Shockproofing Communities
Soon after the pandemic started, incidents of gender-based violence began to increase. This didn’t come as a surprise to those working in the gender-based violence sector.
When communities are under stress–from disasters like floods and wildfires, economic downturns, or public health crises—gender-based violence rates tend to increase. The Shockproofing Communities project emerged out of the belief that this pattern is preventable if the right conditions are put in place.
“Shockproofing” means addressing long-standing gaps in essential GBV services and equipping the sector to respond to intersectional experiences of GBV. Strategies must take into account the experiences of women and gender-diverse people who face multiple forms of discrimination based on their race, sexuality, gender expression, disability, immigration status, and/or geographic location.
Shockproofing Communities Reports
The Canadian Women’s Foundation and its partners have released several reports that are relevant to shockproofing our communities. While these reports address gender-based violence from different angles, they all attempt to answer the question: “How can we better prevent, eliminate, and respond to GBV in times of crisis?”
- Resetting Normal Report Series
- Insights from the Gender Justice Labs on Emergency Preparedness
- Lessons Learned from a Pandemic: Building Knowledge on Disaster Preparedness and GBV
- Sexual Assault Services in a Pandemic: Adaptation, Innovation and Lessons Learned
Reports
- Queering Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response in Canada
- Queering Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Intervention: A Toolkit for Service Providers
Webinars
Queering GBV Prevention & Intervention: What the GBV Sector Needs to Know (June 14, 2022)
Queering GBV Prevention and Intervention: What Social Service Providers Needs to Know (June 15, 2022)
The Shockproofing Communities project is supported by:
Save the Date
The Canadian Women’s Foundation has partnered with Women’s Shelters Canada to host a hybrid (virtual and in-person) National Summit in Ottawa in March 2023.
This knowledge-sharing event will give gender-based violence organizations from across the country a space to exchange lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and come up with strategies to shockproof our communities.