GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SETTLEMENT SECTOR STRATEGY
Building Capacity & Collaboration
Gender-Based Violence Settlement Sector Strategy
The research that informs this strategy was conducted a few months before the COVID-19 global pandemic in early 2020. This was also a year that saw uprisings around anti-black racism and police violence, a mass shooting in Nova Scotia linked to domestic violence , and the on-going epidemic of femicide and missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.
In presenting this GBV strategy document, we are mindful that the research that grounds this strategy does not capture the shifting terrain on which settlement and anti-violence workers are supporting newcomer communities. We intentionally opted for more universal language knowing that any strategic actions taken must always be situated within the local and lived realities of the people for which we we are offering services. We hope the strategy will be a useful resource for organizations on the topic of GBV awareness, strategic priorities, and collaborative responses.
Why is a GBV Settlement Sector Strategy needed?
Our research found that no national GBV strategy currently exists for the settlement sector. Yet we know that migration stress is a key factor in shaping risks of gender-based and sexual violence. Service providers in our survey were nearly unanimous in supporting a national strategy that would prioritize:
-
Increasing coordination between settlement and anti-violence sectors
-
Challenging victim-blaming attitudes and beliefs
-
Ensuring more information/resources is provided to newcomers, immigrants, and refugees
Purpose:
This strategy sets out priorities and activities for responding to GBV for newcomers and refugees by building the capacity of service providers in both the settlement and anti-violence sectors.
It highlights the critical importance of collaboration between the anti-violence and settlement sectors as this is key for more and better information sharing, conversations and relationship building – all of which have the potential to improve safety for newcomers, immigrants, and refugees experiencing GBV
Strategic Priorities:
While there is much work to be done to prevent GBV, this strategy focuses on five key priorities for the settlement sector in collaboration with the anti-violence sector in Canada.
1. Increase access to accurate, clear, and consistent information and resources for newcomers, immigrants, and refugees about GBV
2. Challenge victim-blaming attitudes and beliefs
3. Enhance client-centred services that recognize the intersectional needs and experiences of newcomers, immigrants and refugees
4. Establish a common base of knowledge that service providers can use to increase skills, improve competencies, and incorporate best practices for responding to GBV
5. Engage men and boys in GBV awareness, education and allyship strategies
Guiding Principles For The Strategy
Anti-Racism is understanding how race and racism negatively impact indigenous and racialized peoples at all levels: Interpersonal – Institutional – Systemic. Anti-racism involves developing actions and strategies to address racism
Anti-Oppression refers to strategies, theories and actions that challenge socially and historically built inequalities and injustices that are entrenched in our systems and institutions by policies and practices that allow certain groups to dominate other groups.
Cultural safety is an approach to working across ethnic and other differences to make systems and organizations responsible for ensuring that environments are safe for everyone. This approach is compatible with and is often an embedded component of trauma and violence informed approaches. Cultural humility is ongoing reflection and learning about diverse cultures and experiences
Gender-based analysis considers all – genders, gender roles, and relationships between people of different genders. The goal of gender-based analysis in this context is to find out how to provide supportive settlement services for women, men and 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers, to recognize the gender specific needs of immigrants and refugees settling in Canada, and to respond to their needs appropriately.
Intersectionality is a theory coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, that explains how multiple forces work together and interact to reinforce conditions of inequality, social exclusion, and the roots of violence. This occurs because there are intersecting types of oppression.
Trauma and violence informed approaches are policies and practices that recognize the links between violence and trauma causing negative health outcomes. These approaches increase well-being, control and resilience for people who are looking for services related to experiences of violence or have past experiences of violence.
