Implications for policy, research, and practice

This paper has examined the historical, structural, and institutional conditions that shape the disproportionate burden of homicide and gun violence borne by Black communities in Canada, and the persistent gaps in recognition, data, and service that compound the harm experienced by those left to survive it.

Black survivors of gun violence and those bereaved by homicide face profound trauma shaped by racism, inequity, and repeated exposure to loss. Specialized, culturally grounded support systems are not supplementary but foundational to any adequate response. Black-led organizations and grassroots groups have proven essential in providing trusted, culturally reflective programs, and their sustained funding is a policy priority, not an afterthought. At the same time, the responsibility for culturally responsive care cannot rest solely on Black-led organizations. Many are chronically under-resourced, and their communities are themselves disproportionately affected by homicide and gun violence. Mainstream victim service systems must also build their capacity to serve Black survivors with cultural aptitude and responsiveness. This includes; post-homicide training for service providers, dedicated, Black-led units and Black victim support workers embedded within provincial government victim service structures, ensuring that care is shared, sustained, and structurally supported.

Systemic racism shapes how violence is experienced and responded to at every level. Policy must explicitly address the barriers of institutional distrust, fear of criminalization, and absence of culturally appropriate services that Black families encounter when seeking help. Canada is only now beginning to collect race-based data on victims, accused persons, access to services, and criminal justice outcomes. Without accurate disaggregated data, the experiences of Black survivors will remain invisible to the systems meant to serve them. Quantitative data alone is also insufficient. Qualitative research that captures the narratives and lived experiences of Black victims and survivors is equally necessary, centering their voices as authoritative sources of knowledge about what harm looks like and what healing requires. There is a particular need for qualitative and intersectional research that captures how homicide bereavement and gun violence survivorship are experienced across gender, age, disability, immigration status, and sexual orientation within Black communities. The current absence of such data does not mean these differences do not exist; it means the systems designed to respond to them cannot see them (Sharpe et al., 2025; Jeffers, 2023). Research and community consultations point to recurring patterns: Black grandparents raising grandchildren following the homicide of their own children, Black 2SLGBTQ+ survivors of gun violence navigating service environments hostile to both their race and their identity, and Black newcomers bereaved by homicide who cannot report to police without risking deportation each carry distinct and compounding burdens that aggregate statistics will never capture (Jeffers, 2023; Maynard, 2025; Deshman, 2009). Qualitative and community-engaged research that centres these experiences is not supplementary to the evidence base. It is part of it. Trauma caused by community violence is a public health issue. It demands coordinated, multi-sector action grounded in the socio-cultural contexts of Black communities, not policing alone.

Sustained investment in Black-led organizations strengthens community safety, supports youth, and contributes to breaking cycles of violence and inequity. Effective responses to violence must be built with survivors, not for them, drawing on community knowledge, cultural strengths, and lived experience at every stage of program design, research, and policy development. Healing is both individual and collective. Black communities’ use of spirituality, community rituals, collective care, and maintained connections to lost loved ones must be recognized and supported by formal systems. Families, schools, community organizations, service providers, and governments each have a role in addressing the root causes of violence and building environments where Black youth and families can be safe.

Change is possible and already underway. Through CBJS, Black-led research centres like The CRIB, and community mobilization across the country, new pathways are being built that centre healing, equity, and justice. Those who are surviving the homicide of a loved one and those who survived firearm injury but were left to rebuild without adequate support deserve the full and sustained commitment of the systems, institutions, and policymakers positioned to make a difference. Whether that commitment is honoured will depend on continued collaboration, investment, and accountability.

Tanya L. Sharpe PhD, MSW
Professor
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Address: 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1V4
tanya.sharpe@utoronto.ca