2025–2026 Services delivered: preventing gender-based violence

Component: Preventing Gender-based Violence

Legislation: N/A

Service description

The Preventing Gender-based Violence (PGBV) program seeks to change the harmful norms, attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gender-based violence (GBV) including, but not limited to, intimate partner violence (IPV) and femicide in Ontario. The funding supports a range of programing that includes but is not exclusive to public education campaigns, awareness raising workshops, direct client services and capacity building efforts.

Organizations deliver programing that is consistent with one or more of the themes below:

1. Preventing Gender-Based Violence Across the Lifespan
   Public awareness, training, workshops or direct interventions that have the intended impact of preventing GBV across the lifespan. Approaches should consider the specific ways GBV impacts families, teens, children living within GBV households and/or seniors. Different forms of abuse, including technology-facilitated GBV, should also be considered
2. Preventing Gender-Based Violence in Indigenous Communities
   Culturally relevant and culturally safe public awareness, training, workshops or direct interventions delivered, where possible, by and for Indigenous communities, that prevent GBV, support individuals to heal from experiences of GBV and/or to address systemic violence and/or inequities that contribute to GBV.
3. Preventing Femicide and Domestic Homicide
   Public awareness, training, workshops or direct interventions that have the intended impact of preventing the escalation of violence to femicide and to prevent the harm of a child living within a GBV household.
4. Preventing Gender-Based Violence in Black and Racialized Communities
   Public awareness, training, workshops or direct delivered by and for Black and Racialized communities, that are culturally relevant, equity-driven and are delivered in a manner that addresses GBV within these communities.

People served

Members of the community that seek GBV services and supportive resources and those working to change the harmful norms, attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gender-based violence in Ontario.

Program/service features

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

• Are intersectional in nature, considering how race, ethnicity, language, ability, socio economic status and sexual orientation/identity present diverse experiences of abuse
• Are responsive to communities that are at greatest risk of GBV
  • Girls and young women
  • Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, plus communities (2SLGBTQQIA+)
  • Indigenous women
  • Black and racialized women
  • Immigrant and newcomer women
  • Women with disabilities
  • Women living in rural or remote areas
  • Francophone communities
• Are culturally relevant, localized, innovative, trauma and evidence informed

Specific service provided

1. Public Education and Awareness Raising
   Public education and awareness raising activities are focused on the general-public or targeted to specific groups such as: education professionals, frontline workers, workplaces, students, etc. Public education and awareness raising activities should have specific objectives and processes that may include, but are not limited to
   • Raising awareness on a specific issue related to GBV
   • Raising awareness on GBV within a specific community or culture
   • Raising awareness on identifying and/or intervening in GBV
   • Raising awareness on the risks of femicide or domestic homicide
2. Capacity Building and Systems Change
   Capacity building and systems change activities focus on strengthening systems, institutions, communities, or services to improve the ability to respond to GBV. Activities should have specific objectives and processes that may include, but are not limited to
   • Increasing access to GBV-related services
   • Removing barriers to inclusion in GBV-related services
   • Improving survivors’ experience with GBV-related services
3. Client-Based Individual and Group Supports
   Client-based services are provided to an individual client, and/or on behalf of the individual, where significant contact and focused assistance is required. Client-based activities have specific objectives and processes and may include, but are not limited to
   • Peer counselling/ support
   • Traditional/ cultural activities
   • Referrals to other services
   • Non-clinical therapeutic supports such as yoga, crafts, healing circles etc.
   • Workshops aimed to increase knowledge or skills

Program goals

The Preventing Gender-Based Violence (PGBV) program provides funding to prevent GBV and its escalation before it occurs, thereby interrupting the cycle of abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault today and for future generations.

The goals of the PGBV program are to

• Change attitudes, norms and behaviours related to GBV
• Improve access to services and resources for those at risk of GBV
• Better enable service providers and community members to support those at risk of GBV

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%)

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 will be reported on at Interim and Final Stage reports. Service providers must report on a minimum of one output from each of the four categories: A, B, C, D. The exact outputs required will be agreed upon with Ministry Senior Advisors and are outlined in the Transfer Payment Agreements.