Appendix C (networks, coalitions and advisory bodies): Population-specific HIV/AIDS status report: Women

Appendix C

1. Population-specific Networks, Coalitions and Advisory Bodies

National

  • Blueprint for Action on Women & Girls and HIV and AIDS in Canada
  • Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network Voices of Women Committee (CAAN VOW Committee)
  • Canadian Women’s Health Network
  • Centres of Excellence for Women’s Health
  • Correctional Service of Canada’s Infectious Disease Strategy for Women Offenders
  • Women-Centred Harm Reduction: Gendering the National Framework (BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and Coalescing on Women and Substance Use)

Colombie-Britannique

  • Canadian National Coalition of Experiential Women
  • Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resources Society
  • Positive Women’s Network
  • West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals of Vancouver

Québec

  • Stella, l’amie de Maimie

Ontario

  • Development Coordinator positions in key communities across Ontario
  • Maggie’s- The Toronto’s Prostitutes’ Community Project
  • Ontario HIV Pregnancy Planning Initiative
  • Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy
  • Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work Educate and Resist (POWER)
  • Prenatal HIV Testing Program
  • Women and HIV/AIDS Working Group
  • Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative, including the establishment of Women and HIV/AIDS Community

Atlantique

  • ACNL/ Oxfam Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
  • Advisory Council on the Status of Women
  • Sex Trade Action Committee
  • Stepping Stones

2. Organizations Involved in the Delivery of Programs and Time-Limited Projects (2006-2009) Addressing HIV/AIDS among Women in Canada

Some of the hyperlinks provided are to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the  Official Languages Act. The material found there is therefore in the language(s) used by the sites in question.

Note: Project number followed by an asterisk (*) include women projects that are part of a larger response; all other projects target women specifically.

National

Battlefords Family Health Centre
Project W1 (*): Circle of Change: Reducing Harm
Part of the project entails high-risk Aboriginal Women’s drop-in support group focusing on reducing harm in sexual health and intravenous drug use (IDU)

Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network
Project W2 (*): Culturally Appropriate Harm Reduction Program Development: Four Best Practice Approaches to Reducing Harm Associated with Injection Drug Use (and Other Substances) in Aboriginal Communities
Part of the project targets Aboriginal women and harm reduction.  Its goal is to implement best practices approaches to reducing harm associated with injection drug use within Aboriginal Communities.

Correctional Service of Canada
Project W3: Women Offender Substance Abuse Programming
A holistic program that targets other areas of women’s lives, including issues linked to sexuality, past experiences of abuse, relationship issues linked to intimate partners, etc.

Project W4: Programs for Survivors of Abuse and Trauma
Project focusses on women who are in prisons and are survivors of family abuse and trauma or intimate partner violence.

Project W5: Prisoners at federal prison for women run HIV/AIDS education and support group
Support group created at the Edmonton Institution for Women, offers support to women in prison on HIV/AIDS, Hep-C and harm reduction.

Healing Our Nations, Non-reserve Fund
Project W6 (*): Finding Our Voices
Part of the project aims at planning and delivering educational HIV/AIDS sessions focusing on women's issues.

Ka Ni Kanichihk (Those Who Lead)
Project W7: Aboriginal Women Responding to AIDS Crisis (AWRAC)
Project focusing on Aboriginal women.

Native Women's Shelter of Montreal
Project W8: Harm Reduction
Project focusing on Aboriginal women.

British Columbia

AIDS Network Kootenay Outreach and Support Society (ANKORS)
Project W9: Girl Power
Workshop that looks at linkages between low female self-esteem /risky activity and their connection to HIV. Focus is put on female body image and its media portrayal. Strategies for girls valuing themselves are explored.

AIDS Vancouver, Positive Women’s Network and Oak Tree Clinic
Project W10: Sahwanya Community Kitchen
Project focuses on African WHAs.

Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS Project
Project W11: The ORCHID project: Outreach and Research in Community Health Initiatives and Development
Project targets Asian female sex workers employed in massage parlours and escort agencies throughout Vancouver and BC Lower Mainland.

Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Project W12: HIV and Harm Reduction
Project's goal is to support women who are affected by HIV and AIDS to access harm reduction, medical services and community resources.

Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation
Project W13: Project's goal is to build and expand the agency's outreach and access programs for female PHAs living in the B.C. Lower Mainland.

Healing Our Spirit
Project W14: Around the kitchen table
Project that empowers Aboriginal women, with an emphasis on those living in remote communities, to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS by reinstating their traditional roles, and joining them in a community network of support and education.

Interior Indian Friendship Society
Project W15: Rights of Passage
Project targets Aboriginal female youth.

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Corrections Branch
Project W16: University partners with provincial prison for women- participatory action research empowers prisoners
Peer-driven project that identified pressing health issues within the prison system, including access to health care in prison, and also issues affecting the ins and outs of women in prison.

National Congress of Black Women Foundation
Project W17: Peer-based outreach
Project distributes prevention material to Black Women and offers support group for Black women affected by HIV/AIDS (local scope)

PHS Community Services Society (with British Columbia, Health Canada, Vancouver Coastal Health)
Project W18: The Rainier Hotel
Project provides alcohol- and drug-free housing for women in transition of detox. Twenty beds will be for former sex-trade workers who are self-referred or referred through their detox program.

Positive Women's Network and YouthCo
Project W19: Support Program for HIV-Positive Women (PWN)

Project W20: Women’s Initiatives for Support and Education (WISE) Project (PWN and YouthCo)

Project W21: Positive Players: Sexual Health for Women in their Middle Years (PWN)

Women’s Information Safe House (WISH) Drop-In Centre Society
Project W22: HIV/AIDS and Survival Sex Worker Project (Sex workers)

Project W23: A Mobile and Peer-Driven HIV Prevention Model with Street-based Sex workers (pending approval)

Project W24: MAKA Project

Vancouver Coastal Health Project W25: Sheway: A Community project for women and children Project located in Vancouver DTES providing health and social service supports to pregnant women and women with infants who are dealing with drug and alcohol issues; the focus is to help women have healthy pregnancies and positive early parenting experiences.

Vancouver Native Health Society
Project W26: Positive Women, Positive Spaces: A Community-Based Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS for Urban Aboriginal Women
Project goal is to launch a pilot project addressing the links between violence and risk for HIV infection amongst Aboriginal women living in Vancouver's DTES by creating and evaluating a women's-only clinic night.

VANDU (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users) Women’s Group
Project W27: Women Care
Project focuses on vulnerable women (i.e. street-involved sex workers who use injection drugs).

YouthCo
Project W28: WISER Project
Project focuses on increasing life and employment skills of young women living with HIV.

(In B.C., the Provincial Health Services Authorities created an agency, the B.C. Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, which is devoted primarily for women, their children and families.  Some programs are dedicated exclusively to women living with HIV/AIDS).

Northern (No women-specific project was found)

Alberta

Calgary Birth Control Association
Project W29: Sexual Self-Esteem as a HIV Prevention Tool
Project focused on empowering young women to make positive choices to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association
Project W30: I CARE - Immigrant Community AIDS Resources and Education

Central Alberta Immigrant Women’s Association
Project W31: HIV Prevention Programs for Immigrant and Refugee in Red Deer

Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative Ltd.
Project W32: Prevention Messages for Immigrants and Refugees - Edmonton

Shift Calgary
Project W33: Shift provides support, outreach, education, advocacy, referrals and counselling to individuals involved in, or those who have been involved in, the sex trade, using a harm reduction-based approach.

Saskatchewan/Manitoba

AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan Project W34: Ribbons of Hope Program Program designed to help women take more effective control of their lives; feel better about themselves and their families.  Empowering individuals to make successful transitions and help build coping skills, as well as building a positive attitude.

Project W35: Sisters Connect
Weekly support/coffee group for women living with HIV/ AIDS (or those at risk).

All Nations Hope AIDS Network (ANHAN)
Project W36: Voices of Women (VOW)
Project focuses on HIV/AIDS-related issues affecting Aboriginal women.

Kali-Shiva Society, Inc.
Project W37: Positive Women Communicating for Change
Project focuses on women living with HIV/AIDS.

Ontario

Access AIDS Network (formerly known as ACCESS - The AIDS Committee of Sudbury)
Project W38 (*): Programme Community Education and Prevention
Part of this project aims to increase the knowledge of HIV/AIDS among women.

