The Nova Scotia government announced it will spend $2.95 million over three years to support two community-based projects related to gender-based and intimate partner violence.
YWCA Halifax will lead the following projects, which aim to help victims and survivors of gender-based violence access housing, financial and other supports:
- $1.2 million for the Safer Spaces program to help people fleeing human trafficking. It provides safe housing and wraparound supports for up to 12 months.
- $1 million in 2025 followed by $250,000 over three years for the December 6 Fund, which provides up to $500 to women and gender-diverse people fleeing domestic abuse. The funding helps with costs related to housing, such as moving expenses and damage deposits.
The province says the December 6 Fund provided 230 participants with a loan or grant in 2023-24 and helped 244 participants with planning and other supports.
A survey of December 6 Fund clients showed finances were the main barrier preventing 70 per cent of participants from leaving abusive situations.
The province committed more than $100 million in its 2025-26 budget to support initiatives addressing gender-based and intimate partner violence.
The funding announced Thursday is part of a new $5.8-million commitment to projects previously announced on March 7.
The announcement comes as the province sees a spike in homicides linked to intimate partner violence.
Seven women and one man have been killed from alleged intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia since October.
Last week, the RCMP also charged a 31-year-old man with first degree-murder in the death of a 32-year-old woman in Bible Hill, N.S., on Sept. 17, 2023.
Police said the homicide was an incident of intimate partner violence.
In September 2024, The Nova Scotia government adopted a bill declaring domestic violence an epidemic in the province.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
