Horizontal initiatives: 2019-20 Departmental Results Report, Women and Gender Equality Canada

It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (the Strategy) is the Government of Canada's response to gender-based violence (GBV). Its initiatives are organized across three pillars: preventing gender-based violence; supporting survivors and their families; and promoting responsive legal and justice systems. The Strategy brings together federal initiatives and aligns with provincial and territorial efforts, enabling enhanced collaboration. Women and Gender Equality Canada ensures the overall coordination of the Strategy through interdepartmental structures and policy dialogue with other key actors. In 2020-21, WAGE will build on the existing strategy and will align efforts with the Government's two related mandate commitments: to develop a National Action Plan on GBV and to address the findings of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, with concrete action, in collaboration with the lead Minister responsible, the Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations Canada.

The Government of Canada will have invested over $200 million between 2017-18 and 2022-23, and over $40 million per year ongoing starting in 2023-24, to launch and expand the Strategy. Funds allocated in 2017-18 included $100.9 million over five years, and $20.7 million per year ongoing, to support the implementation of the GBV Strategy. Additional funds allocated in 2018-19 provided $97.5 million over five years, starting in 2018-19, and $22 million per year ongoing, to expand the Strategy. Overall, the Strategy will advance shared outcomes through the following actions, to be undertaken by the six partner departments:

• Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) received funding to establish the GBV Knowledge Centre, enhance data collection and research on GBV, develop a strategy that engages youth about online GBV, fund the development and implementation of promising practices that support underserved survivors through the GBV Program, and work with stakeholders to develop and implement a framework to prevent and address GBV at post-secondary institutions (PSIs).
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) received funding to support the implementation and testing of programs to prevent child maltreatment and teen/youth dating violence, and to support the development of training and resources for health and allied professionals about GBV, trauma-informed care, and safety planning;
• Public Safety Canada (PS) received funding to enhance efforts to address online child sexual exploitation and develop preventative bullying and cyberbullying initiatives.
• Department of National Defence (DND) received funding to enhance Family Crisis Teams and to provide support to sexual assault centres in ten communities close to large Canadian Forces bases and training centres, in order to support those in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) community (CAF members, DND civilian employees, CAF family members, and Cadets) who are affected by sexual misconduct.
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) received funding to develop training related to cultural awareness and humility, and the use of trauma-informed approaches. The RCMP has developed several training courses and reference guides, for all employees, to reinforce understanding of (1) using a trauma-informed approach; (2) victims' rights; (3) consent law; (4) myths pertaining to sexual assaults, and (5) cultural awareness and inclusion. These courses and materials will improve capability across the RCMP to effectively respond to those affected by violence in a victim-centered, trauma-informed, gender- and culturally-sensitive manner. The Cultural Awareness and Humility course also serves to demonstrate the importance of appreciating and incorporating diverse perspectives and enhancing self-awareness. The RCMP also received funding to help increase its capacity to combat online child sexual exploitation, including domestic and international operational investigation, covert online operations, specialized victim identification investigation, operational research and technological solutions, and capacity to identify Canadian transnational child sex offenders.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received funding to address GBV through enhancements to the Settlement Program, including developing a coordinated approach, GBV training for settlement workers, and enhanced place based services for clients.

For more information on the Strategy: https://cfc-swc.gc.ca/violence/knowledge-connaissance/strategy-strategie-en.html

The governance of the Horizontal Initiative consists of the Director General's Coordinating Committee and the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee. These committees are responsible for the strategic leadership, development, implementation, and monitoring of the Strategy, as well as ensuring a GBA+ lens is applied to all activities.

The strategy promotes a whole-of-government approach and includes membership of federal partners, funded directly through the GBV Strategy in 2017 and 2018, and other complementary federal partners, who support the overarching goals of the Strategy. For example, by leading the horizontal coordination process on the GBV Strategy, WAGE is engaging its partners to ensure synergies with the Family Violence Initiative and the Interdepartmental Working Group on Violence and Victimization.

Meetings of the Directors General and the working level officials (Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee) respond to both emerging needs and a timetable set by WAGE in collaboration with its partners. Deputy Heads met in 2018, and will continue to engage, as required, on the implementation of the GBV Strategy and on the intersection with other related federal initiatives including the National Action Plan on Gender Based Violence (GBV).

In addition, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality formed the Advisory Council on the Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence in June 2016. The Advisory Council (AC) supported the development of the Strategy, and serves as a forum to exchange views, promising practices and research on issues related to GBV. The membership of the AC reflects a broad cross-section of sectors and stakeholders with knowledge of the diverse experiences of GBV and how it affects vulnerable populations, including women with disabilities, racialized women and girls, and LGBTQ2S groups, among others. In 2020-21, the AC is expected to continue its work with a renewed mandate to provide the Minister with advice and guidance on the implementation of the GBV Strategy, as well as other key departmental priorities and emerging issues related to GBV. WAGE will continue to play a Secretariat role and support the work of the AC.

