National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence announced in Ontario: OCRCC responds

This letter was sent to provincial and federal political leaders connected to the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence in November 2023.

Dear Honourable Minister Ien, Honourable Williams and Honourable Minister Parsa, 

We are writing from the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) to acknowledge planning for the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) is an equity-seeking network of community-based rape crisis/sexual assault centres across Ontario, committed to leading social transformation that prevents and eliminates sexual violence. Our membership includes 30+ community-based Anglophone sexual assault centres across Ontario. Member centres have been supporting survivors of sexual violence and offering prevention education since 1977: services include counselling to survivors of recent and historical sexual violence, accompaniment to hospital, police and court, advocacy and crisis support. Comprehensive community awareness and prevention programming on sexual violence are offered by all member centers of our Coalition as part of their core services. 

We appreciate your commitment to work with sector organizations and experts such as OCRCC and community-based sexual assault centres to address gender-based violence, including sexual violence. As you are aware, advocates including OCRCC developed a Roadmap for the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence in 2021. The implementation of Ontario’s province-specific strategy was announced in November 2023[1],[2].

OCRCC has had an active role in a number of gender-based violence governmental plans over many years[3]. It is our experience that successful gender-based violence plans include genuine and ongoing involvement of gender-based violence survivors, organizations and other experts. Plans must build on and reflect the existing work of the sector. Successful planning must also acknowledge the realities and contexts facing survivors of violence and the organizations that support them. Finally, a federal Ministry’s prioritizing of gender-based violence must be echoed by other Ministries and elements of government.

As Ontario announces its Ontario-specific component of the National Action Plan on Gender-based Violence, we write now to identify our concerns about the process so far, to make recommendations for effective next steps, and to request a meeting with one or more of you. Significant progress to address violence can be made as a result of strong leadership. We would look forward to working with you in this critical new phase of addressing gender-based violence. 

Successful gender-based violence prevention and response planning includes genuine and intentional involvement of gender-based violence survivors, organizations and experts

We congratulate the Ministry for Women and Gender Equality for establishing bilateral agreements in a number of provinces and territories[4]. Plans for Ontario’s province-specific strategy was announced in November 2023[5]: we are pleased to hear that it includes $162 million over a four-year strategy.

We thank you for engaging us and many others in the federal engagement process conducted between 2017-2020 and community consultations in 2021. However, engagement of sector experts must be continuous. Last year, a statement by sector advocates noted that for the Action Plan to be successful, it requires diverse consultation and input: the “voices and experiences of people most affected at the centre [including] people living in rural and remote areas, Indigenous people, Black people, people with disabilities, racialized people, non-binary and trans people, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, and migrant people”[6] and others that face barriers to reaching help. Sustained engagement of survivors and sector experts is a part of this. Moreover, the Guiding principles of the National Action Plan specifically reference the importance of “support[ing] community-based, community centred approaches”[7], and working closely with sector experts.

Notwithstanding, there is a current sense of disengagement to the National Action Plan. While we cannot speak to other jurisdictions, it is our recent experience that, until the November announcement, across Ontario – from regional service organizations to provincial organizations in the justice, settlement, sexual violence and other sectors – few gender-based violence organizations and experts had an understanding of the state of the National Action Plan. We see this as a missed opportunity, however one that can still be captured. Expertise exists in our sector. This expertise can be drawn upon to create effective planning. As example, sexual assault centres work with hidden populations of victims. These populations include racialized survivors of violence; survivors from the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community; survivors with complex safety or confidentiality issues, such as youth and victims of human trafficking; and survivors who are not engaged with the criminal justice system[8],[9].

We want the National Action Plan to make real change. Gender-based violence organizations, such as sexual assault centres and others, are uniquely well-positioned to offer insights that can guide a national plan. We ask that you meaningfully connect with us and other experts now, so that consultation and input can be a live and ongoing component of the Plan’s progression. Specifically, we ask you to include us as experts on sexual violence prevention, support, and systems change priorities that can lead to better outcomes for sexual violence survivors.

The National Action Plan must build on and reflect the existing work of the sector

We agree that gender-based violence can be addressed with a commitment to multiple areas, as reflected in the National Action Plan pillars. We laud your plans to invest in these areas. We note that the areas (pillars) of Prevention and Support for Survivors and their Families have seen past investment by government and funders, including your own Ministries. Much work by gender-based violence organizations and groups already address these areas, but are vastly under-resourced. For example, comprehensive awareness and prevention programming is offered by all member centers of our Coalition as part of their core services in Ontario communities. In addition, many programs already exist in Ontario at sexual assault centres and other organizations, providing support for survivors and their families.

