Emerging Stronger was prepared on behalf of the Ontario Association of Interval and
Transition Houses (OAITH), a coalition of first stage emergency women’s shelters,
second stage housing organizations and community-based gender-based violence (GBV)
organizations who work towards ending all forms of violence and oppression against
all women, girls and gender-diverse individuals. OAITH achieves this through training,
education, advocacy, public awareness and government relations.
Emerging Stronger was prepared on behalf of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH), a coalition of first stage emergency women’s shelters, second stage housing organizations and community-based gender-based violence (GBV), organizations who work towards ending all forms of violence and oppression against all women, girls and gender-diverse individuals. OAITH achieves this through training, education, advocacy, public awareness and government relations.
This report, prepared by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) for and with funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), is comprised of knowledge and perspectives regarding community-led definitions of safety from family members and survivors of the genocide of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, Transgender, and GenderDiverse Peoples (MMIWG2S+)1.
To ascertain community-led definitions of safety pertaining to MMIWG2S+, NWAC hosted and facilitated a Sharing Circle with fifteen MMIWG2S+ family members and survivors. The gathering was held at our Resiliency Lodge in Chelsea, QC, on June 20, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The primary purpose of this Sharing Circle was to further understand how MMIWG2S+ survivors and families define safety, and to subsequently identify safety indicators to monitor ongoing safety concerns—including, but not limited to: Physical, emotional, spiritual, and institutional safety.
The Knowledge, views, and perspectives shared with NWAC during this Sharing Circle serves as the basis for the nine recommendations included in this report. Importantly, these recommendations echo the National Inquiry’s 231 Calls for Justice and NWAC’s Action Plan. They will aid the government in its commitments to ending the MMIWG2S+ genocide and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.