2025–2026 Services delivered: Building Indigenous Women’s Leadership (BIWL)

Component: Building Indigenous Women's Leadership

Legislation: N/A

Service description

The Building Indigenous Women’s Leadership (BIWL) program initiatives are developed by Indigenous women, for Indigenous women. The program is comprised of the following components:

• Training and mentorship opportunities for Indigenous women to increase their full participation in leadership roles in their communities
• Increasing the involvement of Indigenous women in leadership roles within women’s organizations, community service boards, business and/or government
• Leadership workshops, training sessions on specific topics for Indigenous adult women and youth, as well as mentorship opportunities

People served

• Indigenous women and youth

Program/service features

The Program/Services contracted by the Ministry will reflect the following features:

• The program and services are developed and delivered by and for Indigenous women
• Each program is unique with the key elements of training, workshops and mentorship

Specific service provided

• The program offers training, workshops and mentorship as well as information and resources on leadership to Indigenous women
• Organizations utilize their own trainers and workshop developers to develop materials based on identified needs, gaps, and best practices. Workshop sessions vary in topic and on length (e.g., some are 3 days long, others may be a full day conference, etc.). Topics may include:
  • “What makes a healthy leader?”
  • Public speaking
  • Self–esteem
  • Self–care
  • Residential schools – acknowledgement of their impact
  • Governance of a non-profit organization – roles and responsibilities, processes
  • The election process – mock election exercises
  • Mentorship programs – an adult woman in a leadership role mentors a young woman to develop leadership skills
  • Strategic development – women’s circles development to influence community priorities

Program goals

• To increase Indigenous women's full participation in leadership roles in their communities
• To support and build community leadership that works towards ending violence against Indigenous women
• To build the leadership of Indigenous women through increased awareness, training and experiential learning

Ministry expectations

• Projects should be time-limited, and demonstrate sustainability beyond the one-time funding that is available
• Projects should give consideration to partnerships, cross-sectoral and innovative approaches
• Projects should be delivered in a manner that is intersectional in nature, responsive to the increased risk of GBV experienced by specific groups and are culturally relevant, localized, trauma and evidence informed

Addressing risk of lethality

All projects should reflect the risk of lethality in program delivery, as recommended by both the Office of the Chief Coroner’s Domestic Violence Death Review Committee and the Domestic Violence Advisory Council. The Ministry requires that the transfer payment recipient regularly includes content on the following in public education and training materials:

1. common risk factors for lethal violence*;
2. steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of lethal violence and referral information for organizations that can provide support to women and their children (e.g., shelters, police, helplines); and
3. participate in collaboration and appropriate information sharing among community agencies and the justice system to promote safety planning and risk management.

The Domestic Violence Death Review Committee 2017 report reviewed 311 cases, involving 445 deaths that occurred between 2003 – 2017. Of the cases reviewed, 65% were homicides and 35% were homicide-suicides. The top risk factors* identified were:

• there was a history of domestic violence for the couple (72% of the cases), and
• there was an actual or pending separation (67% of the cases).

The other top risk factors* were:

• a perpetrator who was depressed (50%)
• obsessive behaviour by the perpetrator (46%)
• prior threats or attempts to commit suicide (45%)
• a victim who had an intuitive sense of fear of the perpetrator (44%)
• perpetrator displayed sexual jealousy (41%)
• prior threats to kill the victim (38%)
• excessive alcohol and/or drug use (40%)
• a perpetrator who was unemployed (40%)
• history of violence outside the family (34%)
• an escalation of violence (32%)

Note: The Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children has developed online training modules for professionals to help them reduce the risk of lethal violence against women and their children (available in English only). The trainings address the unique challenges faced by newcomers and Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and in a workplace setting. Transfer payment recipients are encouraged to complete these free on demand training modules at: https://www.learningtoendabuse.ca/training_and_certificate/online-modules/index.html

Reporting Requirements

The following service data as well as expenditures will be reported on at an Interim and Final stage. Additional data may be requested at the discretion of the Ministry. Please refer to your Transfer Payment Agreement for report back due dates and targets.