Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale

Published purpose

Through this 24-month project, the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale (RMFVVC) will develop and implement a promising practice to provide workplaces the tools to better protect immigrant women employees who are victims of intimate partner violence and strengthen the gender-based violence sector. The promising practice will present the specific types of intimate partner violence in a migration context; the specific barriers preventing immigrant women from accessing support services and networks; as well as the appropriate protection and support measures that employers, unions, and employees can implement to take these into account. To achieve this, the project will include developing tools, such as a practical guide and an information kit, to raise awareness of this issue in different workplaces with a high concentration of immigrant women workers. Training will be implemented to create safer and more supportive work environments for immigrant women employees who are victims of intimate partner violence and to assist in referring them to appropriate resources. Personalized support will also be offered to workplaces to guide them in implementing concrete measures to this end. The RMFVVC will also engage its member shelters to recruit outreach staff who will be equipped to encourage and better support employers across Quebec to implement measures that more effectively support and protect immigrant women who are victims of intimate partner violence. Communities of practice will be established to enable workplaces to share best approaches for responding to the diverse realities of immigrant women who are victims of intimate partner violence; these women will be involved throughout the project. An external evaluation will measure and evaluate the impacts of the promising practice. The RMFVVC will organize a virtual event and a conference to inform other workplaces and shelter associations about the promising practice, and allow them to replicate or expand it.