AIDS Committee of Ottawa

Published purpose

This 29-month project will develop and implement promising practices to advance knowledge and challenge systemic barriers faced by Black women and girls in Ottawa to address the root causes of gender-based violence. AIDS Committee of Ottawa will achieve this by facilitating collaborative Kitchen Table conversations to identify unique needs and experiences of Black women and girl GBV survivors; hosting Cooking Up Advocacy workshops on themes related to GBV and utilizing survivor-led photographic storytelling (PhotoVoice) to advance knowledge and challenge systemic barriers faced by Black women and girls in Ottawa to address the root causes of gender-based violence. The organization and women with lived experience will co-create GBV toolkits to ignite systemic change by challenging root barriers and address the impact of harmful gender norms and attitudes to Black women and girl GBV survivors as well as disseminate the toolkit and recommendations amounts community and service care providers in Ottawa. These activities will be key in combating unequal power structures and in turn, amplify the voices of Black women and girl GBV survivors. At the end of this project, the organization will have developed a promising practice that brought greater awareness and advocacy to the systemic barriers Black women and girl GBV survivors face; supported survivors in increasing their knowledge, capacity and voice; and contributed to knowledge dissemination and increased capacity of local and regional GBV service providers on how to best support Black women and girl GBV survivors moving forward. This project will engage community organizations, sector experts, and women with lived experience in each project component. The effectiveness of the toolkit and recommendations will be carefully documented through ongoing evaluation.