Africans in Partnership against AIDS Project W39: African Women Discussion Network (African Women Skills Building) Support service available to all women living with HIV/AIDS who self-identify as persons of colour (may originate from diverse communities).  It provides clients with an opportunity to receive skills building training related to living with HIV/AIDS, and personal support; to share information and experiences; and to receive counselling (project in collaboration with Voices of Positive Women, Black-CAP and Women’s Health in Women’s Hands).

Project W40: African, Caribbean and Continental African Youth and Family Support
Project provides girls/women 16-18 years and up healthy sexual education in a culturally appropriate context, as well as in a supportive environment to PHAs, their partners, family and friends

Project W41: The Muslim Girls Project
Project engages Muslim community in Toronto in addressing gender-specific issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Project W42: The Health Promotion and Skills Development Project for African and Caribbean Women living with HIV/AIDS.
Project seeks to promote the health and well-being of African and Caribbean women living with HIV/AIDS and to foster skills through increased access to information and services.

Project W43: Community Kitchen
Project brings women together once a month to share food, chat, tell stories, and educate them on issues related to HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health.  This is a partnership program offered jointly through APAA, ACT, Black CAP and Voices of Positive Women.

AIDS Committee of Durham Region
Project W44: Positive Living: Long-Term Survivor Health Promotion Resource Development & Training Project.
Through community kitchens and peer support, this project provides opportunities for HIV+ African women to empower one another, access HIV/AIDS information in a supportive setting, and build knowledge and skills to meet their health care needs.

AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT)
Project W45 (*): Positive Youth Outreach: Health Promotion and Outreach to HIV-Positive Youth
Part of this project offers monthly women-specific support/drop-in groups.

Project W46 (*): Health Promotion for People Living with HIV/AIDS
Part of the work involves increasing the capacity of WHAs to enhance their health and well-being.

Project W47: Treatment Options and Wellness Retreat
In partnership with Voices of Positive Women, the project aims to implement a Treatment Options and Wellness Retreat in 2007 for HIV+ women from across Ontario.

AIDS Support Chatham-Kent
Project W48 (*): Prevention Education and Outreach
Part of the project seeks to provide outreach to women involved in sex work.

Project W49: Women HIV/AIDS: Safety, Sex and STIs
Project aims to train female PHAs to deliver HIV/AIDS and STI prevention, risk and treatment information to at-risk women in Thunder Bay who are not currently connected to these services.

Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention
Project W50: Desi Women HIV/AIDS Prevention Project
Project focuses on HIV prevention education for South Asian women aged 25-55 years.

Asian Community AIDS Services
Project W51: Asian Women-at-Risk Education and Outreach Project
Project aims to increase Asian Canadian women’s and transwomen’s access to HIV/STI prevention and sexual health messages and services.

Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention
Project W52 (*): AIDS Prevention
Part of the project aims to design and print a resource for newly diagnosed women.

East York and East Toronto Family Resources Organization
Project W53: AWARE: Assisting Women in AIDS-Related Education

Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto
Project W54: Work Safe: Sex Worker’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and STI Prevention and Support Project
Project addresses barriers to accessing appropriate and relevant health services, including information about HIV/AIDS, faced by female sex trade workers.

Ethiopian Association in the GTA and the Surrounding Regions
Project W55 (*): Ethiopian Association HIV/AIDS Prevention Project
Part of this project is to proceed with a second awareness campaign that specifically targets women.

Project W56: Young Women’s Health Sexuality Project
Project aims to provide workshops and discussion groups for a minimum of 50 young women.

MAGGIE’s - The Toronto Prostitute Community Service Project
Project W57: Aboriginal Sex Worker Outreach and Education Project
Project aims at providing female Aboriginal sex workers with specific prevention and support programs.

Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy)
Project W58: The Strategy has developed a pamphlet on harm reduction for Aboriginal women.

Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres
Project W59: Awakening the Spirit
Project provides physician and healthcare providers with an understanding of Aboriginal colonial history, Aboriginal perspectives on health, wellness and spirituality, and Aboriginal harm reduction in relation to Aboriginal women at risk of, and living with, HIV/AIDS and/or hepatitis C and other STIs.

Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network
Project W60: Women’s Program
This program provides HIV prevention education, support services, release planning and case management specific to the needs of women in prison and recently released women.