We must make clear that sexual violence differs from other forms of violence. Sexual assault has the lowest rate of reporting to police amongst all violent crimes, with only 6% of incidents coming to the attention of police[10], and few cases resolved in the criminal justice system. Stigma, isolation and silence surround sexual violence. Many survivors wish to acknowledge about their experiences, but fear the reactions of others: anticipating negative responses can isolate and silence survivors of sexual violence[11] even further. Common misconceptions also minimize the real effects of sexual violation, which can include physical injuries, reproductive health effects, and chronic health conditions related to stress[12]. An inability to name sexual violence makes it harder for survivors to recognize its impacts and get support. On the other hand, the benefits of talking about one’s experience of sexual violence in a safe setting are “associated with improved psychological health, increased comfort, support, and validation”[13], as well as holding perpetrators accountable.

We note that your announcement did not reference sexual violence. We ask you to make naming and addressing sexual violence a priority: it will make a difference to sexual violence survivors, and create a more well-rounded gender-based violence plan for Ontario. As the media questions at the announcement made clear, Ontario is keen for solutions to address sexual violence. Many high-profile sexual violence cases have occurred over the last few years, including incidents of sexual violence in sports[14]: sexual violence must be a part of the National Action Plan on gender-based violence.

The National Action Plan must also build on and reflect existing prevention and support work. For example, community-based sexual violence support services need intentional investment. Community-based sexual violence supports differ from police and criminal justice investments. Community-based sexual assault centre competencies include believing survivors as a foundational approach to support; culturally safe services and trauma-informed services; applied anti-racist, anti-oppressive, intersectional approaches [15]; and agencies delivering dedicated sexual assault services, offering a continuum of support options[16]. The sector will agree that government dollars in gender-based violence are too-often allocated to new work or time-limited projects, instead of investing in the stability and continuity of existing services. The Canadian Women’s Foundation notes that “while helpful in some ways, project-to-project funding creates sustainability issues and increases work for organizations who struggle to keep the community engaged and retain their staff once project funding finishes”[17]. Project funding is a symptom of systemic inequities facing organizations serving services for women and gender-diverse people: it provides, yet signals precarity and unsustainability. As opposed to core increases or unrestricted dollars, project funding keeps gender-based violence organizations precarious, “funded partially and irregularly”[18]. This translates into inadequate resources and service limitations for survivors of violence, particularly limited-term services addressing the needs of young, Indigenous, racialized or other marginalized populations of survivors—who are often the subjects of project and pilot work.

In order to be sustainable, plans must build on and reflect the existing work of the sector, instead of tendering new projects. The 2021 report created to inform the National Action Plan noted that the plan must acknowledge the sectors’ “specialized expertise and past and current work on these issues”, and “centre the role of these forms and locations of knowledge in the effort to scale up”[19]. We ask that you begin with stabilising existing programs, and building the capacity of these. We are hopeful that the National Action Plan already reflects this premise.

Successful gender-based violence prevention and response planning must acknowledge the realities and contexts facing survivors of violence and the organizations that support them

More and more, survivors of violence are reaching out for support. In 2021, OCRCC member sexual assault centres reported responding to over 37,500 crisis calls (phone, text, online chat) while in 2019, this number was 23,000. Centres also saw over 6400 people in counselling (individual and group)—up from 5400 in 2019 . In Ontario, shelters for gender-based violence victims are consistently full, leaving survivors and their children with limited options to flee abuse. The prevalence of gender-based violence is also increasing. Statistics Canada found that reported sexual assault rates in 2021 were at their highest since 1996 . This past year, the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH) revealed that in just thirty weeks, thirty femicide victims have lost their lives to gender-based violence in Ontario . This trend continues. And while femicide rates overall are appalling, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people in Canada are at even greater risk of being targeted . 

