Evaluation of Public Safety’s Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative

Violent crime against women and girls is an ongoing issue in Canada, and Indigenous women are at a higher risk of violence. More than six in ten (63%) Indigenous women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate or non-intimate partner in their lifetime, whether an acquaintance, colleague or stranger1 (the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces). In addition, the homicide rate for Indigenous women (3.8 per 100,000 Indigenous women) in 2020 was more than five times that of non-Indigenous women(0.7 per 100,000 non-Indigenous women)2. The Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative is one of the programs that has been created to address the issue of safety in Indigenous communities. The initiative was created in 2010 as a component of the Government of Canada's efforts to address the high number of missing and murdered women. It was renewed in 2014 as part of the Action Plan to Address Family Violence and Violent Crimes Against Aboriginal Women and Girls, led by Status of Women Canada. The aim of this initiative is to help communities develop integrated approaches to community safety in order to address multiple safety and wellbeing, as determined by the community. The Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate, Public Safety Canada, is seeking the services of a Contractor to conduct an evaluation of Public Safety’s Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative as required by the Treasury Board Policy and Directive on Results (2016). The evaluation will focus on: • achievement of outcomes; • successes and challenges encountered over the evaluation period; • the application and inclusion of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) considerations in program design and implementation; and • best practices, lessons learned and potential opportunities to improve performance. The evaluation will provide the Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada as well as senior management with reliable information to support decision making regarding Public Safety’s Aboriginal Community Safety Planning Initiative. The evaluation will cover the time period from 2018-19 to the current fiscal year.