Government of Canada launches Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre and announces critical research funding
Centralized hub to provide resources to better understand and eliminate gender-based violence, while a new Call for Proposals will gather much needed research to address gaps in knowledge
LONDON, ON, Dec. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Many Canadians continue to face violence and discrimination every day simply because of their gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender. That is why the Government of Canada is taking action to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV).
Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women Canada, officially unveiled the Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre at an event held at Western University's Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children. The GBV Knowledge Centre, housed within Status of Women Canada, will coordinate federal actions under the three pillars of Canada's first-ever federal Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence: prevention, support for survivors and their families, and the promotion of responsive legal and justice systems. This new online platform is intended for everyone who has an interest in ending gender-based violence, which may include decision makers, service providers, GBV sector organizations, academia, all orders of government, civil society organizations, students, youth, survivors and Canadians.
Minister Monsef also announced up to $5 million in funding for GBV and gender equality research projects, as part of a new Call for Proposals to support evidence-based policy and programs. The call also indicates Status of Women Canada's interest in projects that are Indigenous-led or co-created to meet the diverse needs of their communities. Findings will be shared on the GBV Knowledge Centre online platform.
Over the coming months, the GBV Knowledge Centre will continue to expand and evolve, as feedback from users will inform and refine the platform. The goal of the GBV Knowledge Centre is to become a trusted source for reliable research, data and reporting, on potential issues and promising solutions to prevent and address GBV.
Quote
"The Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre is an important part of the first-ever federal Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, and will be a critical platform to connect service providers, community organizations, academics, governments, and survivors. We're here in London because, like many communities across Canada, it is an excellent example of where information and community partnerships exist. As a federal government, our role is as a convener of knowledge and to help create the conditions to grow the middle class. The Knowledge Centre will better coordinate solutions and resources that will make a real impact in peoples' lives. The new Call for Proposals will also help provide much-needed data and research that will fill gaps in knowledge to help eliminate gender-based violence across Canada. These are two new and concrete actions that our government is taking to help ensure that all Canadians ? regardless of gender ? have an equal and fair chance at success."
The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Status of Women
Quick Facts
- On June 19, 2017, the Government of Canada announced It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, the first federal strategy of its kind. Funded partners under the GBV Strategy include Status of Women Canada; the Public Health Agency of Canada; Public Safety Canada; the Department of National Defence; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
- In addition to the original $100.9 million committed in Budget 2017, Budget 2018 announced $86 million over five years, starting in 2018?19, and $20 million per year ongoing, to expand the Strategy. New investments will focus on preventing teen dating violence, enhancing and developing preventative bullying and cyberbullying initiatives, equipping health professionals to provide appropriate care to victims, among other actions. Additionally, Budget 2018 will expand the RCMP sexual assault review and support training and awareness of officers, as well as establish a National Framework to Address Gender-based Violence in Post-Secondary Institutions.
- To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $200 million in measures, both within and outside the Strategy, to prevent and address gender-based violence.
- The new Call for Proposals is being delivered by Public Services and Procurement Canada on behalf of Status of Women Canada and will result in contracts. The call will complement Status of Women's work with Statistics Canada on three national surveys which will result in much needed data and information on sexual harassment and gender-based violence in public and private spaces, post-secondary environments and workplaces.
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Backgrounder
Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre
Currently, there is no single platform that compiles federal activities and evidence related to gender-based violence (GBV). During consultations with Canadians in 2016, Status of Women Canada (SWC) consistently heard that there was a need for a centralized hub of information and research to better coordinate actions on GBV. Stakeholders and members of the Minister's Advisory Council on the Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence championed the needs of researchers, policy and program analysts, survivors, and service providers. As a result, the GBV Knowledge Centre was created to help bridge the gaps in knowledge on GBV.
The GBV Knowledge Centre, housed within SWC, is the focal point of It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. Announced in June 2017, the federal GBV Strategy is based on three pillars; prevention, support for survivors and their families, and promotion of responsive legal and justice systems. Part of the Strategy includes establishing a GBV Knowledge Centre to align existing resources and serve to coordinate government actions under these three pillars. The GBV Knowledge Centre is responsible for coordination, compilation of data and research, reporting, and knowledge mobilization.
An important function and focus of the GBV Knowledge Centre will be to provide a place for researchers, stakeholders, and service groups already working to end GBV to access relevant and up-to-date information and evidence on the issue. For interested individuals, organizations, and communities to access timely, relevant information and evidence, the GBV Knowledge Centre compiles resources and research into a single online platform. It also provides a searchable database, which brings together existing data and evidence on GBV-related content.
The GBV Knowledge Centre will continue to evolve and expand in the coming months, and will include more varied sources of information, and tailored knowledge mobilization tools. Feedback from users will continue to inform and refine the platform as the GBV Knowledge Centre becomes a trusted source on the potential problems and promising solutions to prevent GBV.
The GBV Knowledge Centre will have information on testing and implementing practices, which will aim to strengthen the capacity of service providers to address knowledge and support gaps for diverse populations, which could include: women and girls, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2 community members, gender non-binary individuals, those living in northern, rural, and remote communities, people with disabilities and exceptionalities, newcomers, children and youth, and seniors.
Call for Proposals
To address the need for research and data gathering on GBV and gender equality, a new Call for Proposals (CFP) has been issued in conjunction with the launch of the GBV Knowledge Centre.
The CFP is being delivered by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) on behalf of SWC and will result in research contracts. The maximum project funding is up to $1 million, applicable taxes included, per contract until March 31, 2020. The total approximate funding available for all contracts is $5 million (2018-20). The CFP will be hosted on PSPC's Buyandsell.gc.ca website. All inquiries related to the CFP should be directed to April Campbell ([email protected]).
Proposals must fill knowledge gaps in support of key populations, which could include: Indigenous peoples; women and girls; men and boys; LGBTQ2 individuals; visible minorities; those living in northern, rural, and remote communities; people with disabilities; newcomers; children and youth; and seniors. The CFP indicates SWC's interest in projects that are Indigenous-led or co-created to meet the diverse needs of their communities.
All projects funded under the new CFP will share their findings and data with the GBV Knowledge Centre. The new CFP will also complement SWC's work with Statistics Canada on three national surveys that will gather data on GBV and gender equality in in public and private spaces, post-secondary environments and workplaces.
Associated Links
- GBV Knowledge Centre
- Call for Proposals
- It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
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