In January 2019, WAGE established the Advisory Committee on the Framework to Prevent and Address GBV at Post-Secondary Institutions (PSIs) to provide advice and feedback on the development, consultation and implementation of the Framework. The committee had a one-year mandate.

WAGE:

In 2019-20, the Department for Women and Gender Equality continued to operationalize the Knowledge Centre (KC) and the online platform, launched in December 2018. As the focal point of the GBV Strategy, the KC facilitates the alignment of existing federal resources, coordinates new federal initiatives, supports the sharing of research and data, ensures alignment with provincial and territorial strategies, and accounts publicly for results. Between April 2019 and May 2020, the KC online platform has been visited more than 33,000 times.

To better understand the lived experiences of survivors and how to engage individuals and communities in efforts to end GBV, the Knowledge Centre awarded a number contracts to fund research on engaging men in advancing gender equality; understanding female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in the Canadian context; and the Collaborative Development and Assessment of Canadian Core Competencies for GBV Specialists and Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Access to Responsive Justice.

The Knowledge Centre is committed to working with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners. In 2019-20, the Knowledge Centre launched a call for research proposals related to gender equality and GBV, including a specific interest in Indigenous-led and co-created research. The results will be available in 2021.

WAGE continues to collaborate with Statistics Canada on three national surveys to gather much-needed data and information on GBV in public and private spaces, post-secondary environments, and workplaces. In 2019-20, the Department invested nearly $5 million in funding on the Survey on Safety in Public and Private Spaces, the Survey on Individual Safety in the Postsecondary Student Population, and the Survey on Sexual Misconduct at Work. Results completed on these surveys in 2019-20 are outlined below.

• In December 2019, the results from the Survey on Safety in Public and Private Spaces were released. This is the first national survey of its kind and it will help to build date evidence to support improved and targeted policy and interventions in the sector of GBV.
• Data for the Survey on Individual Safety in the Postsecondary Student Population was collected in the provinces between February and June 2019.

The Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions, funded by WAGE, was designed to support the development and implementation of GBV plans and policies and contributed to consistent, comprehensive and sustainable approaches to preventing and addressing GBV at PSIs, while recognizing provincial and territorial jurisdiction on post-secondary education. As a first step in developing the Framework, WAGE entered into a contribution agreement with Possibility Seeds Consulting in January 2019. In August 2019, Possibility Seeds Consulting released its report "Courage to Act: Developing a National Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions". The report was informed by advice from the Youth Advisory Committee and over 300 diverse stakeholders. With funding from WAGE, Possibility Seeds Consulting is now leading the Courage to Act project (2019-21), which will address the key gaps identified in the Framework report, such as toolkits and communities of practice for networking and information sharing.

WAGE also continued to offer funding to strengthen the GBV sector by supporting projects to develop and test promising practices to address gaps in supports for specific groups of survivors, such as underserved populations, and those who are more at risk of GBV or who are facing barriers to accessing services. In 2019-20, nearly 60 projects were being funded as part of WAGE's GBV Program.

DND:

The Department of National Defence (DND) continued to reinforce education and awareness, while ensuring that Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families are supported by services received through Family Crisis Team programming and the program funding sexual assault centres near CAF bases. DND:

• continued to ensure that each Base/Wing across Canada has an active family violence team with standardized policies and procedures in place to support their work;
• launched a Healthy Relationships Campaign in October 2019 and a suite of education materials for CAF leadership, members and families to increase the understanding of the spectrum of violence and the support services that are available in their local communities;
• announced the launch of the approved projects under the Sexual Assault Centre Contribution Program; and
• promoted a coordinated approach across DND and the CAF to ensure that all necessary stakeholders are engaged with Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence.

PHAC:

Through the Preventing Gender-Based Violence: The Health Perspective Investment, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) supported 34 projects focusing on preventing teen dating violence and child maltreatment, in addition to equipping professionals to prevent and respond safely to gender-based violence.

Projects funded through this investment included parenting support programs that teach positive relationships and alternatives to harsh discipline, such as the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting program. The investment also supported a range of school-based and community-based approaches to equip youth for healthy and safe relationships. For example, Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is delivering its PEP Talk program, which helps children build resiliency and skills to reduce abuse and bullying, in a new setting to address emerging needs.

In 2019-20, these projects directly reached 4,464 participants and 3,165 professionals in 80 sites across Canada, including schools, community centres, social service agencies, sports and recreation organizations, and sexual assault centres. Funded projects collaborated with more than 330 partners. These collaborative relationships enhanced the reach of project activities and leveraged more than $1.98 million in financial and in-kind contributions.

The Teen Dating Violence Community of Practice (CoP), led by the Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network (PREVNet), supported the projects and the broader community with learning events and capacity building activities. The CoP launched a website, shared newsletters, and hosted a series of meetings and webinars. It brought project leaders together through working groups on issues such as adapting and translating programs, engaging youth meaningfully, working safely with vulnerable populations, and developing programs with Indigenous partners. Through these activities, the Youth Dating Violence Community of Practice reached more than 189,000 professionals, researchers and service providers.

