Help Us Rise, a national awareness campaign in Canada, in its fifth year, led by the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE), raises awareness about economic abuse. It’s held every November during Financial Literacy Month and Woman Abuse Prevention Month.
It spans from November 1 to November 26, concluding on National Economic Abuse Awareness Day. This year’s theme is combatting barriers in housing security and economic safety.
CCFWE said on its website that for survivors of domestic violence and economic abuse, having access to safe and affordable housing is absolutely vital.
It said unfortunately, due to coerced debt and poor credit scores, many survivors find it extremely challenging to secure housing in both the short and long terms. This leaves them with the difficult choice of either remaining with their abuser or confronting the harsh reality of homelessness.
“At CCFWE, we believe housing is more than shelter, it is the cornerstone of women’s economic security and safety. Without stable housing, survivors cannot heal, rebuild, or pursue independence. Safe and affordable housing must be recognized as a fundamental pillar of gender equality and economic justice,” the CEO of CCFWE, Meseret Haileyesus said.
Former CEO of Discovery House Family Violence Prevention Society, Monique Auffrey, was in an abusive relationship when her daughter was born and felt unable to leave her abuser because she was doing her master’s degree at the time.
“The structures in society today are not set up for a woman to be financially independent easily. That’s why we need not just affordable housing, but we need accessible affordable housing. We need various types of housing support,” Auffrey said.
“I had to take the step to separate myself from my abuser because the abuse was getting to the point where it wasn’t secret anymore and I had a young child,” she said.
“I remember then my mother saying to me, ‘I will take care of your baby for one year while you do your master’s so that you can look after yourself financially. This master’s degree will give you the financial security or some leverage to get a job and support yourself and your daughter,’ and that was the most generous gift anyone has ever given me,” Auffrey said.
Between a free program at the time that gave new moms support at home out of the IWK (Izaak Walton Killam) Children’s Hospital in Halifax and her mother providing free childcare, Auffrey was able to focus on her studies and daughter. She even later got a job in her field at a level equivalent to her education.
“I’m a huge advocate for the cooperative housing model, where people can come together and build community and help one another out in informal ways in order to keep costs down in terms of maintaining housing,” Auffrey said.
CCFWE’s 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Submission said the federal government prepares Budget 2025 with a focus on strengthening Canada’s economy and encourages people to consider that a robust economy requires a strong social infrastructure.
It said civil society organizations such as CCFWE are essential to helping survivors of gender‑based and economic violence build financial resilience, contribute to the workforce and participate fully in public life.
To break this cycle of violence for the next generation, Auffrey said people need to start looking at upstream measures for preventative strategies that help mitigate against the adverse childhood experiences.
“Women’s empowerment in every capacity has to be celebrated. Women’s empowerment is not just getting the good paying job, it’s being able to access the bank branch manager and getting the loan you need or securing a lease on a vehicle. It’s finding yourself in a place of employment where other women are celebrating your success,” she said.
A written brief from 2023 on the financialization of housing impacts of financialization of housing on women fleeing domestic abuse said the financialization of housing has direct and adverse effects on women and their children who are seeking to escape violence.
It said one of the primary reasons victims remain in abusive situations is the absence of affordable and suitable long-term housing options, leaving them without a secure place to seek refuge.
CCFWE’s Housing Brief reports that homelessness and housing insecurity among women in Canada are major but underreported issues. Current data collection focuses mostly on men’s experiences, overlooking women who rarely use public shelters or drop-ins and instead depend on unsafe or unstable living arrangements.
“What we do know is that women, such as single-mother families and trans women, are part of the fastest-growing segments of the unhoused populations,” the brief said.
“Single mothers are particularly at risk. In Canada, 77.2 per cent of one parent households are led by women, and one in six single mothers lives in poverty. The lack of affordable childcare, fair wages, and robust income support programs intensifies their risk of housing insecurity,” it said.
The brief said Canada has acknowledged housing barriers for survivors of economic abuse, but urgent action is needed to prevent further harm. By learning from effective international housing programs, Canada can adopt proven strategies to provide safe, sustainable housing for survivors.
Talia Bell, the chief programs and people officer for Young Women (YW) Calgary, the longest serving women’s organization in Calgary, said when looking at the cost of living in Calgary and across the country, it often impacts women in leaving an abusive situation.
“For many staying and accessing rental properties, new housing is such a barrier in our community, one because of the lack of it, and also we know that there’s sometimes discrimination when it’s a woman by herself or a woman with kids seeking accommodation,” Bell said.
CCFWE said on its website that 96 per cent of women who experience domestic abuse experience economic abuse, preventing them from moving forward as ending economic abuse is a crucial component of the National Action Plan to end gender based violence.
They outline in their 2025 Help Us Rise campaign that safe and affordable housing is a prerequisite for leaving domestic violence and without it many remain trapped in abusive situations.
“Women are more likely than men to experience low income in general and in Alberta, we have one of the largest gender pay gaps in the entire country. I think ours is 76 cents to every dollar a man makes, versus 86 cents. A gender pay gap can really prevent women from moving forward out of the abusive relationship and creates that financial dependency on their partners,” Bell said.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation said women and gender-diverse people face high risks of poverty caused by unique factors that lead to unique outcomes. It’s grounded in sexism, gender-based discrimination, and other interrelated forms of discrimination and barriers.
Bell recalls a frequently heard story of a woman who had no bank account, no ID, where those supports become the most critical to help them to be able to move forward financially with that financial independence. She said they have fantastic case workers and supports in their shelters and programs who will work with government and various organizations in the city and to get that ID and support women to open that bank account.
“As long as she needs it, we’re there for her. Our shelter supports all women who come through the door. If you need us and you’re in crisis and we assess the risk to be serious, you’re welcome,” she said.
“But I think about even what society can do, and I think of corporations. I think of all the places where people are on a daily basis and how we educate about what domestic violence looks like, what the signs of it are, how to notice it and how, in a workplace, we can all be those natural supports to help somebody,” Bell said.
“I think so often it can be treated as it’s not my business and I might be suspecting something, but I’m not going to ask. But what if everybody had that mindset? Then nobody would get the help they need. And we do have a really great course that we offer. We will come into the workplace and actually support what that looks like and how to do it. It’s one organization at a time, but those are the things that can have a really big impact in our society,” she said.
In a research study conducted by CCFWE, the overwhelming majority of women expressed deep concerns about their housing situations, especially due to the escalated economic abuse by the perpetrator.
When housing isn’t secure, stability isn’t either. The CCFWE is committed to creating a Canada where every woman has access to safe, affordable housing, a foundation for independence, safety, and equality.
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
