Canadian Council of Muslim Women

Published purpose

This 28-month project will develop and implement a systemic change strategy and tools to address barriers Muslim women face to target the root causes of gender-based violence. Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) will achieve this by hiring a project team, establishing an Advisory Committee, as well as developing a guide to conduct systemic reviews of policies and practices from an intersectional Muslim women’s lens, and policies and practices of a sample of relevant organizations with a view to helping them remove barriers and fill gaps in the GBV sector to meet the needs of Canadian Muslim women and girls. The project will pilot a program to coordinate services and supports for Muslim women building on the model for CCMW's Legal Services Coordination Pilot Program (LSCPP). Evaluation will be built into the pilot so that systemic issues identified throughout the project may be addressed effectively. The pilot will include multilingual capability, toll-free telephone access and simple online instructions. CCMW will build on the current LSCPP roster of legal and other service providers to include organizations focused on GBV. The project will build and expand CCMW’s roster of family law practitioners to include GBV support and service providers. At the end of the project, the organization will have identified and reviewed policies and practices of service providers that cater to a diverse clientele, including Muslim women, law enforcement agencies, legal clinics and religious organizations. A guide for systemic review of policies and practices according to criteria for anti-Islamophobic, culturally sensitive, and fair policies and practices will be developed, and CCMW will have trained the stakeholders on its use. The organization will hold training for the use of the guide and conducting reviews. A pilot based on the LSCPP model for intake, triage, and referrals to service providers, counsellors, therapists, and legal services will have provided recommendations on effective practices.