More survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence will soon have access to more accessible support and counselling services.

As part of Safe and Supported: B.C.’s gender-based violence action plan and through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, $1 million will be provided to the Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC) to make counselling more accessible to equity-deserving groups, including survivors who are racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, seniors, people with a disability, and people in underserved rural and remote communities.

The new supports and counselling services will be integrated into existing Stopping the Violence counselling programs in the province that provide important services to survivors as they overcome violence in their lives.

EVA BC will build partnerships with organizations that represent equity-deserving groups to understand the opportunities and barriers that exist in current counselling responses, provide training and resources to counsellors, enhance services to better support equity-deserving groups and expand options for virtual counselling.

Additional projects receiving new funding through the National Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence include:

• Nearly $4 million to help address wait lists and build capacity for community-based service providers delivering victim services and violence against women programs in B.C.
• Domestic violence units at Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry (Kelowna and surrounding area), Archway Community Services (Abbotsford) and Surrey Women’s Centre, as well as the counter-exploitation unit of the Family Services of Greater Vancouver, are receiving a total of $450,000 for community-based positions.
• Victim services and violence against women programs are receiving $200,000 to improve data collection.

Quick Facts:

• In 2022, there were 129,876 victims of police-reported family violence and 117,093 victims of police-reported intimate partner violence in Canada.
• Women and girls experienced higher rates of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence than men and boys.
• Only 5% of women who experience sexual assault report to the police and 9% report to victim services.
• Self-reported data from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces indicated that transgender people in Canada were more likely to have experiences violence since age 15, and more likely to experience inappropriate behaviours in public, online and at work than cisgender people.

Learn More:

For more information about Safe and Supported, B.C.’s gender-based violence action plan, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/services-policies-for-government/gender-equity/safe-and-supported-gender-based-violence-action-plan-december-2023.pdf

For more information about gender-based violence, sexual assault and domestic violence, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/public-safety/domestic-violence