Family Violence Initiative

Overview

The Family violence Initiative (FVI) is an ongoing federal commitment to a long-term societal problem with a multitude of social, justice, and health dimensions. The long-term goal of the FVI is to reduce the occurrence of family violence in Canada. Fifteen federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations take part in this Initiative. The Department of Justice is a key participant in the federal Family Violence Initiative.

The Department of Justice's component of the FVI focuses on strengthening the justice system's response to family violence. The Department's activities addressing family violence are concentrated in four areas:

• Policy development and legislative reform;
• Research and evaluation;
• Project funding; and
• Public Legal Education and Information (PLEI).

Further information on these activities can be found at the Department of Justice's Family Violence Web site.

Objectives

Project proposals must be consistent with the following FVI objectives:

• To enhance knowledge, promote development, and inform Canadians and the legal community about family violence issues;
• To promote access to justice, equality and human rights in Canada by supporting:
  • consultations, research, and partnerships;
  • development and dissemination of information; and
  • development, testing and implementation of new cost-effective, multi-disciplinary approaches, models and pilot projects regarding the administration and delivery of services, to victims of family violence;
• To promote the development and implementation of legislative and socio-legal reforms;
• To support the development, testing and implementation of innovative program options, new and multi-disciplinary approaches and models in regard to community involvement and protection from family violence.

Activities

Examples of pilot projects and activities that could be funded under the FVI include:

• Assessment of the response of the justice system and professionals to family violence;
• Development of new strategies, models and tools to improve service and program delivery to family violence victims in crisis;
• Development and implementation of support for child victims/witnesses of family violence in the criminal justice process;
• Development of family violence resource tools for service providers, including those in hard-to-reach communities such as rural and Aboriginal communities;
• Development of information strategies and tools for easier access to services relating to family violence to meet the needs of vulnerable groups such as older adults, people with disabilities, and immigrants.

Examples of PLEI activities that could be funded under the FVI include:

• Development of information materials and information sessions related to family violence addressing PLEI needs of vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities;
• Revision, reprint and dissemination of existing PLEI materials;
• Assessment of PLEI materials and activities in the area of family violence;
• Updating and translation of family violence PLEI materials into additional languages.

Who is eligible?

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

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.

Funding activities related to the Family Violence Initiative are funded through the Department's Justice Partnership and Innovation Program.

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.

Send the application form by:

mail to:
Programs Branch
Department of Justice Canada
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8

fax at 613 941-2269; or
e-mail at pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca

Contact Information

Family Violence Initiative
Department of Justice Canada
Programs Branch
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
CANADA
K1A 0H8

Telephone: 613 941-4193
Fax: 613 941-2269
E-mail: fv-vf@justice.gc.ca