The Yukon government’s women and gender equity directorate and Women and Gender Equality Canada have signed a bilateral funding agreement on a national plan to end gender-based violence.
Under the agreement, the federal government will invest $16.4 million over four years to support the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence in the territory. The funding will be cost-matched by the Yukon government within its existing budget.
“The plan reflects our shared commitment to preventing gender-based violence and creating systemic change through community-led solutions,” according to a joint statement by the directorate and Women and Gender Equality Canada.
The plan is focused on three priority areas: increasing prevention efforts, reaching underserved and at-risk populations, and stabilizing the gender-based violence prevention sector.
Per the statement, the four-year plan will provide funding for not-for-profit women and gender-equity-seeking organizations in the territory that currently receive funding through the directorate. This includes those that develop prevention initiatives, integrated case assessment teams for high-risk intimate partner violence cases, and media literacy programming to counteract the effects of harmful misinformation that perpetuates gender-based violence. It will also fund the transition homes in Whitehorse, Dawson City and Watson Lake to bolster existing programs and develop initiatives to support victims, survivors and their families.
The plan also seeks to improve transportation between Yukon communities for victims of gender-based violence, provide an opportunity for criminal or Family Law navigators to support victims of intimate partner violence who are navigating both systems, and a multi-disciplinary response for children and youth who experience or witness gender-based violence.
Other initiatives include culturally integrated justice programs and therapeutic court programs that will strengthen the justice system’s response to gender-based violence, as well as culturally relevant programming to address gender-based violence for women in territorial custody.
The investment will support the territorial government in strengthening and building capacity in the gender-based violence prevention sector, the statement reads.
“It will support work with partners to better address the intersectional needs of diverse populations, including those experiencing gender-based violence in rural and remote communities,” it said.
Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien said the agreement builds on years of federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, working with Indigenous partners, survivors, experts and frontline organizations.
“This bilateral funding will support Yukon organizations working in the gender-based violence sector in adopting community-based and Indigenous-led approaches that meet the evolving needs of those most at risk of or underserved when experiencing gender-based violence and their families,” she said in the statement. “This multi-level collaboration is the foundation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence, which aims to create safer communities for all who call Yukon their home.”
Jeanie McLean, the minister responsible for the directorate, said the contributions of Yukoners and organizations that respond to gender-based violence helped the government in identifying priorities for the first two years of the agreement.
McLean said she looks forward to working alongside Yukon’s women and gender-equity-seeking organizations to further their shared goals.
“By working together, we can create lasting systemic change to address, prevent and eliminate gender-based violence in our territory,” she said.
The national plan to end gender-based violence, released in November 2022, has five pillars intended to guide nationwide efforts.
They include support for victims, survivors and their families, prevention, a responsive justice system, implementing Indigenous-led approaches, and social infrastructure and enabling environment.
Since 2021, the federal government has committed $1.14 billion to advance the national plan, including $539.3 million over five years to support provinces and territories in their efforts to end gender-based violence.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com