Initiatives to address workplace sexual harassment anticipatory call for proposals

Overview

In Budget 2018, in the context of its goal of “Eliminating gender-based violence and harassment” the Government of Canada responded to public and stakeholder concerns relating to workplace sexual harassment by proposing to invest $50 million over five years through two Department of Justice Canada (Justice) programs, to address sexual harassment in the workplace. Of this amount, $25 million will be dedicated to boosting legal aid funding across the country to support complainants of sexual harassment in the workplace, and $25 million to develop a pan-Canadian outreach program to better inform workers, particularly those most vulnerable, about their rights and how they can access help if they have been harassed in the workplace.

This call for proposals will help make workplaces harassment free by providing complainants of workplace sexual harassment with access to legal advice when dealing with workplace sexual harassment, and by increasing public awareness and knowledge about sexual harassment in the workplace.

Funding opportunities

Justice is launching an anticipatory call for proposals that seeks to fill gaps in information and resources to support complainants of workplace sexual harassment.

This call includes two initiatives

• Public Legal Education and Information - Workplace Sexual Harassment Component
• Legal advice and information – Workplace Sexual Harassment Component

Through these initiatives, Justice also seeks to fund the development, enhancement, or expansion of community services for complainants of workplace sexual harassment, with emphasis on collaborative models so that the justice sector is connected to the social and health sectors. Partnered organizations may apply for funding under both components with the goal of providing coordinated and holistic services to workers who have been sexually harassed in their workplace.

What is sexual harassment in the workplace?

The Canada Labour Code defines sexual harassment as any conduct, comment, gesture, or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or humiliation to any employee; or that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by that employee as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment or on any opportunity for training or promotion. ^{Footnote 1}

Sexual Harassment – Canada.ca

How much funding is available for each project?

The level of funding will vary from project to project based on the nature of the proposed activities and the scope of the population served.

Length of project?

The length of your project will depend on the initiative, activities and budget proposed, up to a maximum of 5 years.

Who can apply for this funding?

We strongly encourage organizations that have experience working on justice issues, whether through their mandate or through experience, to submit proposals. Justice Canada is also open to working with new and non-traditional applicants (e.g. social services, immigration settlement services), especially those that have experience with public legal education and information (PLEI) and awareness activities related to justice issues. Applicants should be able to demonstrate in the proposal their experience in the development of information, strategies and tools to promote an understanding of the law as it applies to labour and justice issues.

To ensure that services are available nationally, applicants will be selected from across the country.

Key considerations

The following key considerations should be applied in developing applications for this anticipatory funding opportunity, and evidenced in your proposals:

Gender-based Analysis

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a gendered issue. Projects under this initiative will need to have a gender-based approach and be able to take into account relevant intersection factors, such as race, class, sexuality, age, disability, language, and/or immigration status, etc., to address the experiences of complainants of sexual harassment in the workplace.  Women, especially those in male-dominated industries or low-wage and precarious jobs, are most often directly affected by sexual harassment, as are LGBTQ2S+ persons and youth. Sexual harassment rates are reportedly higher in certain industries that employ newcomer women and Indigenous women. When preparing your proposal, please elaborate on how your proposed activities will impact diverse groups of women, men and others.

Trauma-informed

Trauma-informed practice is a client-centred model that is built on knowledge about the impact of violence and trauma on people’s lives and health. It requires programs to integrate this knowledge into all aspects of practice and programming in ways that foster their clients’ safety, respect and empowerment. Trauma-informed practice in health promotion is an emerging and innovative approach that can help build resilience and reduce the negative health impacts for victims of trauma.

Multi-sectoral and multi-agency collaboration

Supporting complainants of workplace sexual harassment is complex and requires collaboration across sectors. Multi-sectoral approaches that involve organizations from various segments of society (e.g., non-profit, governmental, for-profit, academia) with complementary sets of expertise (e.g., violence against women, health, and/or justice/law enforcement) are required to address complex social issues like workplace sexual harassment. When preparing your proposal, please address collaboration across sectors and areas of expertise, where appropriate.

Cultural Sensitivity

Understanding the cultural contexts of diverse populations is an essential element in designing and delivering information and programs appropriately and effectively. Cultural contexts and values have a strong influence on behaviour. Applicants must demonstrate, directly or through partnerships with other organizations, their experience, knowledge and understanding of culture as it pertains to the implementation of their proposed project.

Official Languages

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, Justice is committed to facilitating the participation of official language minority communities and their organizations in the development and assessment of Justice's policies, programs and services having significant impact on the development of the communities; and to taking measures to ensure that Justice's programs and services reach official language minority communities. In the context of project funding, these measures include:

• outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of Justice funding programs; and
• encouraging contacts between organizations that are receiving financial assistance and official language minority organizations/groups to ensure that the needs of these communities are taken into consideration in relation to the proposed projects to be considered for Justice funding.

Publications and Resources

Contribution Funds for Non-Governmental Organizations, a Handbook (HTML) has been designed to help you better understand and comply with the financial requirements described in contribution agreements. We recommend that you review this handbook if you receive funding for your project.

Additional Information

For further information, please contact:

Programs Branch
Department of Justice Canada
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H8
Phone:  613-941-4193
Email:  sh-hs@justice.gc.ca