Confronting Gender-Based Violence in Canada: Relationships, Tensions, and Solidarities Within the Anti-Violence Community

Activists play a crucial, yet under-examined, role in challenging the discourses that normalize gender-based violence in Canada. This article draws on semi-structured interviews with 13 diverse leading activists to explore the intra-community stressors they face. Adopting an intersectional lens, it examines the emotional, physical, interpersonal, and structural challenges that arise from limited funding, competition, and addressing a challenging topic (GBV). Many activists are also survivors navigating personal trauma. Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) participants report additional burdens tied to settler-colonial dynamics playing out in the sector. This study centers activists’ lived experiences to illuminate the complexities of anti-violence advocacy in Canada.