On March 25 and 26, Sarah Wright, Manager of Training and Projects, and Andrea Lam, Program Lead, from EVA BC attended and presented at the Web of Impact project invitational working group meeting. Facilitated by the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children (CREVAWC), the goal of the meeting was to support shared learning and knowledge mobilization for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) funded gender-based violence (GBV) projects across Canada.

The Web of Impact meeting brought together 65 project representatives to London, Ontario, where they reflected on and shared key project learnings with their peers. Participants engaged in a mixture of large and small group sessions, discussions and interactive activities.

Hope2Health Project

Andrea presented on the Hope2Health Project which produced two provincial resources to enhance anti-violence and health sector collaboration on sexual assault in British Columbia:

• The Hope2Health Hub for healthcare professionals and community-based sexual assault service providers. The Hub has information about survivor healthcare rights, trauma-informed support strategies, medical care and forensic exam options, clinical practice guidelines, mental health and substance use support, training, and where to access services.
• Best Principles and Practices Guideline for Sexual Assault Response to inform policies and improve sexual assault healthcare practices in BC.

Andrea said, “It was encouraging and inspiring to learn about the diverse projects and resources developed to support survivors, improve the criminal justice system response and prevent gender-based violence at a time when there seems to be increasing global backlash against women’s rights and feminism. I was so grateful to meet so many knowledgeable and passionate people who are dedicated to doing anti-violence work and fighting for change.”

Coordinating and building the knowledge of the gender-based violence sector

To support a more effective response to ending gender-based violence across Canada, the Web of Impact project will:

• Identify project themes and promising practices to develop resources based on shared learning and knowledge for a larger audience.
• Develop a centralized, national hub for all the WAGE funding GBV projects to make them accessible across regions in English and French.