Year in Review

From Watson Lake to Whitehorse, our coalition took bold steps this year: building bridges, challenging systems, and amplifying women’s voices. Collective action in pursuit of gender-based justice and equity for women is at the heart of all our public-facing campaigns and initiatives to strengthen ourselves from within.

Here’s what collective action can do and what we achieved as a Collective this past year:

  • Came together in person for quarterly full-day meetings to support and enhance each other’s work and to engage in strategic and concerted efforts to end gender-based violence.
  • Held a successful annual retreat in Watson Lake and learnt from Help & Hope for Families what successful resistance to gender-based violence looks like in the communities.
  • Continued our work in collaboration with the Whitehorse RCMP, maintaining the Together for Safety Protocol (6 of our member organizations are signatories and recently Queer Yukon and a 7th member were invited to share their perspectives around the table).
  • Participated and contributed to impactful annual campaigns:
    • Red Dress Day, led by Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Council, May 5th
    • Sisters in Spirit, led by Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Circle, early October
    • International Women’s Day, led by Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, March 5th
    • Sexual Assault Prevention Month, led by VFWC & Les EssentiElles in May
    • 16 Days to End Gender-Based Violence, led by VFWC & Les EssentiElles Nov. 25 to Dec. 10
  • Completed 3 important internal projects:
    • Program Review: Collective Impact Model  – We undertook a thorough ‘program review’ of the Yukon’s gender-based violence (GBV) service landscape to clearly identify structural gaps, possible redundancies, and resource inequities.
    • Data Governance: This project is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in working towards better data governance across our sector.
    • Communications Strategy & Website Development -Developing an online presence (this website!), a logo and other communications tools to engage with our community and provide more clarity about who we are and the work we do.
  • Advocated for the reinstatement of the Minister for Women & Gender Equity, the full funding of that Department, and the continued and expanded commitment of the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence.
  • 2 of our members attended the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in NYC in March 2025 as part of the Yukon delegation, collaborating with other not-for-profits and bringing valuable learnings back to the Coalition as a whole.
  • Contributed valuable perspectives and community-based knowledge to the media on emerging issues, such as increasing rates of gender-based violence in Yukon and providing adequate reproductive health services to Yukon residents. Participated in radio and print interviews on our Coalition and member-led events, such as International Women’s Day and Red Dress Day.
  •  Wrote and signed letters of support and lobbied local politicians and leaders to support key issues such as maintaining space for the Opal Clinic at Whitehorse hospital, implementing universal access to contraceptives, and continuing support for the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence.
  • Marched, walked and stood in silent counter protest at various events – led both by members (for example the silent counter anti-abortion rally) and the public (such at the walk in protest to attacks on women on the Milennium Trail).
  • And much more…..
It’s a lot. But together we truly do have strength, wisdom and the ability to grow and amplify each other’s voices. Join us in our vision of creating a world where women have achieved equality and thrive free of violence of any kind.
Learn about our campaigns under the  ‘take action‘ tab, or become a more informed ally by taking a free online course on topics that guide gender-justice work- scroll to the ‘national resource section’ for links to valuable, and free, trainings!