Canadian Immigrant Women's Association

Published purpose

Through this 41-month project, Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA) will develop and put in place a culturally competent, responsive, and evidence-based GBV prevention and support model to strengthen the GBV sector in supporting immigrant/refugee/newcomer women impacted by GBV. It will address the intersectional needs of the target population and build the capacity of agencies to address significant gaps in services, including rural, language, cultural, and other access barriers, as well as increased complexity of post-pandemic needs. To do so, the project will select and standardize strategies used in CIWA’s Family Conflict Prevention Program (FCPP); develop and perform a baseline impact evaluation of the model; modify model approaches for regional and online delivery; engage local, provincial, and/or regional stakeholders in a pre-pilot review; and pilot and evaluate the model with women from across Alberta, incorporating adaptations and enhancements based upon feedback.  An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the promising practice. CIWA will host stakeholder sessions and develop tutorials to share information on the promising practice with others so that they may replicate it or expand upon it. The project will engage two key participant groups: women with lived experience, who will directly influence the design of the model, and men and boys from ethno-cultural communities, who will use their allyship to support the model’s GBV prevention initiatives. The contributions and insights of these two groups will help ensure that the project is inclusive, responsive to the needs and strengths of vulnerable populations, and reflective of the diversity within communities. Supplemental funding will support holding community informed activities that engage men and boys as allies in preventing gender-based violence (GBV), strengthening healthy relationships, and shaping CIWA’s future Engaging Men & Boys strategy. With the supplemental funds and extension provided in early 2026, Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association will test promising practices with immigrant/refugee men/boys, validate assessment and practice tools, mobilize knowledge, and evaluate project outcomes. Through this they will further advance Gender Equality.