Un toit pour elles

Purpose

This 30-month project will promote a feminist response to and recovery from the current impact of COVID-19 through systemic change. To achieve this goal, Un toit pour elles plans (1) to train a group of women survivors to ensure that their testimonials become a tool for regaining power in order to influence policy governing housing and access to housing by women victims of sexual exploitation; (2) to document and disseminate the specific needs of women and girls victimized by sexual exploitation in housing and in transitional and long-term housing in Greater Montreal and across Quebec, taking into account the impact of the pandemic on them and, more specifically, on racialized and Indigenous women; (3) to develop a space for consultation among key multi-sectoral players for developing joint strategies on access to housing and social housing by women survivors of sexual exploitation; (4) to develop a Quebec model pathway to exiting prostitution, including access to transitional housing with community support to meet the needs of the diverse communities and realities of women and girls across Quebec who want to leave prostitution; and (5) to engage institutional authorities on the specific needs of victims of sexual exploitation as they endeavour to leave prostitution and obtain housing. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed toward addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, and by expanding networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change in support of women’s equality. The organization will also have co-developed, with the women survivors, a Quebec model pathway for leaving prostitution applicable across Quebec. This model will consider the experience of organizations working with these women and the expertise of the Concertation des lutte contre l’exploitation sexuelle (CLES). By the end of the project, through a partnership with the Office municipal d’habitation and the City of Montréal, accommodation space for women and girls victimized by sexual exploitation in the Metropolitan Montréal area will have increased by 10%.