OCASI's Initiative to End Gender-Based Violence provides resources, education and leadership to the immigrant and refugee serving sector and the broader community on gender-based violence prevention and survivor support.
Our work builds on decades of expertise, as OCASI has been engaged in gender-based violence prevention work since 2002. We facilitate resource development, public education campaigns, professional development and training, online courses, community-building, knowledge-sharing, advocacy, and the use of the arts in order to prevent and respond to gender-based violence within and against immigrant and refugee communities.
On this page:
Guiding Principles
OCASI’s Initiative to End Gender-Based Violence is grounded in an anti-oppressive, anti-racist and intersectional feminist framework. This includes the following guiding principles:
- Gender-based violence happens in all communities, but it impacts immigrant and refugee communities in distinct ways.
- Women (including cis women and trans women) and non-binary immigrants and refugees face unique barriers to accessing support for violence or abuse.
- Immigrant and refugee-serving organizations have an obligation and responsibility to be informed about gender-based violence issues, and to provide compassionate, trauma-informed, and appropriate services for immigrants and refugees who are survivors of violence.
- The broader community must build its capacity to prevent, recognize, and respond to gender-based violence within immigrant and refugee communities, and to support survivors.
Initiatives
Building Leadership Capacity to Address Gender-Based Violence against Non-Status, Refugee and Immigrant (NSRI) women across Canada
We are a growing network of service providers, non-status, refugee and immigrant women survivors of GBV, organizational leaders, community advocates and academic researchers working together on a national five year project (2019-2024) focused on Building Leadership Capacity to address Gender-Based Violence against non-status, refugee and immigrant women across Canada. This project is led by OCASI, and is funded by the Federal Department of Women and Gender Equality.
To learn more: Building Leadership to Address GBV against NSRI women in Canada
Immigrant and Refugee Communities - Neighbours, Friends and Families (IRCNFF)
This campaign is an Ontario-wide initiative coordinated by the OCASI to raise awareness about violence against women in immigrant and refugee communities. The goal is to educate communities across Ontario to recognize the signs and risks of violence against women and equip them with the necessary tools to support women experiencing domestic violence. Peer Champions act as ambassadors for the IRCNFF Campaign in their communities as well as liaisons between service providers, civic society leaders, and community members.
Online training
OCASI’s Initiative to End GBV online courses are developed to help front-line practitioners, service providers and organizational leaders working with immigrant and refugee communities to better understand issues of gender-based violence and develop supportive responses for survivors with intersectional identities.
Our GBV focused courses are offered through our Learn at Work platform and include:
Understanding and Responding to GBV in Immigrant and Refugee Communities
This six-module course is developed to help front-line practitioners working with immigrant and refugee communities to better understand issues of gender-based violence and develop a supportive response for survivors with intersectional identities.
Understand and Responding to Sexual Violence in Immigrant and Refugee Communities (Level 1 & 2)
This 10-module course is a two-part series to help front-line practitioners working with immigrant and refugee communities better understand and respond to issues of sexual violence and develop a supportive response for survivors with intersecitonal identities.
Building Indigenous-Migrant Solidarity: A focus on GBV
This five-module course is developed to help settlement workers gain a better understanding of the structural roots and nature of gender-based violence (GBV) in relationship to Indigenous women and two-spirited peoples. And to explain the commonalities and differences between Indigenous and racialized migrant peoples.
Race, Gendered Violence, and the Rights of Women with Precarious Immigration Status
This is a 4-module course developed to help front-line practitioners learn about how to better understand and meet the unique needs of women with precarious status, who are facing gender-based violence.
Bridges to Safety
This 6-week professional development course aims to build a common base of knowledge, increase awareness and education, and enhance the capacity of those in the settlement sector to recognize and respond to gender-based violence in ways that meet the unique needs of newcomer, immigrant, and refugee communities.
To learn more and register for courses, visit our online learning platform OCASI Learn At Work
Advocacy and Research
OCASI’s Initiative to End GBV plays a strong leadership and advisory role at cross-sectoral tables, city-wide, provincial and national level projects focused on community development, public education, professional development and training, community-based research, and advocacy at the intersection of GBV, immigration status, mental health and trauma.
The Initiative is an important advocate for the development, implementation and evaluation of an intersectional lens in programs and services addressing GBV in Canada. We provide leadership in advocacy and research efforts that aim to support immigrant and refugee survivors of GBV at the individual and systemic levels, as well as through community engagement.
To learn more about some of our advocacy efforts, visit:
- National Action Plan to Address GBV - Priorities for non-status, refugee and immigrant women
- Ending the Silence - Policy Brief
Current Partnership Projects
OCASI’s Initiative to End GBV is part of partnerships that bring different sectors and stakeholders to share information and strategies to build awareness around issues affecting immigrant and refugee women in the settlemetn sector.
To learn more about our partnerships and recent publications, please visit: