Projects to help prevent teen and youth dating violence in British Columbia 

On June 4, 2019, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced the Government of Canada’s support for four projects to help end gender based violence in the province of British Columbia.

On June 4, 2019, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced the Government of Canada’s support for four projects to help end gender based violence in the province of British Columbia.

As part of its Preventing Gender-Based Violence – The Health Perspective program, which supports Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, the Public Health Agency of Canada will be investing more than $40 million over five years, and more than $9 million per year ongoing, to prevent gender-based violence.

This includes investing nearly $4 million in the four projects announced today to support the delivery and testing of programs to prevent teen and youth dating violence, particularly for youth in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

1. Multi-lingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities (MOSAIC): Multicultural Safe Dating

   Through this project, MOSAIC will develop, deliver, and test the effectiveness of Multicultural Safe Dating—a teen dating violence prevention program for youth and parents or caregivers that will be tailored to immigrant, refugee, and racialized families. In addition to consulting with communities, MOSAIC will draw from several evidence-based teen dating violence prevention programs to create a unique program that will be culturally relevant to this priority group.

   Program activities will include youth and caregiver workshops and family activity booklets that can be completed at home to promote intergenerational learning. PHAC is contributing $956,584 over five years to support this project.

2. Réseau-Femmes Colombie-Britannique (RFCB): Young Leaders of Healthy Relationships

   Living in an official language minority community can sometimes pose barriers to accessing resources or tools in your first language. Through this project, RFCB will develop, deliver, and test a violence prevention intervention designed to address the needs of Francophone youth living in official language minority communities in British Columbia.

   The program will be co-managed and co-created by youth to ensure that their perspectives are included and that the project is culturally relevant to participants. Once developed, the program will address themes such as sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sexism, stereotypes, media education, harassment, and prevention. PHAC is contributing $998,388 over five years to support this project.

3. Victoria Sexual Assault Centre (VSAC): Respect – Preventing Dating Violence by SHIFTing Culture

   Through this project, the VSAC will deliver and evaluate SHIFT—a program that aims to prevent gender‑based teen dating violence. The program focuses on creating a youth-led, school-based, and responsive education and social action program to help end violence in communities and promote positive relationships for youth. The program explores the factors that contribute to gender-based violence and teaches youth how to identify and communicate sexual boundaries, the importance of asking for consent, and why challenging gender stereotypes is crucial for creating positive and equal relationships. The program will also include youth leadership training and the delivery of workshops to school staff to create safer, more inclusive school communities.

   SHIFT will be delivered in seven schools in Victoria, British Columbia. In addition, VSAC will deliver culturally relevant programming through workshops and youth leadership training at the Tribal School in partnership with Tsartlip Nation youth leaders and elders. PHAC is contributing $1 million over five years to support this project.

4. YWCA Metro Vancouver: Dating Safe – A Dating Violence Prevention Program

   The YWCA Metro Vancouver will develop, deliver, and evaluate the effectiveness of Dating Safe, an in-school teen dating violence prevention program that will provide youth with the knowledge and skills to develop healthy relationships that are free from violence and abuse.

   Dating Safe will be delivered during school hours as part of British Columbia’s new provincial Physical and Health Education curriculum. The program will be designed to address the needs of all students, regardless of their sexual orientation, cultural or social background, or their previous experience with dating violence. Participating schools will be recruited from the Vancouver School Board and the Surrey School District, which have ethnically and culturally diverse student populations, including refugees, newcomers to Canada, Indigenous youth, and students who identify as LGBTQ2S. PHAC is contributing $992,309 over five years to support this project.