CCFWE SEEKS ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
POLICY & SYSTEM CHANGE
We are committed to influencing policy that supports BIPOC survivors of economic abuse to make a successful transition to economic independence and leading a healthy and safe life.
We advocate for and support the development of new approaches to eradicating economic abuse and post-separation abuse by addressing gaps in systems and policies. Our approach is informed by lived experience and evidence-based practices and that have a proven ability to effectively identify and respond to instances of economic abuse.
We focus on influencing policy that impacts women and their families by involving survivors in our advocacy process. Their direct experiences are an essential resource to inform and develop better policies and recommendations.
Our current priorities include:
- Launching ‘Operation Proclamation’ to increase awareness. We wanted cities and provinces across Canada to proclaim November 26 as the National Day of Economic Abuse Awareness. We believe community awareness initiatives are powerful tools that may be used to educate both the general public and policymakers about the various economic challenges faced by survivors of domestic violence, including the costs of recovery, stigma, unemployment, and debt.
- Advocating for the Canadian government to include the term Economic Abuse in the statutory definition of domestic abuse. Naming this type of abuse more specifically increases awareness, and contributes to the creation of a framework through which adequate responses can be created. See our petition for more information.
- We work with women’s community organizations, financial institutions including banks, utility companies, and essential service providers, telecommunications companies, industry regulators and ombudsman services, local and national government, the criminal justice system (police, prosecutors and the judiciary), the family justice system, consumer lawyers, and researchers and academics.
- Collaborating with the CCFWE’s National Taskforce for Women’s Economic Justice (NTWJ) to better identify how economic abuse can be addressed through policy and legislation.
- Collaborating with financial institutions to shape policies that do not inadvertently facilitate economic abuse through the development of a comprehensive economic framework to share with such institutions to better support survivors in their economic transition and navigate potential financial challenges. Best practices will also be shared with banks, credit card companies and credit reporting agencies.
- Distributing our Commitment Letter to 50+ elected Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament with the goal of having such individuals commit to eradicating economic abuse across the nation, and make this a central part of their mandate. Read our Commitment Letter here.
- Participating in public engagement consultations for the Canadian National Action Plan – Gender-Based Violence and building a landscape that allows BIPOC survivors to recover from economic abuse.
- Conducting and disseminating race-based data to inform decision-making processes and create proactive, preventative solutions to economic abuse. Learn about our current Research Project, ‘Access to Economic Resources among Survivors of Economic Abuse During COVID-19 in Ottawa’.
- Working alongside mental health professionals and community shelter employees to develop evidence-based, trauma-informed, survivor-centered educational resources.