PS:

Over fiscal year 2019-20, Public Safety (PS) continued to support the Canadian Centre for Child Protection's Project Arachnid, a web-crawler that detects whether abuse content remains available on flagged websites and sends take-down notices to service providers. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, Project Arachnid issued 1,763,104 notices to service providers, which resulted in 353 companies receiving notices over the last year. In July 2019, Children of Society (COS) and its programs were transferred to PLEA Community Services Society of BC. After this transfer, PS continued to provide the Children of the Street Society (currently known as PLEA's "Safer Space" program) funding to develop targeted awareness activities related to online child sexual exploitation, including developing and delivering (which began in mid-November) over 128 preventative and educational youth workshops in order to prevent and raise awareness of online child sexual exploitation to 6,827 youth participants by March 2020. More specifically, the project gave children and youth information and practical tools to help them keep safe from online sexual exploitation. Prevention and education measures were also aimed at adults who care for, or work with young people, such as parents, caregivers, educators, service providers and allied health professionals. By March 2020, 9 workshops were presented to 147 adults/professionals.

PS also continued to support the implementation of intervention, research and communications activities aimed at preventing and addressing bullying and cyberbullying behaviours. Through the National Crime Prevention Strategy, PS began funding five new community-based projects. Two of these initiatives will undergo full process and outcome evaluations. Additionally, to increase our knowledge and understanding of cyberbullying, two research reports: Cyberbullying Research in Canada: A Systematic Review; and Cyberbullying Programs: An Environmental Scan were completed and will be publicly disseminated in the coming months via the PS website and WAGE's GBV Knowledge Centre. PS also continued to develop its cyberbullying awareness activities. In 2019-20 an RFP process was launched to recruit a creative agency to lead the development of the cyberbullying awareness campaign. The Campaign is expected to launch in 2020-21.

RCMP:

In 2019-20, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) completed the design and development of the training course "Using a Trauma-Informed Approach" which is accessible to all RCMP employees. The following courses were also developed: Consent and Common Sexual Assault Myths, Orientation for Divisional Coordinators [Sexual Assault Investigations Review Committee (SAIRC)] Course, and SAIRC Member Training. The RCMP has developed the following educational materials: the Sexual Assault Investigations Best Practice Guide, the Common Sexual Assault Investigational Gaps Guide, and the Guide for Contacting Victims of Sexual Assault, and is in the process of updating its sexual assault policy. Additionally, the RCMP finalized the design, development and pilot project for the Cultural Awareness and Humility course. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, final implementation has been delayed to 2020-21.

These training courses and educational materials provide employees with knowledge and skills that will improve responses across the RCMP. RCMP officers and employees will be able to better respond to GBV in an appropriate and culturally sensitive manner, including violence against Indigenous women and girls. GBV initiative funding was also used to support other GBV-related projects such as the KAIROS Blanket Exercise, as well as local presentations and initiatives to combat human trafficking and GBV.

The RCMP has reviewed over 30,000 sexual assault case files, and continues to use what was learned from this review to strengthen police training and awareness, investigative accountability, victim support, and public education and communication.

The RCMP continued efforts to combat online sexual exploitation of children and transnational child sex offenders. The GBV funding, coupled with existing funding under the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet, has led to several results achieved. For instance, ongoing efforts to identify victims met one of Canada's operational goals and the commitment to the WeProtect Global Alliance (formerly known as the Global Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Online), whereby the number of identified victims in the Interpol Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) Database must be increased by 10% yearly. In 2019, Canada increased the number of identified victims by approximately 32%. The RCMP National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC) is Canada's leading contributor to the ICSE DB and Canada is the third largest contributor to the ICSE DB, worldwide. The RCMP is also leading an international research study on the health and wellbeing of online child sexual exploitation employees. Although the GBV funding has led to accomplishments, rates of online child sexual exploitation have reached staggering levels that are now being exacerbated by COVID-19, which has increased workload for law enforcement. The RCMP continues to face significant challenges (capacity, training, technological advancements), leaving the safety and security of Canada's most vulnerable at risk.

IRCC:

In 2019-20, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):

• funded the development of a national strategy to better coordinate the settlement sector approach to addressing GBV;
• increased the capacity of front line settlement workers to address the issue; and
• enhanced place-based services for newcomers and refugees.

The GBV Strategy Partnership implementing the initiative is comprised of settlement and anti-violence sector organizations and has completed an initial needs assessment to identify existing initiatives, gaps, and available resources. The Partnership is exploring consistency of policies and protocols on GBV, and the development of training that is culturally competent and trauma-informed. In response to COVID-19, the Partnership completed two national webinar trainings for the settlement sector for hundreds of participants across the country, with a focus on practical tools and resources to address GBV. Additional planned training will increase the capacity of settlement and anti-violence sector workers to effectively respond to GBV for newcomers, as well as adopt a preventative response that includes engaging men and boys on the issue.

The GBV Strategy Partnership has increased collaboration amongst the settlement and anti-violence sector, as well as access to information, training, and support on family and gender-based violence.

IRCC will continue to advance promising practices for the settlement sector that address GBV issues along with effective resources for stakeholders to support a strong cross-sectoral approach.