Women’s Shelters Canada is a founding member of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters.

Since its inception in 2009, one of the primary activities of the GNWs has been to lead the production of an annual Global Shelter Data Count, which provides a snapshot of one day in violence against women shelters across the world.

In addition, the GNWS is responsible for holding regular World Conferences of Women’s Shelters, which bring together shelter delegates from around the world in order to share experiences and identify emerging priorities. The 1st World Conference was held in Edmonton in 2008, the 2nd in 2012 in Washington, DC, and the 3rd in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2015. Three staff members of Women’s Shelters Canada attended the 4th World Conference of Women’s Shelters in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 2019. It is anticipated that the 5th World Conference will take place in Australia at a date to be determined.