B.C. announces action plan to combat gender-based violence

The provincial government has unveiled a new three-year action plan to support victims of gender-based violence in the province.

The $62 million “Safe and Supported: B.C.’s Gender-Based Violence Action Plan” aims to support survivors and boost programming and prevention campaigns, while also strengthening the government’s response to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy announced the plan in Vancouver Sunday.

“These are transformative initiatives, but there is more work to be done,” she said. “Violence against women, girls, and gender-diverse people continues to be a concern in communities right across our province.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Kelli Paddon says survivors and Indigenous leaders helped inform the plan.

“We also heard there are many programs and initiatives that are working well,” Paddon said. “However, more is needed to support survivors and to prevent gender-based violence. We’ve also been told there are gaps in services for some people, and we’re taking action to meet these needs.”

“Every year moving forward we will prioritize actions that ensure survivors are safe and supported.”

Those gaps relate to program wait lists and the need to listen to voices that haven’t been listened to previously.

Paddon says that, while this issue remains complex, it can happen in any community or province.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the B.C. Society of Transition Houses says more affordable housing is needed to help those trying to escape violent households because, currently, the demand is greater than the supply.

“We welcome the investments but it’s not enough,” said Amy FitzGerald.

“No one should have to choose between homelessness and violence.”

With files from Angela Bower