Gender-based violence is an issue that affects every jurisdiction, every riding, every community in what is currently called Canada. Survivors and the sectors that support them have spoken, and they demand action. Action that is community-informed and collaborative and that results in meaningful change.

In April 2021, through the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI), YWCA Canada coordinated consultations with civil society organizations & grassroots groups and presented survivor-centric and community informed recommendations to the Government of Canada to inform the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, later released in November 2022.

To center the voices of survivors and ensure that our collection attention is kept on survivor-led recommendations for systemic change, YWCA Canada has released  “What We Heard: Survivor-Led Strategies to Inform the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence”. The report highlights the recommendations, key learnings and concrete calls to accountability and action co-developed by over 60 organizations That represent pan-Canadian anti-violence leadership. 

Read the full report here.