Join us for a full-day conference dedicated to ending gender-based violence (GBV) among Black and racialised immigrant and refugee women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Learn, connect, and take action during the global 
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
.
About the Conference
The 
Voices for Change Conference 2025
 is hosted by 
Hope for Refugees International
 and takes place during the global 
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
 (November 25 – December 10).
This year’s theme, 
From Harm to Healing: Ending GBV and Building Safer Refugee and Newcomer Communities
, will guide a day of dialogue, skills-building, and collaborative action.
We will explore urgent issues—including human trafficking, economic abuse, and harmful gender norms—while sharing solutions to improve survivor support and strengthen community prevention capacity.
Why This Conference, Why Now
GBV disproportionately affects refugees, newcomers, and LGBTQI+ individuals due to intersecting systemic barriers such as racism, colonialism, homophobia/transphobia, ableism, poverty, precarious immigration status, and housing insecurity (WAGE, 2022).
Globally, humanitarian and displacement contexts amplify risks, with an estimated 1 in 5 refugee or displaced women experiencing sexual violence in complex emergencies (World Health Organization (WHO, 2024).
Locally, Toronto’s SafeTO plan and Ontario’s Action Plan to End GBV highlight the urgent need for culturally safe, trauma-informed, and prevention-focused strategies (City of Toronto, 2023; Government of Ontario, 2023).
Why Attend?
Learn
 from survivors, service providers, policymakers, and advocates.
Build skills
 to identify, interrupt, and prevent GBV.
Connect
 with local, provincial, national, and global networks.
Take action
 with clear steps you can implement in your community or organization
Conference Objectives
1. 
Strengthen Survivor Access to Essential Supports
Ensure refugee and newcomer survivors of GBV can access timely, trauma-informed, and culturally safe health care, legal aid, housing, income supports, and immigration services through coordinated and accessible systems.
2. 
Build Clear and Coordinated Referral Pathways
Develop and promote streamlined, multilingual referral networks—anchored by a Survivor Resource Hub—that connect survivors to services without retraumatization or systemic barriers.
3. 
Enhance Community-Based Prevention Capacity
Equip frontline workers, service providers, community leaders, and men/boys with the knowledge, tools, and skills to identify, interrupt, and prevent GBV within refugee and newcomer communities.
4. 
Foster Collaborative and Sustainable Change
Strengthen partnerships across sectors—government, community organizations, and survivor networks—to integrate survivor support and prevention strategies, creating long-term, safer communities for all.
Who Should Attend?
Refugees, immigrants, and newcomers
Survivors of GBV and trafficking
Social workers, healthcare providers, and settlement workers
Legal aid and justice sector professionals
Faith leaders, educators, and youth leaders
Policy makers and municipal/provincial leaders
Academics, researchers, and students
Conference Highlights
Plenary Sessions
Opening Plenary – Ending Violence Is Possible: If We Act Together Now
From Response to Prevention: Survivor-Centred Services & Community Capacity to End GBV
Workshops
Breaking the Chains
 – Understanding and Combating Human Trafficking in Refugee and Newcomer Communities
Beyond Dollars and Cents
 – Recognizing and Addressing Economic Abuse and Coercive Control
Men as Allies
 – Championing Positive Masculinity in Refugee and Newcomer Communities
Expected Outcomes
Improved survivor access to culturally appropriate services and a multilingual Survivor Resource Hub.
Strengthened prevention capacity to address GBV, including technology-facilitated and economic abuse.
Greater confidence in justice systems among racialised, immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQI+ survivors.
Systems change commitments from municipal and provincial partners.
Alignment with Existing Strategies
Federal: The National Action Plan to End GBV operationalises Pillars 1, 2, 3, and 5, and follows principles of intersectionality, survivor-centredness, and trauma- and violence-informed practice (WAGE, 2022).Provincial: Ontario’s Action Plan to End GBV and Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy (2025–2030) focuses on prevention, survivor supports, and community-based services (Government of Ontario, 2023).Municipal: Toronto’s SafeTO promotes a public health, prevention-first approach, aligning with conference objectives (City of Toronto, 2023).
Evidence Snapshot
1 in 5 refugee/displaced women in complex emergencies experiences sexual violence (WHO, 2024).
Sexual-minority Canadians face higher violent victimization rates; trans and gender-diverse people are especially at risk (Statistics Canada, 2022).
Human trafficking victims in Canada are predominantly women and girls; Ontario accounts for two-thirds of reported cases (Statistics Canada, 2023).
GBV’s economic and social costs are long-term and intergenerational (Department of Justice Canada, 2012).
Learn more about conference here: https://hopeforrefugees.org/elementor-3272/ 
Have questions or want to get involved?
Contact us at:
 
Email: info
@hopeforrefugees.org
Tel:
 
+1 (416) 576-9164
Information Source: Hope for Refugees International - HRI | eventbrite

Toronto

Colombia

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