Family Violence Initiative

Eliminating family violence in all its forms -including the maltreatment of children, violence between intimate partners and the abuse of older adults- requires a coordinated, long-term approach and commitment to a common vision.

Since 1988, the Family Violence Initiative (FVI) has been the Government of Canada's main tool for reducing family violence. The FVI:

• Promotes awareness of the risks associated with family violence
• Works with government, research and community partners to strengthen the capacity of criminal justice, housing and health systems to respond to family violence
• Supports data collection, research and evaluation activities to identify effective interventions

Fifteen partners, one commitment

Fifteen federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations make up the Family Violence Initiative. The Government of Canada provides permanent annual funding to support the violence prevention activities of eight FVI members:

• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Department of Justice Canada
• Department of Canadian Heritage
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Statistics Canada
• Status of Women Canada

Violence prevention is also integrated into the activities of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Correctional Service of Canada, the Department of National Defence, Health Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Public Safety Canada and Service Canada.

The role of the Public Health Agency of Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada leads and coordinates the FVI on behalf of the Initiative's 14 other partners. Due to the costly health consequences of family violence, the Agency also advances a public health approach to violence prevention through knowledge exchange and collaborative research and policy initiatives.

In addition, the Agency manages the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (NCFV), a resource centre for information on violence within the family. It includes the NCFV E-Bulletin, a quarterly newsletter that features current Canadian research, projects, initiatives and events touching on family violence.