Backgrounder -  Government of Canada announces funding to protect young people and advance gender equality in Montréal

Department for Women and Gender Equality – Women’s Program

One of the ways the Department for Women and Gender Equality advances gender equality in Canada is by providing funding to eligible organizations through the Women’s Program. Projects are selected via calls for proposals on specific themes, as well as through a continuous intake process that allows the Women’s Program to address emerging issues as they arise.

The Women’s Program funds projects that address systemic barriers to women’s participation and equality in Canadian society in three priority areas: ending violence against women and girls; improving the economic security and prosperity of women and girls; and encouraging women and girls in leadership roles.

Call for proposals: Funding to Advance Gender Equality in Canada

In October 2016, the Department for Women and Gender Equality (formerly Status of Women Canada) invited organizations to propose projects that advance gender equality across Canada. As of June 2017, 50 projects were approved for over $18 million in Funding to Advance Gender Equality.

Over the course of 36-months, the projects will address systemic barriers in the department’s three areas of focus: increasing women’s economic security and prosperity; encouraging women and girls to be better represented in leadership and decision-making roles; and ending violence against women and girls.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation will convene a strong, independent, pan-Canadian network of women leaders to support the women’s movement for gender equality at the national level. These leaders have been chosen for their remarkable efforts at the local level to advance gender equality with women, girls and gender non-conforming people. By creating a network of visionary women, we will broaden the reach of their efforts beyond their communities – inspiring others from across the country to add their voices and contribute their ideas towards achieving real progress.

Today’s announcement in Montréal, Québec, profiled the following project selected through Funding to Advance Gender Equality:

Prévention Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Project title: Cultivating the Culture of Consent: Working Towards Systemic Change on Sexual Harassment in Schools
Funding amount: $393,429

The project is designed to help prevent sexual violence against girls in high schools and the communities of Côte-des-Neiges and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. An advisory committee of schools and community-based organizations will ensure the development and dissemination of consistent approaches to sexual consent for youth. Policies and tools for prevention and intervention in terms of sexual harassment will also be developed and made available to schools. Project outcomes will be shared with schools and communities outside these neighbourhoods to provide a model for the creation of similar policies and practices elsewhere.

Prévention Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is a non-profit organization that, since 1988, has worked to provide residents of Montréal’s Côte-des-Neiges and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhoods with expertise and tools to help improve their quality of life. The organization works in partnership with others on a variety of community programs involving urban security, environmental protection, citizen awareness and support for vulnerable populations. The organization has significant experience working with youth in schools and the community on gender issues, such as hypersexualization, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and violence. In 2012, they were awarded the Prix Egalité by the Government of Québec for their work on gender equality.