Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 2026

1. Our Commitment to Privacy

Women’s Shelters Canada is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in a respectful, responsible, and transparent manner.

We recognize that domestic violence (DV) is a sensitive issue. This website is designed primarily to provide information and resources, and we intentionally limit the collection of personal information to reduce risk and protect safety.

We comply with applicable Canadian privacy legislation, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Where applicable, we also take reasonable steps to align our privacy practices with substantially similar provincial privacy legislation, including Quebec’s private-sector privacy law.

Beyond legal requirements, we are committed to privacy practices that prioritize safety, dignity, confidentiality, and harm-reduction, particularly for people impacted by DV.

2. Purpose of This Website

This website is intended to:

Provide information and resources for employers
Support workplace awareness and capacity-building related to DV
Share tools, guidance, and links to external supports

This website is not a reporting, disclosure, or support service, and is not intended to collect personal experiences of violence. This website does not provide crisis intervention, counselling, legal advice, or case management.

This Privacy Policy should be read alongside the initiative’s Terms of Reference, which outline governance, scope, roles, and safeguards for the website and its content.

3. Personal Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Choose to Provide

You may choose to provide limited personal information if you:

Contact us through a form or email
Subscribe to updates or newsletters (if applicable)
Participate in optional feedback or evaluation activities

This information may include:

Name
Email address
Organization or role (if voluntarily provided)

You are not required to provide personal information to access the website.

3.2 Automatically Collected Information

Like most websites, we may automatically collect limited technical information, such as:

IP address (anonymized or aggregated where possible)
Browser type and device information
Pages visited and time spent on the site

This information is used only to:

Understand how the website is used
Improve accessibility, usability, and performance
Support website security and maintenance

4. Information We Do Not Intentionally Collect

We do not intentionally collect:

Personal experiences of violence or abuse
Health, legal, or employment records
Sensitive identifiers such as Social Insurance Numbers or dates of birth
Information about employees or workplaces without consent

This website is not a reporting or disclosure platform.

5. How We Use Personal Information

Any personal information collected is used only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate, including to:

Respond to inquiries or requests
Share updates you have opted to receive
Improve website content and functionality
Support evaluation and reporting in an aggregated, non-identifying manner

We do not use personal information for unrelated marketing purposes.

6. Consent

By providing personal information, you consent to its collection, use, and disclosure as described in this Privacy Policy.
You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by contacting us using the information provided below.

7. Safeguards and Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse.

No website can guarantee absolute security. If you are concerned about privacy or safety, we encourage you to:

Ensure your device is private, or use a friend’s device
Clear your browser history after visiting
Access community or crisis supports directly if you need immediate assistance
Visit www.techsafety.ca for more information on staying safe online

8. Disclosure to Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information.

We may share limited information with trusted third-party service providers (such as website hosting or analytics providers) only as necessary to operate the website and only where appropriate privacy protections are in place.

We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law.

9. Third-Party Websites

This website may include links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

10. Cookies and Analytics

We may use cookies or privacy-respecting analytics tools to understand how the website is used.

You can adjust your browser settings to refuse or delete cookies. Doing so will not affect your ability to access most website content.

11. Retention of Information

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. Information is then securely destroyed or anonymized.

12. Your Rights

Under Canadian privacy law, you have the right to:

Request access to personal information we hold about you
Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information
Ask questions about our privacy practice
Withdraw consent where applicable

Requests will be handled within a reasonable timeframe in accordance with applicable law.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

14. Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact:

Women’s Shelters Canada
info@endvaw.ca

If your concern is not resolved, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

This project has been funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada Women’s Program.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Reference