Province announces 10-year strategy to end gender-based violence

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on May 14, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

The province is putting together a made-in-Alberta solution to help combat gender-based violence.

To this end, they have created a 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence, a “bold, provincewide plan that addresses all forms of gender-based violence,” says the province.

This strategy contains both short- and long-term actions to both strengthen current efforts and introduce new ones to co-ordinate community and government efforts, engage men and boys as partners, enhance women’s economic empowerment and ensure targeted programs are Indigenous-led.

“Our commitment to public safety is reflected in Alberta’s approach to preventing and responding to gender-based violence by supporting victims, preventing violence and ensuring high-risk offenders are held accountable,” said Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services. “This strategy is a bold step forward – one that brings together government, community partners and front-line professionals. United, we are proud to unveil Alberta’s decade-long commitment to ending gender-based violence, a crucial step towards a safer future for all.”

The government says its 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence complements and enhances existing initiatives such as the Council on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit Plus People and the Human Trafficking Action Plan to address the root causes of gender-based violence and prevent it before it occurs.

It also aims to increase awareness of what gender-based violence is, implement early-prevention strategies, empower women to be economically independent with social and financial resources, support Indigenous-led solutions and incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and being and support those affected how, where and when they need it.

“By prioritizing financial empowerment and Indigenous-led solutions, this strategy will help more Alberta women avoid or leave high-risk situations. Women Building Futures applauds the Government of Alberta for this farsighted, whole-of-government approach to the pervasive and complex problem of gender-based violence,” said Carol Moen, president and CEO of Women Building Futures.

Budget 2025 invests $19.8 million to support the plan, and the province says it will be used to make targeted investments to ensure provincial programs are coordinated, collaborative, effective and sustainable.

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