At the frontlines, we are aware that the pandemic worsened pre-existing social and economic vulnerabilities. Women, girls and gender diverse people, for example, faced risks “including sexual exploitation and abuse, unequal access to assistance, discrimination in aid provision…and violence”[24],[25]. Racialized communities, impoverished families “and other groups that have traditionally been marginalized, tend to be harmed by a disaster more”[26], and have less access to resources[27]. Ontario sexual assault centres have seen these realities reflected in support-seeker food insecurity, sexual exploitation, and increasingly complex survivor needs: in a 2022 survey, 96% of Ontario sexual assault centre respondents said that survivors in their community are facing increased income insecurity, or food insecurity (85%)[28].

Community-based sexual violence services provide an economical benefit for all: these services provide free support to anyone in the community (that is, victims do not have to pay for counselling or other supports), create local community-based jobs, often employing women and gender-diverse people, and address large social problems at reasonable prices. When these services aren’t available, survivors turn to more costly services such as emergency rooms, family doctors, or income support programs. These are but a few of the new and evolving challenges to providing gender-based violence supports in the current moment Ontarians are in—that is, amidst “pandemic fallout, affordability crisis” and other contexts[29]. The crisis in emergency shelter space and affordable housing are also timely examples.

Successful gender-based violence plans acknowledge the realities facing survivors and the organizations that support them, and aim to be responsive to these. For many organizations, the reality is that service requests and financial pressures are up, and current funding levels are not adequate to meet service demands. Community gender-based violence service organizations are at risk, and so are the vulnerable people they serve. We, as a sector, are doing our part; but more resources need to be directed towards addressing these threats. We believe that with appropriate planning, the National Action Plan can respond to these realities.

Federal Ministry’s prioritizing of gender-based violence must be echoed by provincial Ministries

Despite increased service demand over many years at sexual assault centres, there has been little sustained increase in funding from provincial government. For example, most Ontario sexual assault centres have been operating since the 1990s. During this time, the number of survivors accessing crisis counselling and long-term counselling has multiplied—in some regions by up to 4 times^[30]; yet funding has simply not kept pace. In 2018, the then-Ontario government announced an approximate 33% increase to the sexual violence sector in Ontario. The 2018 announcement would have meant a significant increase for Ontario’s community-based sexual assault centres. Despite this, under the current provincial government, the funding increase never became reality[31].

Other arms of government have recognized the need for a better-resourced gender-based violence response. The federal plan is a sign of this. In the last two years, 9 Ontario towns and cities have endorsed a resolution recognizing the need for more sexual violence prevention and support services, and asking the province to increase sustainable funding to sexual assault centres. Moreover, 63 communities in Ontario have declared gender-based violence an epidemic (see the map of communities here). Despite this, the province has rejected calls to follow suit . An effective action plan to address gender-based violence must see a prioritizing of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, at all levels of government.

Here are some of our specific recommendations for Ontario:

• Broadly, we ask you to make naming and including sexual violence a priority in Ontario’s work connected to the National Action Plan. This will make a difference to sexual violence survivors and the organizations that support them, address recent high-profile cases of sexual violence and system limitations in responding to sexual assault, and create a more well-rounded gender-based violence plan for Ontario.

 

• Under Pillar 1: Support for victims, survivors and their families, we ask that you reinstate the 33% increase in community-based sexual assault centre funding that was promised to the sector in Ontario in 2018. In 2022, 81% of all Ontario sexual assault centres saw an increase in crisis line contacts (phone, text lines and crisis chat)[33]. The Guiding principles of the National Action Plan specifically reference the importance of “being trauma and violence-informed” as well as anti-racist and “grounded in an intersectional approach”[34]. Community-based sexual assault centres bring this expertise and approach. These services exist, and need intentional investment.

 

• Also under Pillar 1: Support for victims, survivors and their families, we ask that you provide intentional resources for Indigenous organizations supporting women, girls and gender diverse people. All governments must implement action to address violence against Indigenous communities now. The Native Women’s Association of Canada says: “There can be no more aspirational documents. There can be no more playing around the edges…The next steps must be concrete, actionable, costed, and quickly put into effect”[35]. It is integral to engage Indigenous leaders and community members for input in planning for supports for Indigenous survivors.

 

• Under Pillar 2: Prevention, we ask that you invest in and augment existing prevention programming. We too are strong believers in prevention education. Prevention education programs are offered by all member centers of our Coalition on sexual violence, human trafficking, healthy relationship skills and many other topics. OCRCC and its members have led prevention education and training to diverse groups, such as the Ontario Police College, the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE), sports organizations, and many schools, colleges and universities. Currently these programs are under-resourced; many centres must turn down prevention education presentation requests as demand exceeds capacity[36]. A reinstatement of the 33% increase in community-based sexual assault centre funding would help address this.

 

• Under Pillar 3: Responsive justice system: We ask that you invest in community-based programs that help survivors who are accessing the criminal justice system. Examples of this include community-based legal services for survivors of intimate partner violence, community-based sexual assault centres’ accompaniment services, and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region’s dedicated Sexual Violence Legal Advocacy program Sexual assault had the lowest rate of reporting to police amongst all violent crimes, for example (about 6%)[37],[38]. While the reasons for under-reporting are complex, the bottom line is this: investment in gender-based violence services that are situated in criminal justice services will only ever reach a minority of survivors.

 

• Under Pillar 5: Social infrastructure and enabling environment. In order to escape violence, survivors need an environment that provides options. Right now, access to affordable housing is getting in the way of gender-based violence survivors’ ability to choose safety. Shelters are consistently at capacity, and housing and living costs are too high. Currently, Ontario is slated to discontinue subsidizing housing funding for survivors of sex trafficking as of March 2024: these survivors will likely lose their housing. In one Ontario community alone, 17 survivors are accessing this benefit (with more on a waiting list) . We ask that the subsidizing housing for survivors of trafficking be continued. In addition, we ask that you meet with shelter and housing experts in the gender-based violence sector now and problem-solve housing solutions for victims of violence. Women and children’s lives are at stake.

 

We believe that your Ministries and OCRCC share many of the same concerns and priorities. We invite you to see OCRCC as a valuable partner in the development and implementation of the National Action Plan.

We write now to request a meeting with one or more of you, and any members of your team that you deem appropriate. We look forward to your response. Sincerely,

OCRCC Co-chairs and staff members

 

[1] Women and Gender Equality Canada. Bilateral agreements on the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. Online: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/intergovernmental-collaboration/bilateral-agreements.html.

[2] Women and Gender Equality Canada. November 14, 2023 – Toronto, Ontario. Government of Canada and Government of Ontario to Announce Implementation of National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence.

[3] Initiatives include:

• Ontario-wide Sexual Violence Action Plan (announced March 2011)
• Identifying Key Best Practices for Effective Sexual Violence Public Education Campaigns (2011)
• It’s Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment (announced March 2015)
• A member of Ontario’s roundtable on Violence Against Women, created to provide advice to government on ongoing and emerging issues of gendered violence (initiated in 2015 and discontinued in 2019).

[4] As of this writing, agreements have been announced in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island. Women and Gender Equality Canada. Bilateral agreements on the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. Online: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/intergovernmental-collaboration/bilateral-agreements.html.

[5] Women and Gender Equality Canada. November 14, 2023 – Toronto, Ontario. Government of Canada and Government of Ontario to Announce Implementation of National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. And The Governments of Canada and Ontario sign bilateral agreement to end gender-based violence

[6] National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. Joint statement on the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence: Key takeaways

[7] Women and Gender Equality Canada. National action plan to end gender-based violence. Guiding principles.

[8] Cotter, A., for Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. Release date: August 25, 2021. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. Online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00014-eng.htm

[9] Statistics Canada. Released: 2021-08-25. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. Online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210825/dq210825a-eng.htm

[10] Cotter, A., for Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. Release date: August 25, 2021. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. Online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00014-eng.htm

[11] Violence against Women Learning Network, Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children, Western University. May 2012. Overcoming Barriers and Enhancing Supportive Responses: The Research on Sexual Violence Against Women A Resource Document: 19.

[12] The Learning Network on Violence Against Women. Overcoming Barriers and Enhancing Supportive Responses: The Research on Sexual Violence Against Women – A Resource Document. May 2012: 18.

[13] Violence against Women Learning Network, Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women and Children, Western University. May 2012. Overcoming Barriers and Enhancing Supportive Responses: The Research on Sexual Violence Against Women A Resource Document: 25.

[14] Benchetrit, B. for CBC News. October 8, 2022. What is Hockey Canada and why does it matter? Online: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-is-hockey-canada-explainer-1.6611373

[15] Ontario Ministry of the Status of Women and Shore Consulting. November 14, 2017. FINAL REPORT: Review of Sexual Violence and Harassment Counselling Services and Helplines:  6-7.

