordinating government and non-government GBV initiatives across Canada.
   • Research and Data Collection
     • Data collection and analysis is critical to understanding and ending GBV. See the box, “Suggested research priorities,” for expert recommendations for research on prevention.
     • Participants discussed the importance of quantitative and qualitative research that analyzes the unique experiences of Canadians who have experienced GBV, particularly within vulnerable populations.
     • National baseline data is necessary for monitoring and evaluation activities to measure the effectiveness of prevention and intervention initiatives.
     • It was recommended that the federal government act as a research “hub” to coordinate and disseminate research activities.
     • Research could be improved through better connections between researchers and service providers. This includes:
       • Exploring the what, who and how of interventions to support evidence-based programs and policy (i.e., What works? For whom? Under what circumstances?).
       • Developing evidence-based solutions that are measurable and replicable. The importance of developing outcomes from the ground up was also recognized. For example, an Indigenous monitoring and evaluation framework was identified as a best practice.

     Suggested research priorities:

     • The nature of GBV for specific populations, including LGBTQ2 and gender non-conforming people, young women, marginalized groups such as Indigenous women, women who are visible minorities, and women with disabilities, homeless women, and people living in rural/remote areas;
     • Utilization of community-based anti-violence services;
     • Holistic research linking GBV with social and health issues;
     • Community-driven approaches to research on violence against Indigenous women and girls;
     • Research on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women in urban and rural areas;
     • Research on safe technology to address online violence; and
     • Research on the culture of violence.
   • Accountability
     • Discussions included the importance of open and clear communication between the Government of Canada, stakeholders addressing GBV and Canadians. This means developing common measures of success and regular reporting on how we are doing.