Ottawa launches $101-million gender-based violence strategy: by the numbers

OTTAWA – On Monday, Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef shed more light on which programs will get a share of the $101 million over five years — plus $21 million annually going forward — which the 2017 budget committed to a federal strategy on gender-based violence.

The bulk of the money will go towards creating a Gender-Based Knowledge Centre within Status of Women Canada, which will get $77.5 million over five years, plus $16 million a year going forward, to co-ordinate efforts across the government, as well as research, data collection and programming.

The remaining funds will be shared across several departments, as part of a strategy aimed at prevention, providing better support for survivors and helping the justice system become more responsive to the needs of those who experience sexual assault or other forms of violence.

That includes:

— $9.5 million over five years, plus $2 million annually after that, for the Public Health Agency of Canada to work on prevention, including looking at the maltreatment of children and teen dating violence;

— $6 million over five years and $1.3 million a year afterwards, to boost efforts at Public Safety to tackle the online exploitation of children;

— $4 million over five years, as well as $800,000 annually going forward, to increase funding to family crisis teams that support Canadian military members and their families affected by violence;

— $2.4 million over five years, plus $600,000 a year after that, to train RCMP officers in “cultural competency;”

— $1.5 million over five years to enhance the settlement program for immigrants and refugees.