Centre de santé communautaire Côte-de-Sable
Project W61: Oasis Women’s Drop-In
Medical and social support for women with, or at risk of, HIV and hepatitis C (only for women who use drugs or work in sex trade).

Somali Immigrant AID Organization Project W62 (*): AIDS Prevention:  Community Voice Part of this project aims at providing 4 HIV/AIDS workshops; 2 specific to Somali teenage females 15 to 24 years of age; and 2 that are specific to Somali women 25 years of age and older. 

South Riverdale Community Health Centre
Project W63: Women’s Harm Reduction
This project is for women who use illicit drugs and/or are working in the sex trade.  This program works to acknowledge those challenges and develop responsive, supportive programming.

The Living Room Program, AIDS Committee of Ottawa
Project W64: African-Caribbean Women’s Group in Ottawa
Tthe African and Caribbean women living with HIV/AIDS in Ottawa need their own confidential space where they can come together to share their experiences about living with HIV/AIDS, support each other and share information and resources.  African and Caribbean women living with HIV/AIDS have access to the living room once a week.

The Teresa Group
Project W65: Support, financial and counselling services
Project seeks to provide support, financial and counselling services.

Project W66: The infant formula program
Project offers free formula to new mothers who are HIV+.

Toronto Hospital for Sick Children
Project W67: Motherisk Program
Within this larger program, Motherisk provides women with free, confidential counselling about the risk of HIV infection and HIV treatment during pregnancy.

Voices of Positive Women Project W68: Peer Network Community Collaboration Program Project provides capacity-building workshops for service providers and HIV+ women; peer support and information to HIV+ women through the peer mentorship and networking.  It also offers joint programs with community partners and regional training sessions for peer mentors; develops HIV+ women-specific print and web-based resources.

Project W69: Community-Based AIDS Education and Support Program

Project W70: Community Connections Project
Project provides one-on-one confidential information on HIV/AIDS for women who reside in the East Scarborough area.

Women’s Health in Women’s Hands
Project W71: HIV Education, Prevention for African and Caribbean Women

Project W72: Women’s Health in Women’s Hands HIV/AIDS Education Program:  Sharing our Model of Care

Project W73: African and Caribbean HIV Community Capacity-Building Project (national scope)

Project W74: Negotiating Disclosure:  an HIV Serostatus Disclosure Model for African and Caribbean Women
Project addresses the funding priority of reducing systemic barriers to improve access to health services for at-risk women and women living with HIV/AIDS from the African and Caribbean communities.

Québec

CatWoman Project (aims to inform sex workers of modes of HIV and STI transmission, and promotes safer sex behaviour; and offers medical accompaniments; vaccination clinics, clinical testing-pregnancy and STIs)

Project W75: St-Jérôme (Centre Sida Amitié)

Project W76: Iris Estrie (Sherbrooke)

Project W77: Valleyfield (PACT de rue)

Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais; Local Health Agency
Project W78: Femmes de la rue
Project that ensures sex workers have access to appropriate resources, for example, by accompanying sex workers to appointments and ensuring the availability of safe injection equipment.

Bureau local d’intervention traitant du sida
Project W79: Les femmes face au VIH/sida
Project aims to educate women and teenagers on sexual health and the adoption of safer sex behaviour and train women’s organization workers to enhance intervention among this clientele regarding sexual health. 

CACTUS Montréal
Project W80: Trans-Positive :  Trans HIV/AIDS Community Health Project
Project aims to prevent HIV and hepatitis C infection among transsexual and transgender men and women principally from the Montreal region, as well as other regions of Québec.  Educational workshops on these infections will be given to this group.  Workshops pertaining to the reality experienced by this population will be given to health professionals to improve accessibility to their services.  A brochure will be developed and distributed to those targeted by the project.

Centre femmes aux trois A
Project W81: Les femmes et leur santé sexuelle… vers une prise en charge
Project for women who are victims of any and all forms of violence, or are at risk thereof (i.e. shelters).  Via a series of workshops, the project provides these women with knowledge and skills to better manage their sexual well-being and be in a position to adopt safer sex practices.

