Aline Nizigama, national CEO of YWCA Canada.RYAN CHRISTOPHER WALSH
YWCA programs and services help survivors flee gender-based violence
As Canadians reflect on the 35th anniversary of the mass femicide at École Polytechnique where 14 women lost their lives in 1989, it’s a sobering reality that gender-based violence is still rampant.
According to the 2022 Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, a woman or girl is killed every 48 hours in this country.
Aline Nizigama, national CEO of YWCA Canada, believes everyone can take action to end the violence, whether it’s by calling attention to the issue or by donating to organizations like YWCA Canada that have put initiatives in place to save lives.
“We know the crisis in housing affordability is intimately connected to the rise of gender-based violence,” she says, noting a lack of financial resources is one of the most common reasons survivors stay in abusive situations.
In response to this need, YWCA Canada, in partnership with 12 of its local YWCAs across Canada, offers a route to safety through the National Emergency Survivor Support Fund (the NESS Fund).
With a transformational multi-year gift from the Slaight Family Foundation, the NESS Fund provides immediate financial support to women and their families fleeing unsafe living situations and enables them to begin rebuilding their lives, explains Ms. Nizigama.
This investment by the Slaight Family Foundation reflects trust in YWCA programs and services and ability to reach those in urgent need. As Canada’s largest provider of women’s shelters, YWCAs have the necessary infrastructure and community pathways to save lives.
Ms. Nizigama encourages more philanthropists to invest in established, community-based organizations like YWCA, emphasizing the importance of trust-based philanthropy that enhances and expands upon the vital services already available. “Through the NESS Fund, we’ve been able to help over 700 survivors flee gender-based violence,” she says, adding “90 per cent of survivors surveyed reported that the NESS Fund was a primary reason they were able to escape.”
YWCA Canada’s annual Rose Campaign – a national advocacy initiative to end violence against women and girls, commemorating Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women (December 6) – is an opportunity for all Canadians to take action and end the violence.
Learn more: ywcacanada.ca
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Canada. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.