PUBLIC POLICY

In 2024, in collaboration with the School of Public Policy and Calgary Police Service, Shift produced the first two reports in a series on understanding the histories and trajectories of perpetrators of domestic violence. This groundbreaking work can help to focus legislation, policies, and practices on preventing the perpetration of domestic violence, shifting our approach to focusing on preventing the escalation of violence.

In 2024, Shift partnered with Silver Gummy Foundation and Informed Opinions to support gender-based violence leaders and their organizations in Alberta on a new initiative titled, “Flip the Script”. This collaborative was designed to support these leaders to influence public and media narratives with a focus on preventing male perpetration of domestic, sexual, and family violence across the province.

In 2024, Lana Wells presented 3 key policy recommendations – focused on disrupting trajectories of male violence – to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Justice Policy to inform their study on intimate partner violence.

From 2021-2023, Shift collaborated with the Government of Alberta and 350+ organizations in Alberta and developed Canada’s first provincial primary prevention framework. This policy collaborative produced Winning Against Domestic & Sexual Violence: Alberta’s Primary Prevention Playbook, along with 12 primary prevention reports that provide detailed policy and practice recommendations for addressing the root causes of violence, reducing risk factors, and increasing protective factors for women, equity-deserving groups, and Indigenous Peoples.

In 2022, Shift submitted a national strategy to the Government of Canada of evidence-based policies and practices to support the engagement and mobilization of more men and boys to stop violence before it starts and achieve gender and social justice.

In 2022, Shift submitted a provincial strategy to the Government of Alberta on building a movement of men and boys committed to violence prevention and gender equality. This report includes 4 key strategies and 12 concrete recommendations to engage men and boys as part of the solution to stop violence before it starts.

In 2022, Shift partnered with Indigenous researchers, Knowledge-Keepers, Grandmothers, and Elders to develop a series of policy reforms to prevent family violence, producing two films and a policy report with detailed recommendations targeting 6 key government ministries, including justice and policing, child welfare, health, education, housing, and transportation.

In 2021, Shift produced a submission for the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Children’s Services and presented at a town hall meeting to gauge the impact of the pandemic on Alberta’s children and youth.

In 2021, through a partnership with Calgary Police Services, Shift developed a joint submission focused on ways the Alberta Police Act (RSA 2000) could be amended to equip policing organizations in Alberta to better address instances of workplace sexual and gender harassment that are below the criminal threshold.

In 2019, Lana Wells joined a panel of top researchers and experts to help develop a provincial policy framework for the prevention of domestic violence in Nova Scotia, Canada.

In 2018, Shift conducted a national scan of Canadian municipalities to identify city council-adopted policies, plans, frameworks, strategies or initiatives that focus on preventing domestic violence and/or sexual violence.

In 2017, Lana Wells worked with the UN Human Rights Office of the Commission to impact policy at a global level, including amending the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) General Recommendation on Violence Against Women and moderating an associated panel discussion at the 35th Human Rights Council meeting.

In 2015, in partnership with the Government of Alberta’s Family and Community Safety Branch, Shift produced the ‘Men and Boys Violence Prevention Project’. This policy framework informed a provincial action plan – the first of its kind in Canada – to engage men and boys in stopping violence against women, with a focus on embedding transformational messaging and learning experiences into settings and activities that men and boys already participate in.

From 2011-2013, Shift partnered with the Government of Alberta to design the Family Violence Hurts Everyone: A Framework to End Family Violence in Alberta. The policy framework provided the Government of Alberta with evidence-informed strategies to move “upstream” and prevent violence from happening in the first place. This work included producing papers and source documents that proposed program and policy amendments to reduce rates of family violence in Alberta.