Call for Proposals – Working in partnership to end violence against women and girls

The new Call for Proposals launched today by the Minister is entitled Working in Partnership to End Violence against Women and Girls. It will provide funding for innovative projects at the national, regional, or community level that leverage partnerships to help to change the conditions that allow gender-based violence to exist.

Applications for funding are accepted online. Please click on “Start Now” and follow the instructions to proceed with your online application.

The deadline for applications to this Call for Proposals is noon (12:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time) on April 17, 2015.

Eligible organizations must address a number of project elements in their applications. Applicants are strongly urged to read the document entitled Is the Women’s Program the Right Match for Me? before submitting their application. In addition, survey results have shown that most successful applicants attended a Status of Women Canada information session. Consult your Status of Women Canada office to register for a session.

More information is available at women.gc.ca.

Funding through the Women’s Program

The Women’s Program of Status of Women Canada accepts applications for funding through calls for proposals, as well as on an ongoing basis. This allows Status of Women Canada to respond to emerging issues and increases opportunities for organizations to identify additional funding partners.

Projects funded by Status of Women Canada vary widely in their nature and scope, target populations, strategies and implementation.

All proposals are assessed against standard criteria which include eligibility, alignment with Program/Call for Proposal priorities, knowledge and experience of the applicant organization, partner collaboration, and budget.

Violence against women and girls

Women and girls are more likely than men to experience violence and abuse in intimate and family relationships. Recent statistics suggest that:

• Following three decades of decline, the spousal homicide rate remained stable in 2009, with women still being more likely to be victims than men. 
• Aboriginal women are almost three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report being the victim of a violent crime. 
• Young women and girls experience the highest rates of violence. In 2011, rates of family violence against girls were 56% higher than for boys. 
• In 2010, more than seven out of ten (70%) victims of police-reported family violence were women or girls.
• Some forms of intimate partner violence appear to be on the rise. In 2011, women were 11% more likely to be victims of sexual assault than in 2009, and are more likely to experience sexual and chronic forms of abuse from their intimate partner than men. 
• Violence against women often goes unreported to police; approximately 30% of women victims of spousal violence report the incident to police. 
• A 2009 Department of Justice study found that the overall cost of spousal violence against women was $4.8 billion in 2009.