Project W82: Joue pas avec ma vie
Prevention information and awareness project on STBBIs.  It does not propose sexual or drug abstinence to women, rather, it encourages them to empower themselves by adopting safer practices for healthier living.

Centre for AIDS Services Montreal (Women)
Project W83: Projet d’accompagnement et de soutien des personnes réfugiées séropositives.
Project to provide support to HIV-positive persons who have either obtained refugee status or are awaiting refugee status, in order to facilitate their integration and prevent social isolation, which can affect their health

Project W84: Positivement femmes
This project, conducted in Montreal shelters for abused women, provides sexual health prevention.  The goal is to make abused women aware of the risks associated with STBBIs, help them to develop communication skills to deal with sexuality, and enable them to negotiate safe sex.

Project W85: Femmes +
Salaries of Executive Director and Prevention Officer in order to give services to women living with HIV/AIDS, mostly in a multicultural environment.

Émiss-ère (Équipe multidisciplinaire d’intervention en santé sexuelle)
Project W86: Support, entraide et promotion de la santé sexuelle auprès des travailleuses du sexe
Project aims to equip sex trade workers to adopt safe behaviour regarding HIV and other blood-borne and sexually transmitted diseases.  The project provides support, care and referral services.  The project also addresses the creation of supportive environments through the de-stigmatization of prejudices within the community settings and work places of these women.

Project W87 Les femmes et leur santé sexuelle
Project aims to enhance women’s attitudes, knowledge and skills to take charge of their sexual health. 

Femmes autochtones du Québec inc.
Project W88: Les femmes autochtones victimes de violence et leur santé sexuelle…vers une prise en charge
Project providing six sexual health workshops for abused Aboriginal women.  The goal is to provide training on sexuality for social workers from native women's shelters and to hold workshops for Aboriginal women residing at the shelters.  The shelters are located across Quebec.

Groupe d’action pour la prévention de la transmission du VIH et l’éradication du sida Project W89: Par elles, pour elles, pour la vie - By Her, for Her, for Life Project in partnership involving: 1- adapting and implementing an intervention program that empowers Montreal Anglophone WHAs in situations involving disclosure of their HIV-positive status; 2- training social workers and beneficiaries of partner community groups in the use of the « Femmes d'abord » program (both English and French versions); and 3- organizing a regional forum on the experience of women living with HIV.

Refuge Juan Morena
Project W90: Femmes en santé- Healthy Women 

Sidaction Trois-Rivières
Project W91: CatWoman Mauricie (Aboriginal women targeted)

Sida-vie Laval
Project W92: Sphère de Venus
Project aims to educate and offer support and services to sex workers with HIV/AIDS.  An outreach worker is hired to go to erotic bars, providing women with condoms and information on hepatitis vaccination, HIV testing and STIs.  The goal of the project is to support and provide intervention for sex workers.

STELLA, l’amie de Maimie
Project W93: Des ailes pour notre avenir (Wings for our Future)

Project W94: Prévenir le VIH et autres ITS par la consolidation et le développement du travail de rue/HIV and STI Prevention

Project W95: Plusieurs projets sur les travailleuses du sexe/Several projects designed for sex trade workers; Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal/Montreal Health and Social Services

Projet W96: Sex worker and HIV-prevention organization engages women prisoners through creative writing and art
Creation of the Magazine Constellation by women in prisons for women in prisons

Unité d’intervention mobile l’Anonyme
Project W97Hey fille! Mets tes culottes/Hey Girl! Stand up for yourself
Project dedicated to empowering young women (14-30 years old) on prevention and sex education.

Atlantic

AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia
Project W98:  Community HIV/AIDS Sex Worker Leadership Program

AIDS Nouveau-Brunswick
Project W99: Project WIN
The goal of the project is to increase the use of the Needle Exchange Program by women. Therefore, decreasing the spread of HIV and hepatitis C and also providing a safe means for needle disposal.  This project will survey women who use intravenous drugs to determine how the Needle Exchange Program could be improved.  The funding will also be used to upgrade the appearance of the Needle Exchange facility.

Coverdale Centre for Women Inc. (Nouveau-Brunswick)
Project W100: Substance Abuse Program for women in prisons and halfway house for women transitioning to the community from prisons.

Stepping Stone
Project W101: Sex workers

Page details

Date modified: