October 12, 2023 – Calgary, Alberta — Women and Gender Equality Canada

Gender-based violence costs women and gender-diverse people their lives and has profound effects on our communities. Understanding and addressing gender-based violence is a crucial step to advancing gender equality in Canada.

Today, Lisa Hepfner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, announced more than $3.7 million for eight organizations to prevent and address gender-based violence in Alberta.

The following seven organizations will be implementing a program, service, strategy or policy that could have a significant impact on reducing the prevalence of gender-based violence through a promising practice:

1. Sanare Centre
2. Canadian Pakistani Support Group Association
3. Association for the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women (ANIW)
4. Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse Society
5. Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services
6. The Immigrant Education Society (TIES)
7. Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association

This announcement also includes a community-based research project led by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary. This research will help create the foundation for improving gender-based violence services for victims of gender-based violence.

These eight projects will collect data on the lived experiences of women and gender-diverse people to better inform the supports, services and pathways to safety for those experiencing gender-based violence in Alberta. The population groups most at-risk of gender-based violence or underserved when experiencing it are Indigenous women and girls, Black and racialized women, immigrant and refugee women, 2SLGBTQI+ people; women, girls and gender diverse people with disabilities, and women living in Northern, rural, and remote communities.

Today’s announcement builds on the announcement of the bilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta to support the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. The National Action Plan was announced by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for the Status of Women in November 2022. The National Action Plan includes five pillars: support for victims, survivors, and their families; prevention; a responsive justice system; implementing Indigenous-led approaches; and social infrastructure and an enabling environment.