Access to Justice for Aboriginal Women Fund

The Department of Justice is committed to supporting the Minister of Justice in working to ensure that Canada is a just and law-abiding society with an accessible, efficient and fair system of justice.

Violence against women remains a problem in Canada and throughout the world, affecting women's personal safety and their ability to participate in and contribute to society. The risk of violence is compounded for Aboriginal women (First Nations, Inuit, Métis and non-status Indians), who are three and one-half times more likely to experience violent victimization than non-Aboriginal women. Aboriginal women report higher rates of violence committed by strangers and more serious forms of family violence. They are significantly over-represented as victims of homicide and are also three times more likely to be victims of spousal violence than non-Aboriginal women.

The Government of Canada has committed to taking concrete steps to address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women by improving the responses of both law enforcement and the justice system to missing persons’ cases. As part of this initiative, the Department of Justice will support the development of school- and community-based pilot projects to help heal, move forward and provide alternatives to high-risk behaviour for young Aboriginal women, including young offenders. The overall goal of the initiative will be to reduce the vulnerability of young Aboriginal women to violence.

Activities

Some of the activities that may be supported include:

• Workshops, conferences, symposiums;
• Training sessions;
• Development of resources and tools that provide alternatives to risky behaviour and awareness of resources

Who is eligible?

• National, provincial, municipal, regional, Aboriginal, community or professional not-for-profit organizations;
• Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments;
• Canadian educational institutions;
• Bands, tribal councils, self-governing First Nations and Inuit.

Other Points to Consider

Project funding can be, and often is, accessed in conjunction with other program funding. Applications will be reviewed carefully to determine linkages to other initiatives/programs so that funding can be shared when appropriate.

As funds are limited, it is not possible to fund all projects that meet the eligibility criteria. Projects that demonstrate that they can best meet the information needs of the Department will be given priority consideration.

How to Apply

To submit a request for funding, we suggest that you complete the Application/Proposal Form: HTML / PDF Format (106 kb, PDF Help ) / Word Format (118 kb).

This form, once completed, contains all the necessary information to allow us to fully assess the merits of the proposal.

We suggest that you refer to the guide entitled "How to Apply for Funding - A Guide to Preparing a Proposal" (before completing your application. The guide provides detailed information on all the items that you are required to address in the application form.

Official Languages

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act the Department is committed to facilitate the participation of official language minority communities and their organizations in the development and assessment of the Department's policies, programs and services having significant impact on the development of the communities; and to take measures to ensure that the Department of Justice's programs and services reach official language minority communities. In the context of project funding, these measures include:

• Outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of the Department of Justice funding programs
• Encouraging contacts between organizations that are receiving financial assistance and official language minority organizations/groups to ensure that the needs of these communities are taken into consideration in relation to the proposed projects to be considered for Department of Justice Canada funding.

Sustainable Development

We encourage you to submit your application electronically.  If you submit your application on paper, please consider printing on both sides of the paper.  These actions will minimize environmental impacts.

Contact Information

For additional information, please contact:
David Kerr
Programs Branch
Department of Justice Canada
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa ON  K1A 0H8
Telephone: 613 941-4675
Fax: 613 941-2269
E-mail: pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca