Province and federal government announce $12.5 million to combat gender-based violence – Winnipeg Free Press

The Manitoba and federal governments announced Monday that they are releasing a total of more than $12.5 million in funding to combat gender-based violence.

The $6.35 million in provincial funding and $6.2 million in federal cash will support 19 community initiatives across the province. The funding agreement is part of the second year of a 10-year national action plan.

“As a province, as a country and as a territory, we must work together to end gender-based violence and create a safer future for girls, women and gender-diverse citizens,” Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said at a news conference on Monday.

Fontaine said much of the work now focuses on gender-based violence, and she would like to see a shift to preventing it in the first place.

According to 2018 data from Statistics Canada, nearly 45 percent of women in Canada reported experiencing intimate partner violence. The same report found that 61 percent of Indigenous women had experienced the same type of violence.

Women living in rural areas are almost twice as likely to experience gender-based violence than women living in urban areas.

According to Marci Ien, Federal Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth, it is crucial to address prevention among men and boys.

Manitoba was the first province to sign on to the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, just over a year ago. Now all provinces and territories have signed on.

Each province and territory has different needs, and they work with the government to find what works best for them, Ien said.

“Gender-based violence is one of the most widespread, deadly, entrenched human rights violations of our time,” Ien said. “I look forward to continuing this fight for true gender equality. This fight cannot be fought alone. This is a partnership.”

Ka Ni Kanichihk, the Women’s Resource Centre in Brandon, Clan Mothers Healing Village, The Pas Family Resource Centre and Blue Thunderbird Family Care are some of the organisations receiving funding.