What We Do
The Women-Centred HIV Care (WCHC) Hub is a collaborative, virtual network of people living with HIV as well as researchers, healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and other health advocates working to optimize the health of women and gender diverse people living with HIV in Canada. The WCHC Hub aims to create a formalized network that will connect women nationally to improve and expand our ability to respond to the unique needs of women and gender diverse people with HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs).
Women and gender diverse people are not only more biologically susceptible to HIV but are also disproportionately affected by social factors such as poverty, violence, marginalization, and gender inequality. The WCHC Hub recognizes the challenges facing these populations, as well as the complexity of the factors involved, and acts to close these gaps in HIV care.
The WCHC Hub is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) as one of the National Women’s Health Research Initiative’s (NWHRI) Women’s Health Hubs. We collaborate with a number of organizational bodies to promote the uptake of the WCHC model and to unify efforts in addressing the needs of women and gender diverse people living with HIV.
The Women-Centred HIV Care Model
The Women-Centred HIV Care (WCHC) Model is a holistic approach to care derived from the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) which underpins all of the work that we do here in the hub.
Read about some of the key features of the model below!
Key Features of the Model
1 / House Shape
Signifies the importance of safety, stability and unity in a care plan
The house lays on a foundation of trauma- and violence-aware care to respond to high rates of trauma, violence, oppression and exclusion
2 / Supporting Systems
Recognizes the importance of social determinants of health – especially those relating to family and one’s social responsibilities
Integrated and competent care is essential, including HIV care, women’s health care, and mental health and addiction care
Peer support, leadership, and capacity-building are integral to the long-term sustainability of the model
3 / The Person as the Priority
The woman is bigger than the house – she is the priority
The women build the house together, showing the value of women living with HIV being informed, involved, and connected to those who support them in each step of their care
Understand the Model
All WCHC Hub operations are performed in harmony with, and to promote the uptake of, the WCHC Model. At the centre of our leadership are women and gender diverse people with lived experience and we work from an anti-oppressive, equity-based, intersectional feminist framework to promote better HIV care, Canada-wide, for every individual. The WCHC Model has been used to inform and frame two toolkits, one for women and gender diverse people living with HIV
and one for healthcare providers.
Learn more about CHIWOS, the development of the WCHC Model, and the toolkits below!
Upcoming Events
The WCHC Hub hosts a number of events to connect Hub members, build skills, and learn from each other on a regular basis.
Please refer to the calendar below for more information on upcoming events.
To learn more about the types of events we host, visit the events tab!
To stay up to date on all of our newest events, follow our socials and join our bi-monthly newsletter!
Our Commitment
The WCHC Hub is committed to combating racism and discrimination in all forms. All Hub operations are grounded in values of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, decolonization, and Indigenous Rights (EDIA-DIR). To learn more about our values and supporting frameworks, please see our Vision and Mission page. To learn more about how the WCHC Hub is centring Indigenous, Black, and gender diverse peoples’ voices in our work, check out our sub-hubs below!
Acknowledgements
The WCHC Hub is a virtual network composed of many individual sub-hubs, communities, and organizations spanning the vastness of Turtle Island in the land now known as Canada. We acknowledge our presence on the traditional territories of many Indigenous Nations, and we work to prioritize Indigenous women and gender diverse peoples’ voices, leadership, and direction in our work. We recognize our shared responsibility to work in allyship towards reconciliation with the original stewards of these lands and are committed to fostering meaningful relationships with the communities with which we share this space.
Through the leadership of Elder Sheila Nyman of the Syilx Métis and the WCHC Hub’s ongoing work in the Indigenous Sub-Hub, we endeavour to support and sustain multi-generational progress towards better health outcomes for those living with HIV and to eliminate identity as a barrier to comprehensive and accessible healthcare.
We also want to acknowledge the painful history of slavery here in Canada and its contribution to the lingering effects of medical racism, as well as celebrate the strength and determination of Black communities, who fought – and continue to fight – for freedom, justice, and equality.
Inclusive Language Disclaimer
Our work with the Women-Centred HIV Care Hub is rooted in feminist, anti-oppressive, and social justice principles. We recognize that language changes quickly, and we hope that the terms we use throughout our work will be met with understanding that our intentions are to support all folks living with and/or affected by HIV and we have sincere gratitude to all those willing to teach us if and when we can do something better.