According to a March 31 news release, the province is expanding support for victims, survivors and their families by giving $500,000 per year in ongoing “core” funding to Creating Communities of Care Through a Customary Law Approach — a project supporting urban Indigenous and African Nova Scotian women impacted by violence.
Project partners — the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre, Nova Scotia Association of Black Social Workers, Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network and Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia — work with government bodies such as Victim Services and the Domestic Violence Court Program to provide “culturally relevant support” and raise awareness on how violence impacts Black and Indigenous communities.
Around 250 women in the province access supports and services via the program each month, notes the release. The program raises awareness through things such as podcasts, conferences, workshops and presentations.
Leah Martin, Nova Scotia’s minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, called it “an important project that gives voice to women who face increased barriers as a result of racism and discrimination in our society.”
“With a commitment to stable, ongoing funding, project partners can continue their work to break down those barriers and provide the culturally responsive support women and their families need to heal and thrive,” said Martin in a statement.
According to the Creating Communities website, the project “is inspired by the framework of Indigenous Customary Law and Afrocentricity in their approach to care and support [for] Indigenous and African Nova-Scotian survivors of gender-based violence.”
The project brings together various groups to provide “structured, systematic and integrated services,” such as “circles” of support, early victim identification and “culturally sensitive trust building programs.”
Commenting on the new, annual funding, Nova Scotia Association of Black Social Workers executive director Rajean Willis said the money will “enable us to strengthen our capacity within the [gender-based violence/intimate partner violence] sector to develop and provide culturally relevant services.”
“It comes at a critical time as there is a pressing need to amplify the voices of African Nova Scotian women, families, service providers and supports,” said Willis.
Pam Glode Desrochers, executive director of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre, had similar praise.
“It is proven that cultural supports are the most effective way for our Indigenous community members to ground themselves in instances of trauma,” said Desrochers. “This fund will change the lives and outcomes for women and their families affected by gender-based violence.”
The move to core funding is in response to recommendations from various inquiries into incidents involving gender-based violence, including the Mass Casualty Commission, the Desmond Fatality Inquiry and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ People.
Days before this announcement, Nova Scotia’s government stated it would be providing new, multi-year funding in a bid to help more victims in the province access housing and financial supports. The province is providing $2.95 million over three years in support of two community-based projects by YWCA Halifax: the Safer Spaces program — an initiative supporting young people trying to escape human trafficking — and the December 6 Fund, which provides interest-free loans to women and gender-diverse people fleeing domestic violence.
In late 2023, Nova Scotia joined the federal government’s National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence — a 10-year initiative to increase prevention, prioritize underserved areas and strengthen response. As part of signing on, Nova Scotia is receiving $18.3 million in federal funding over four years to implement the national plan in that province.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, Black people accounted for three per cent of Nova Scotia’s population, while Indigenous people accounted for 5.5 per cent.
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