Federal funding provided to projects on Prince Edward Island to support victims of family violence and intimate partner violence Français

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Department of Justice Canada

Mar 16, 2022, 10:32 ET

OTTAWA, ON, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - Family violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) are serious public health issues and have immediate and long-term consequences for victims, including physical, mental, cognitive and financial. Everyone in Canada should be safe and free from physical, emotional and sexual violence, discrimination, and harassment. As the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified systemic and longstanding inequalities, there is an increased need and urgency to fund initiatives aimed at supporting victims of family violence, sexual assault, and IPV across the country.

Today, Gary Anandasangaree, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, announced on behalf of the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, that the Government of Canada is providing over $1.17 million for two projects on Prince Edward Island to support victims of IPV and family violence. This funding is being provided through Justice Canada's Justice Partnership and Innovation Program (JPIP), which supports initiatives with the goal of ensuring an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice for all.

The Prince Edward Island (PEI) Department of Social Development and Housing, Child and Family Services will receive $501,950 for their project "Interagency Domestic Violence Case Assessment Team and Family Violence Risk Assessment Training". This project will implement a collaborative response and culturally appropriate model to address high-risk situations of family violence and provide training to child protection workers in using a spousal risk assessment tool. The project will increase the awareness and understanding of the risk factors associated with family violence as well as enhance the knowledge and skills of both government and community members on PEI to respond to family violence. This investment is funded through JPIP's Family Violence Initiative, which supports the development, implementation, testing and assessment of models, strategies and tools to improve the justice system's response to family violence. It also supports projects that raise public awareness of the issue and encourage public involvement in responding to family violence.

The Community Legal Information Association of Prince Edward Island will receive $671,155 in funding for their program "RISE: Legal Resources for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence". This project empowers victims and survivors through a victim-centered approach by providing them with a holistic, trauma-informed client intake process; information about their legal options; and up to four hours of free legal advice from a trauma-informed lawyer.

This investment is the result of a call for proposals launched by the Government of Canada in June 2021, and part of a Budget 2021 total investment of $48.75 million over five years, through Justice Canada's Victims Fund and JPIP, for projects that help survivors of sexual assault and IPV in making informed decisions about their particular circumstances. These investments build on Budgets 2017 and 2018, with total funding of over $600 million over five years, and complement efforts underway as part of the Government of Canada's Gender-Based Violence Strategy.

Quotes

"A disturbing reality of the pandemic is that it has increased the rates of family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada and around the world. Now, more than ever, victims and survivors need our support. The funding being provided today will help survivors of family violence and intimate partner violence on PEI understand their rights and help them navigate the criminal justice system. It will also improve the family justice system so that it can better respond to family violence and protect children and families in these difficult situations."

Gary Anandasangaree 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

"No one in Canada should experience violence or harassment, especially from a family member or intimate partner. Women and children are disproportionally victims of family violence and intimate partner violence and need support and resources to help them emerge from the crisis. These projects are an important step in empowering survivors on PEI in seeking the justice they deserve so that they can begin their healing journey."

Sean Casey 
Member of Parliament for Charlottetown

"Reducing the impacts of domestic violence and providing those affected with the appropriate supports is everyone's responsibility. This funding will help improve our province's ability to increase collaborative responses and offer a wider range of supports to victims of violence. Whether that is greater access to quality legal information, increasing training opportunities for frontline workers that protect vulnerable people or making new risk assessment tools available, these are all real, tangible steps to making sure Islanders can be safe and secure in their homes."

Bloyce Thompson 
Minister of Prince Edward Island Department of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General, and Chair of PEI's Special Cabinet Committee on Family Violence Prevention

"Funding for this project could not be more timely for Prince Edward Island, with the rise in incidents of family violence during the pandemic. This funding is providing PEI the opportunity to improve coordination, collaboration, and information-sharing among services and sectors to meet complex needs of victims and offenders. We are very fortunate to have incredible partners in the family violence sector that we are working with collaboratively with to implement the new risk assessment tool and programs which only continues to strengthen our partnerships."

Brad Trivers 
Minister of Prince Edward Island Department of Social Development of Housing, and Member of PEI's Special Cabinet Committee on Family Violence Prevention

"Community Legal Information is very happy to receive this funding from Justice Canada to support victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) through our RISE Program. This new funding allows us to extend our services to a very vulnerable group of people by supporting them with free legal advice, plain language legal information, and referrals to other support services. Thank you to the team at the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program at Justice Canada for developing this fund which will have a significant impact for PEI residents."

Ellen Mullally, Executive Director 
Community Legal Information Association of Prince Edward Island

Quick Facts

  • A report by Statistics Canada on Family Violence in Canada found that in 2019 there were close to 400,000 victims of police-reported violence in Canada. Of these victims, one-quarter (26%) were victimized by a family member and three in ten (30%) were victimized by an intimate partner. Just over half (53%) of victims of violence were female; 67% of family violence victims were female and 79% of victims of IPV were women.
  • IPV, also known as spousal or domestic violence, refers to multiple forms of harm caused by a current or former intimate partner or spouse. IPV can happen in any community, in any type of intimate relationship, including within a marriage, common-law or dating relationship, in a heterosexual or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Two-Spirit relationship. It can happen at any time during a relationship and even after it has ended, whether or not partners live together or are sexually intimate with one another.
  • The Justice Partnership and Innovation Program provides funding for organizations to develop innovative solutions to emerging justice issues. The program supports the Department of Justice in its mission of working to ensure that Canada is a just and law-abiding society with an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice.

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SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

For more information, media may contact: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice, 613-992-6568; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]; Rebecca Gass, Social Development and Housing, Government of PEI, 902-620-3409, [email protected]

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