[16] Ontario Ministry of the Status of Women and Shore Consulting. November 14, 2017. FINAL REPORT: Review of Sexual Violence and Harassment Counselling Services and Helplines: 10.

[17] Canadian Women’s Foundation. September 2022. Toward a Thriving Women’s and Gender Justice Sector: Canadian Women’s Foundation Working Paper – 2022. 9.

[18] Ibid

[19] Dale, A., Maki, K. and Nitia, R. (2021). “Expert Engagement to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence Final Report.” Ottawa, ON: Women’s Shelters Canada: 122.

[20] Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC). 2022. Sexual Violence In Ontario: Trends in Survivors Seeking Support infographic. Online: https://sexualassaultsupport.ca/sexual-violence-in-ontario-trends-in-survivors-seeking-support/

[21] Smith, Marie-Danielle for The Canadian Press. August 3, 2022. Sexual assault rate in 2021 highest since 1996, violent crimes up: Statistics Canada. Online: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/sexual-assault-rate-in-2021-highest-since-1996-violent-crimes-up-statistics-canada-1.6010840

[22] Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH). July 6, 2023. Thirty Femicides have now been reported in the same number of weeks: Province and municipalities torn over whether or not to call Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic. Online: https://www.oaith.ca/assets/library/OAITHJuly2023PressRelease-30Femicides.pdf

[23] National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Report released June 2019. Online: https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/

[24] Global Protection Cluster GBV Protection and Response and Inter-Agency Standing Committee.  Last updated: 6 April 2020. Identifying & Mitigating Gender-based Violence Risks within the COVID-19 Response. Online: https://gbvguidelines.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Interagency-GBV-risk-mitigation-and-Covid-tipsheet.pdf: 10.

[25] Ibid

[26] International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, 2015. Unseen, unheard: Gender-based violence in disasters. Online: https://www.ifrc.org/Global/Documents/Secretariat/201511/1297700_GBV_in_Disasters_EN_LR2.pdf: 16

[27] Tasker, J.P. for CBC News. March 10, 2021. More racially diverse areas reported much higher numbers of COVID-19 deaths: StatsCan: Black Canadians in particular have been far more likely to succumb to the virus than others. Online: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/racial-minorities-covid-19-hard-hit-1.5943878

[28] Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC). 2022. This information was compiled by Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis

Centres in 2022, with data provided by 26 of our member centres. OCRCC includes over 30 community-based sexual assault centres in Ontario.

[29] Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN). 2023. Ontario Budget 2023: Budget 2023’s piecemeal approach doesn’t meet the moment. Online: https://theonn.ca/topics/advocacy/ontario-advocacy/?mc_cid=f085b631f9&mc_eid=61e90a67dc

[30] Provided by Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services in December 2021.  

[31] Globe and Mail. October 18, 2018. Ontario rape crisis centres still awaiting funding promised under former Liberal government: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-rape-crisis-centres-still-awaiting-funding-promised-under/. See also:

• CBC News. February 27, 2019. Toronto Rape Crisis Centre says funding boost from province falls short: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-sexual-assault-centre-funding-1.5036490
• CBC News. May 26, 2022. Ontario’s sexual assault support centres say they are stretched thin and need more funding: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/ontario-sexual-assault-centres-underfunded-1.6464890

[32] CBC News. Nov 08, 2023. Greater Sudbury declares intimate partner violence an epidemic, joining other Ontario municipalities: The city calls on the federal and provincial governments to increase funding to the sector.

[33] This information was compiled by Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres in 2022, with data provided by 26 of our member centres.

[34] Women and Gender Equality Canada. National action plan to end gender-based violence. Guiding principles.

[35] Native Women’s Association of Canada. 2021. NWAC ’s Action Plan to End the A tack Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and Gender-Diverse People . Online: https://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NWAC-action-plan-FULL-ALL-EDITS.pdf. 4. 

[36] Chaarani, J. for CBC News. Oct 27, 2022. OHL says it wants to offer more player training on sexual violence awareness but resources aren’t there.

[37] Cotter, A., for Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. Release date: August 25, 2021. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. Online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00014-eng.htm

[38] Statistics Canada. Released: 2021-08-25. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. Online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210825/dq210825a-eng.htm

[39] Kitchener-Waterloo Region. 2023. Thanks to Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region for this information.

 

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