Calgary Immigrant Women's Association (CIWA)

Published purpose

This 30-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association will achieve this by conducting participatory and literature review research to identify and deconstruct attitudes, beliefs and practices that influence gender-based violence against immigrant women; fostering collaborative partnerships between key ethnocultural/religious community groups and service providers to leverage resources and address support services gaps in the Calgary area; and developing and implementing evidence-based strategies to address harmful gender norms, attitudes, and practices. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change and addressing persistent harmful gender norms and attitudes to support women’s equality. Networking and a multi-pronged approach will be undertaken by Ethnocultural and faith-based community leaders and stakeholders from across sectors to break down barriers that perpetuate gender-based violence and inequality among immigrant women. Additionally, Ethnocultural community members, immigrant women, men, and boys, and family members with lived experience will provide insights on cultural/religious factors to develop and implement prevention-focused initiatives. The effectiveness of the project’s solution initiatives will be measured through evaluation.