According to a Feb. 17 news release, the province announced it is giving around $1.46 million to various groups as part of Saskatchewan’s participation in the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence.
The “additional” funding will help support 10 organizations and programs across the prairie province and will be given over this year and in 2027.
Recipient organizations include the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan, Anchor & Thread Community Services Inc., the United Way of Regina and Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan.
Another organization to receive funding is the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which will get $250,000.
According to a government backgrounder, pets can be a factor in dangerous domestic situations.
“Research has shown that concern for pets can often be a barrier to those seeking to leave situations involving interpersonal violence,” it states. “This is a province-wide initiative designed to remove this barrier so individuals can leave their situation and seek safety.”
A spokesperson for Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Justice and Attorney General elaborated on how pets can impact such a situation, saying that “in some cases perpetrators of interpersonal violence harm or threaten to harm pets as a tactic of coercive control.”
Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod spoke of the groups to receive this latest shot of funding.
“The participating agencies are guiding and fostering change as they build tools and programs to proactively address gender-based violence,” said McLeod in a statement. “I am grateful to all these partner organizations for collaborating with us on this important project and for the work they do to create a safe future for women and girls in Saskatchewan.”
Alana Ross, Saskatchewan’s minister responsible for the status of women, said tackling gender-based violence requires “sustained action, strong partnerships and targeted investments.”
“The funding will support prevention programs that help stop violence before it starts and expand services for people who experience violence,” said Ross. “This is practical support that helps women, children and families live safe, healthy and prosperous lives.”
In July 2023, Saskatchewan became one of the first two provinces to join the national action plan (Manitoba was the other), a 10-year initiative where participating provinces and territories sign on to the plan and, in exchange, are given funding from the federal government to assist in implementing the plan in their respective jurisdictions.
For signing on, Saskatchewan is receiving $20.3 million over four years.
The national plan focuses on five pillars of action: survivor support, prevention, a responsive justice system, support of Indigenous-led approaches and the development of “social infrastructure” and an “enabling environment.”
According to Statistics Canada, rates of police-reported family and intimate partner violence were highest in Canada’s territories in 2023. However, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had the highest rates among the country’s provinces.
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