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By rdnewsNOW Staff

Provincial Politics

Alberta endorses national plan to end gender-based violence

Nov 10, 2022 | 2:52 PM

Alberta has joined the federal government and other provinces and territories in officially endorsing the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

The national action plan is described as a 10-year strategy to end gender-based violence focused on support and prevention. Alberta’s government says it recognizes the importance of this work and is committed to addressing gender-based violence in communities across the province.

To date, Alberta’s government says it has promised to encourage a culture of consent, educate communities, improve the government’s response to sexual violence and support survivors. In addition, Alberta is said to be leading, or is heavily involved in various initiatives to combat gender-based violence, including economic support for gender-based violence survivors and their families.

Another critical element of ending gender-based violence, says the government, is the ongoing work the province is doing for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls – working to prevent violence, improve safety and increase economic security for Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

“Alberta has been a leader in supporting the survivors and the prevention of gender-based violence,” says Jason Luan, Minister of Culture. “Every one of us has a role to play and I am proud of the action our government is taking, not only in supporting survivors, but engaging men and boys to be champions in ending gender-based violence. The National Action Plan lays the groundwork for further work on these issues.”

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“Everyone deserves to live a life free of fear, and free of violence,” adds Tanya Fir, parliamentary secretary for Status of Women. “The national action plan complements our government’s focus on ending gender-based violence and finding more opportunities to change perspective, educate our communities and provide support for survivors throughout Alberta. I think the shared vision of a Canada free of gender-based violence is not only achievable but crucial for our prosperity as a province, and we are proud to be leading that work here.”

Officials say the national action plan endorsed by governments across the country lays the groundwork for the further development of made-in-Alberta gender-based violence prevention initiatives, including:

• Supporting survivors in rural communities through a pilot project that will train more health-care providers in rural areas to perform sexual assault forensic exams.
• Educating youth about healthy relationship skills by investing in programs like VOICE, that deliver anti-violence, equity, social justice and mental health presentations to schools and community organizations.
• Providing funding to community organizations, like Ruth’s House, that offer critical culturally sensitive support for survivors of domestic violence.
• Engaging men and boys as allies in preventing and ending gender-based violence by providing funding to the Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society to support their work in the prevention of violence.

Alberta government quick facts

• The national action plan is a 10-year strategic framework to address gender-based violence by providing a common vision of a Canada free of gender-based violence and supporting victims, survivors and their families no matter where they live.
• Alberta’s government:
  • Announced $1 million in funding for a one-year pilot project that will train more health-care providers in rural areas to perform sexual assault forensic exams.
  • Directed almost $900,000 to the VOICE program to train athletes as student mentors and expand the program to reach additional schools, communities and campus organizations.
  • Provided domestic violence prevention funding of $400,000 to Ruth’s House, a cultural-specific community agency that serves survivors, and $200,000 to Sagesse to focus on culturally sensitive program delivery to address domestic and sexual violence.

The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) says it is pleased the new funds will not replace existing funding, which is said to be especially significant in Alberta, where the shelter sector has been destabilized by chronic underfunding during the eight- year provincial freeze on operational dollars and salaries.

The organization notes that agreements are to be signed between federal and provincial governments once negotiations on the terms of the cost sharing have taken place.

“Collaboration between the federal and provincial governments will be critical in seeing this plan come to fruition,” said ACWS Executive Director, Jan Reimer. “A serious investment has been a long time coming and is sorely needed so that frontline shelter workers are supported with living wages and shelter operating costs are met. These are critically important pieces needed so that shelters can focus on the intervention and prevention work they do, meeting the needs of those fleeing violence, rather than day to day fundraising to keep their doors open.”

The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters also recommends that funds be earmarked for initiatives that support children who have been exposed to violence. Augmenting shelters’ capacity to support children is felt to be an important part of the prevention work that breaks cycles of violence that can perpetuate in future generations, says ACWS.