Mission and Vision

CBR is an approach to research that is grounded in working within and alongside a community to tackle the needs and priorities of that group. The WCHC Hub is founded on CBR. The strength of our network is rooted in the long-term community relationships and the meaningful involvement of women and gender diverse people living with HIV on a participatory and leadership level, which we continue to grow. Through the incredible work of our Women's Community Leadership Team and other community members, all of the WCHC Hub's research, events, and activities are structured from a community-first lens.

Coined by critical race and legal scholar, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, the framework of intersectional feminism which we follow is one characterized by advocacy for equal opportunity, expression, and power, regardless of one's social identity, and with consideration of the ways in which identities and positionalities may affect people differently, largely in part due to social and structural system. By recognizing the ways in which women and gender diverse people of varying identities and experiences may be affected differently by current HIV care, research, and practice, we are able to better identify and more critically dismantle systems that do not serve our populations or that may perpetuate disparities. In our goal of improving health outcomes, quality-of-life, and overall well-being for women and gender diverse people living with HIV in Canada, this framework is fundamental in realizing genuine progress.

Developed by Indigenous sub-hub Co-Lead and esteemed researcher Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose, the Cultural Responsiveness Framework (CRF) provides a lens through which research should be conducted to improve the well-being and health outcomes of Indigenous populations. It was directly created from a theory, known as the Indigenous Cultural Responsiveness Theory, which Sasakamoose co-authored in 2018. The term "cultural responsiveness" in a health care and health research context refers to services which are respectful of the diversity of health thought, action, and needs in different cultures. The framework is focused on building and sustaining systems which have the capacity to respond to the health care needs of diverse populations. The CRF is aimed at creating a middle ground to support community-based research led by Indigenous peoples while transforming existing and developing systems, like the WCHC Hub, to become more culturally responsive and therefore better equipped to care for Indigenous peoples.

The WCHC Model was the output of an interdisciplinary and multi-provincial effort to close gaps in HIV care for women and gender diverse people, and the WCHC Hub operates and expands on that same principle of working together to promote health and social equity. In practice, this is a commitment to identifying, disassembling, and rectifying structures which place individuals or groups into inequitable positions. By engaging in thoughtful and critical conversation about our own policies and structures, listening to community members, and maintaining an open and inviting Hub network that welcomes any and all individuals interested in the field of women, HIV, and health, the WCHC Hub hopes to create a safe, inclusive space for all Hub members. Through our population-specific sub-hubs, community-led teams, and supporting values of respect, GIPA/MEWA, and EDIA-DIR, the Hub continues to fight with and for marginalized populations to help them see the best possible health outcomes.

We recognize that many women and gender diverse people are disproportionately impacted by experiences of trauma and violence and that these histories may intersect with other forms of societal or structural oppressions. As a network that operates in such a wide range and with many underserved groups, we try to be mindful of the spaces we are creating and how we invite difficult conversations into those spaces without harming the well-being of our community.  The WCHC Hub hopes to foster an environment that enables all women and gender diverse people engaging in care, research, or community, to feel safe and respected in all practices, and to ultimately empower them to reach their full potential.