The CCFWE – Collaboration is Key in 2023 

As we ring in the New Year the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) would like to extend a warm thank you to our collaborating partners of 2022 and acknowledge their contributions towards what was a successful 2022 for the CCFWE.

A Review of 2022 . . .

Canada’s First Economic Abuse Conference

Funded by Women and Gender Equality of Canada the CCFWE held its’ first Summit, November 15th, 2022. The City of Ottawa was a significant contributor and supporter as well. The Summit was a first for the CCFWE AND the Summit was the “first-ever economic abuse conference in Canada.”, Jenna Sudds, Parliamentary Secretary, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth. Sudds further enlightens us regarding the significance of the Summit: “Gender-based violence continues to be a systematic problem across Canada, one that takes a physical, psychological, and financial toll on survivors, witnesses, children, and the economy.” Sudds’ mandate, in fact, is “to advance the national action plan, to end gender-based violence, and to understand the root causes of economic abuse . . . “. The magnitude of the 2022 Summit was “it brought together practitioners and specialists for a critical examination of policies and practices of Economic Abuse in Canada and internationally.”  For those of you interested in viewing our Summit attached is a hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAkcK4veAgM.

Perseverance Pays

We believe we made an impact with our National Study along with other agencies in Canada.

A National Action Plan (NAP) to End Gender-Based Violence was endorsed November 9th, 2022, by the federal government.

The NAP is a “10-year commitment by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to work toward a Canada free of GBV. The NAP establishes a framework that includes five main priorities better to provide protection and support to victim-survivors and their families.” Govt. of CA, See National Action Plan on Gender-based Violence – In Brief (canada.ca).

The CCFWE would like to thank the National Task Force for staying attuned to these prominent issues and collaborating with the CCFWE in striving for a National Policy ending Gender-Based Violence.

CCFWE Supports a Statement for Bill C-233 (Kiera’s Law)

April 29th, 2022, CCFWE released a statement to the House of Commons advocating for Member of Parliament Anju Dhillon’s Private Member Bill C-233. This Bill demands continuing education for Judges on matters related to Intimate Partner Violence and coercive control. As a struggling economy intensifies it puts greater pressure on families and divorced partners and it is extremely important a Family Law Judge be on the cutting edge of awareness regarding Intimate Partner Violence and economic abuse. Updated education provides clearer cut decisions from the Bench and reduces damages to not only victims but the children of those victims, as well.

Not Just at Home but Abroad:

The CCFWE is the only national non-profit organization in Canada dedicated to fighting domestic economic abuse through education, economic empowerment, and policy change. While the CCFWE may be busy at home it does not mean their impact is not felt internationally. The CCFWE has had a hand in key global developments, as well. A detailed International Report outlines a response to economic abuse over the past 12 – 18 months across six participating countries: Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. “The report highlights the actions governments, corporations, and other community organizations are taking to make a difference for victim-survivors of this lesser-known form of family violence.” 2022-International-Report-on-Economic-Abuse-ccfwe-singles.pdf. The CCFWE started advocating for these measures early 2019.

A Launch of the Economic Abuse Screening Tool

We are proud to announce the release of our Economic Abuse screening tool for shelter staff which launches March of 2023!

Acknowledging Our Collaborators

The CCFWE collaborates with financial institutions, private stakeholders, business communities, women’s service organizations, attorneys, government, advocates, shelters, and survivors. A well-rounded wheelhouse of varied resources and agencies is required to develop a comprehensive approach to address economic abuse.
Whether you have been a financial institution, private stakeholder, a business community, a women’s service organization, an attorney, a member of Parliament, an advocate, the head of a shelter or the voice of a survivor ALL have played a significant part in the 2022 success of the CCFWE in moving forward and advocating for policy change.

Collaboration is the Key!

In Canada Collaboration is viewed as:

“ . . . If you bring the appropriate people together as peers, in constructive ways with good context and content information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization and the community.” Tamarack University @ https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/collaborative-leadership?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqOucBhDrARIsAPCQL1ZT549Ytm2t-V5DsyTDWgJGFJasAtTj8uBOpRHNy-YApk_adtE6ALMaAtvdEALw_wcB.

Canada is not the only country that understands the value of collaborating with partners. So do our partners across the pond in the USA, the UK and Australia, as well as other countries, abroad:

USA – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-many-why-collaboration-key-success-martin-probst/.

United Kingdom (UK): Benefits of business collaboration | nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Australia: https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/financial-services/articles/collaborate-boost-productivity.html.

We, at the CCFWE certainly understand, appreciate, and value the contributions of our collaborating partners and look forward to collaborating with you in 2023 as we strive for preventing economic abuse and reducing Intimate Partner Violence in Canada.

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” – Wayne Gretzky

Social Justice Writer – Corinne Isaacs,
Corinne Isaacs-Frontiero (@ weebly.com)