Youth and Gender-Based Violence

Youth dating violence and gender dating violence continue to be significant safety and public health concerns. Wisdom2Action (W2A) is committed to addressing this growing issue through collaborative initiatives to intervene in the work to prevent youth and gender-based interpersonal violence.

Through the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC), W2A is actively engaged in building community responses to 2SLGBTQIA youth dating violence. The Health Perspective program comprises two evidence-based interventions: the W2A SAFER project, and the CBRC Do You Mind? program into one enhanced intervention that addresses gender-based violence and dating violence. The program will be delivered to youth in underserved communities, where participants will engage in active efforts to address dating violence by collaborating with local partners to design their own community-based dating violence prevention projects. These youth-led initiatives will engage an additional 60 youth and reach 2,000 more as their initiatives will undergo a rigorous evaluation. The results will guide the creation of a 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth Dating Violence Provider Response Toolkit that will be distributed to more than 3,000 professionals. The fundamental goal of this project is to prevent dating violence among gender and sexual diverse youth by supplying both youth and professionals with critical knowledge and skills in this subject to foster safer relationships.

Additionally, W2A is involved in supporting the University of Calgary’s PREVNet plan. PREVNet is a national research organization dedicated to addressing youth interpersonal violence across Canada. PREVNet promotes evidence-based programs and effective policies to address dating violence and bullying. W2A additionally contributes by supporting their Communities of Practice (CoP) to codevelop an extensive youth engagement plan and by hosting a virtual Introductory National Youth Advisory Committee (NYAC) meeting. Through PHAC funding, PREVNet enables shared knowledge mobilization by connecting 21 violence interventions across Canada. NYAC is made up of nine youths from Canada, ages 16 to 25, who work on youth-led initiatives to combat teen dating violence.

Together, these initiatives raise awareness and drive action to address gender-based and youth interpersonal violence through community engagement, knowledge mobilization, and the centering of youth voices to foster positive collaboration with professionals, practitioners, and organizations. Wisdom2Action is committed to continuing its support for the vital efforts to build a safer environment for youth across Canada.