2025–2026 Services delivered: Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin

Component: Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin

Legislation: N/A

Service description:

The Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program was developed to engage Indigenous men and youth in ending violence against Indigenous women. The program is comprised of two components

• A provincial awareness campaign that provides public education, and
• A community-based program delivered at sites across Ontario dedicated to healing Indigenous men and youth through reclaiming and revitalizing their positive Indigenous identity and their responsibility to end violence against Indigenous women and girls

The Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program is a designated Indigenous-specific Intimate Partner Violence Prevention (IPVP) program by the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG).

• Intimate Partner Violence Prevention (IPVP) programs are Indigenous-specific, culturally relevant education and counselling programs for accused persons aimed at preventing domestic/intimate partner violence. Programs are designed, developed and delivered by Indigenous people to meet the unique needs of their communities and may also offer support to victims, families and community members who have been impacted by domestic/intimate partner violence

The five major themes of the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program are:

1. Self Esteem and Identity: to educate on the traditional roles and responsibilities of men and women, increase cultural pride and promote healthy role modeling with the goal of reducing violence against women
2. Provision of Social Supports: to reduce violence against Indigenous women by addressing victimization issues, unhealthy behaviours and promotion of healthy equal relationships through counselling and peer support
3. Education and Prevention: educate on the historical context of violence against Indigenous women, intergenerational trauma, promotion of Indigenous culture-based healing approaches, teachings and learning activities that foster self-esteem and healthy equal behaviours and relationships
4. Alternatives to Institutional Involvement: by working closely with courts, probation/parole and correctional facilities
5. Promotion and Networking: to increase awareness of violence against Indigenous women issues and the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program in the community by creating culturally appropriate referral service connections as well as increase client access to services by promoting cooperation amongst service providers

The Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program provides and/or establishes:

• Referral and advocacy services to access internal and external programs/agencies when necessary to support program participants and their families such as mental health, addictions, cultural/traditional support services, housing supports, and children’s services
• Social support networks for men so that mental health may be maintained and/or improved as a result of engagement in these networks
• A forum for men to examine their own violent behaviours including those considered to be harmful to oneself – i.e., addictions, by assisting men to explore the root causes of these maladaptive behaviours including the transmission of historical trauma, residential school experiences and cultural oppression
• The Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin Group Program - is a twelve-week guided curriculum designed to help men learn new attitudes and behaviours that will help reduce violence against Indigenous women and girls. It is included in the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin Program Coordinator’s manual and is based on the Seven Grandfathers Teachings

People served

• Self-identified Indigenous men and male youth who request services and supportive resources
• Self-identified Indigenous men or male youth, pre-charge or court-ordered as part of a conditional sentence, diversion program or other court-ordered agreement

Program/service features

• The Program/Services contracted by the Ministry will reflect the following features:
  • Indigenous cultural approaches are reflected or used as a part of the activities and services

Specific service provided

1. Client-Based Services
   • Client-based services have specific healing objectives and processes and are provided on a 1-on-1 basis. Client-based services may include
     • Peer counselling/support
     • Assistance with accessing culture-based programming and services related to reducing family violence thereby responding to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of men to improve Indigenous health
     • Advocacy for clients involved with CAS, letters for Probation and Parole purposes, and advocacy for those recently released from correctional facilities who may require additional support
     • Referrals to other services such as addiction programs, shelters, court workers, legal
     • Creating safe (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually) spaces and opportunities for men to build healthy relationships with their family
     • Traditional/cultural activities
2. Group-Based Activities
   • Client-focused group activities may include (but are not limited to)
     • Twelve-week Curriculum
     • Sharing Circles
     • Workshops (e.g., anger management)
     • Culture-based Activities
     • Community and cultural events, e.g., pow-wows, feasts
     • Traditional ceremonies
     • Traditional healing circles and cultural teaching circles
     • Land-based activities (e.g., hunting, fishing, gardening, camping, medicine walks, medicine harvesting and preparation, sweat lodge preparation and use, etc.)
3. Community Outreach, Engagement & Relationship Building
   • Increase knowledge amongst relevant partners, stakeholders and community agencies (e.g., mental health services, treatment facilities, correctional facilities, Children’s Aid Societies) of the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program and the role the program plays in preventing violence and addressing the health and social service needs of Indigenous men
   • Leverage existing programs and program capacity to promote the utilization of the program
   • Increase community capacity to begin community mobilization to support ending violence against Indigenous women
   • Workshops, public education campaigns and presentations

Program goals

• Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin is an Ojibway phrase that translates to “I Am a Kind Man”. It is a community action initiative and wholistic program designed to address violence in Indigenous communities and acknowledges and values the importance of engaging men as an integral component to ending all forms of violence against Indigenous women.
• The objectives of the Kizhaay Anishinaabe Niin program are to:
  • Reclaim and revitalize men’s responsibility to end violence towards Indigenous women and girls
  • Ensure access to Indigenous cultural values and to increase understanding of traditional roles and responsibilities based on local Indigenous knowledge
  • Promote resiliency by empowering men to acknowledge and resolve trauma
  • Improve men’s wellbeing and foster overall community wellness

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 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%)

Reports must describe how this content was or will be addressed, and where.

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. Please refer to your Transfer Payment Agreement for report back due dates and targets.