Women's Shelters Canada

Published purpose

This 33-month systemic change project aims to scale the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) Leading Change program to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. It will scale to a national level, involving new corporate partners and shelters across the country. It will address the effects of violence, harassment, and discrimination on women when in the workplace; and the financial literacy needs and economic empowerment of survivors. It will take a two-pronged approach: 1. Engaging with local and national employers across the country in domestic violence in the workplace training 2. Establishing a Community of Practice for VAW shelters and transition houses on providing economic empowerment and support programs for women fleeing violence. With the supplemental funds and extension provided in early 2026, Women’s Shelters Canada, alongside partner provincial shelter associations, will create and deliver additional modules that will enable the Domestic Violence and Your Workplace training to be adapted to specific segments of the workforce; create a resource package that can guide workplaces that have taken the training in implementing policies and practices to support survivors in the workplace; share the lessons learned and programs developed with shelters across the country through a webinar series and a video series; and evaluate the impact of this work through additional evaluation activities.