Sexual Violence Strategy funds 24 new projects
New online training resource launched by Minister Bernard to help support survivors
Twenty-four projects aimed at preventing or responding to sexual violence received provincial funding Monday.
Community Services Minister Joanne Bernard announced $630,000 in Prevention Innovation Grants through the province’s Sexual Violence Strategy during a daylong course on brain trauma hosted by Annapolis Royal’s Women’s Place Resource Centre.
The funds will support initiatives like Annapolis Valley First Nations’ project to prevent sexual violence through tradition, culture and dance, and Autism Nova Scotia’s Autism Sexual Education Project. Other projects range from Amherst to Eskasoni, and Halifax to Shelburne.
This is the second round of Prevention Innovation grants given out through the strategy. In 2015/2016, $650,000 was awarded, for a total investment of more than $1.2 million over two years.
Benard also launched a new online training course available free to Nova Scotians to learn more about sexual violence, how to respond to disclosure of sexual violence, and how to support someone who survived it.
The online resource was 22 months in the making with Dale Gruchy of NSCC Kingstec Campus in Kentville one of the leads on that project.
“It’s been three years since the Sexual Violence Strategy was introduced,” Bernard told the crowd of several hundred. “During that time, thanks to your unwavering dedication and passion, we’ve seen many initiatives started to help people understand a very difficult subject.
It takes courage to reach out to people and start conversations about rape culture, misogyny, missing and murdered indigenous women, and the many other issues that need to be dealt with in our society.”
Bernard said these are issues few people talked about 20 years ago. She said today it’s different.
“People are talking,” she said. “And it’s thanks to you in this room that the conversations are not only getting started but gaining momentum. Complex issues, like sexual violence, require multifaceted, creative solutions that involve a multitude of stakeholders – citizens, communities, organizations, and governments.”
The minister said government recognizes the expertise in communities and wants to help put creative ideas about prevention into practice within those communities.
Bernard also launched the online training course called Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Nova Scotia Resource. She said anyone can take the course and those who interact with all content can receive a certificate.
“It’s a great resource for service providers, friends, family members, neighbours, teachers, first responders, counselors, and anyone who is acting as a support person, or is concerned about sexual violence,” Bernard said.
She said the NSCC is fully supportive of the training course and will share it with students and employees. Plus, Bernard said, the Public Service Commission will be sharing the training with all provincial public servants.
The training has six separate topics, including an introduction to sexual violence, responding to a disclosure, choices following sexual violence, exploring sexual consent, enhancing the well-being of support people and Indigenous perspectives.
The training is available at https://nscs.learnridge.com/.
More information on the sexual violence strategy can be found at http://novascotia. ca/coms/svs/.