Harper Government Announces $100M Investment to Support Victims of Violence and Their Children

February 20, 2015  – Toronto

Today, Minister of Health Rona Ambrose announced a 10-year, $100 million investment to prevent, detect and combat family violence and child abuse, just one of the many ways the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to stand up for victims.

Family violence is an important issue that unfortunately affects many Canadians across the country.

Long-term exposure to family violence can have devastating health affects on victims including, substance abuse, mental illness, suicidal behaviours, and chronic illnesses such as heart disease. The impacts are far reaching, affecting communities, workplaces, and society as a whole.

The investment will support victims of violence and their children through a multi-faceted approach that will:

• Better equip health professionals with the information and training they need to safely support victims of domestic violence and child abuse;
• Improve the health and well-being of victims of violence in their communities;
• Enhance access to mental health counselling for victims of violence; and
• Support and enhance organizations and partnerships that provide integrated services to victims of violence.

The investment will be administered through the Public Health Agency of Canada ($7 million/year) and Health Canada ($3 million/year), for a total of $10 million annually for the next 10 years.

This investment will cover a wide variety of programming across sectors, designed to support victims’ physical and mental well-being. Examples may range from peer support groups to using different types of physical activity to aid in victims’ recovery and healing from violence.

The first project to be supported through this investment is a $4.1 million project over three years to develop pan-Canadian guidance and education materials that will help health professionals better support the needs of victims of violence. This project will be led by the Preventing Violence Across the Lifespan (PreVAiL) research network and the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health.

In addition, today, the Minister launched a Call for Proposals for organizations to submit applications to advance community-based projects that support victims of domestic violence and child abuse and those at risk of these forms of violence.