January 2, 2020
In September 2017, the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth launched a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Project (GBVP) through the YMCA Centre for Immigrant Programs, with funding from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The Project’s focus is on working with newcomer children, youth, and families to raise awareness about gender-based violence and how to access available resources within their community.
It also emphasizes the capacity-building of service providers to engage, support, and better understand how gender-based violence impacts newcomer communities. Programming developed through the GBVP puts a spotlight on building healthy relationships, strong families, and providing information about preventing gender-based violence.
The success of the program has now inspired expansion to a national level. Earlier this year, four organizations from the anti-violence and settlement sectors partnered to begin collaborative work on developing a strategy to address gender-based violence (GBV) for newcomers and refugees. Over the next three years, with input from the settlement and anti-violence sectors, and through funding from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), this project will support settlement sector capacity building and a shared base of knowledge with a coordinated, comprehensive approach. Visit the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth’s website for more information.