We’re two days into Prevention of Violence Against Women Week 2013 and I’m here to tell you that prevention and intervention has never been more important as a casual look at the headlines reveals male violence against women and girls continues…unabated.

No doubt you have noticed that our communities live a significant part of the day online and like any environment the online environment can be dangerous.  So, once again, Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) is taking our gender violence prevention message online for Prevention of Violence Against Women Week 2013.  We’re travelling through the Twitterhood , Facebook and blogging at Ending Violence to share with our community that “It’s in Your Hands”.  Below, please take a read at the post, our youth consultant, Rona Amiri prepared, which will give you a sense of where we’re going with the week. Please forward this email with your contacts and share our posters.  The image attached is one of three we are working with during the week.

For over 30 years, we have been on the frontline taking action in this war on girls and women.  Prevention of violence against women week gives us another opportunity to check in with you and together take a fresh look what ending violence against girls and women really means.  We don’t want to stop there…you know, with just looking…with this week we join with you where together we align our efforts toward sustained and sufficient action that gets deep into the roots and feeds the energy we need to do the work to see the future free of gender violence.

Sincerely,

Angela Marie MacDougall

Executive Director

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS)

Presents:

Preventing Violence Against Women – It’s In Your hands

Preventing Violence Against Women Week 2013

Battered Women’s Support Services believes in the importance of engaging women, youth and men in violence prevention. In 2010, BWSS launched The Violence Stops Here Campaign that took the anti violence message forward into the 21st Century recognizing that violence against women isn’t only a woman’s issue but is clearly an issue for men. We urge men to own their role in ending violence against women, become part of the solution and break the silence. http://www.theviolencestopshere.ca/

We have also delivered youth prevention programming since the late 1980’s. We consistently provided education workshops to the tune of over 1,600 sessions over the past 20 or so years. Currently, our YOUth Ending Violence education prevention program is presented to youth across British Columbia.

During Prevention of Violence Against Women Week we will engage our online community in violence prevention by remembering we all have a role to play in preventing violence against girls and women as individuals, in our relationships, in our community and in society.

During the week of April 14^th – 21^st, 2013, join our online community to engage, empower and prevent violence at www.bwss.org/endingviolence

Here is a selection of Ending Violence blog posts on ways in which women, youth and men prevent violence:

Lessons from Steubenville by Rona Amiri

http://www.bwss.org/2013/03/lessons-from-steubenville-by-rona-amiri/

YOUth Ending Violence by Rona Amiri and Tijash Ramirez

http://www.bwss.org/2012/10/youth-ending-violence-by-rona-amiri-and-tijash-ramirez-2/

I’MPOWER–The Violence Stops Here

http://www.bwss.org/2012/10/impowerthe-violence-stops-here/

Got Consent?

http://www.bwss.org/2012/06/5870/

Youth Taking Action to End Violence Against Girls and Women

http://www.bwss.org/2011/09/youth-taking-action-to-end-violence-against-girls-and-women/

Don’t Be That Guy – Urging Men to Own Their Role to End Rape

http://www.bwss.org/2011/07/don%E2%80%99t-be-that-guy-%E2%80%93-urging-men-to-own-their-role-to-end-rape/

Real Men Speak Up Against Violence Against Women

http://www.bwss.org/2010/09/real-men-speak-up-against-violence-against-women/

Men – What YOU Can Do

http://www.bwss.org/2010/09/men-what-you-can-do/

Ten Things Men Can Do

http://www.bwss.org/2008/08/ten-things-men-can-do/

We invite you to join our discussions on violence prevention on our Facebook page and on our Twitter @EndingViolence

We are excited to invite you to view our Sisterhood Swagger Runway Show at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week 2013!

As a community thrift boutique and social enterprise, My Sister’s Closet, was invited to participate in Vancouver Eco Fashion Week 2013 to encourage the apparel and textile industry towards more responsible ways of designing, manufacturing, distributing, marketing, and selling their products and at the same time inform and inspire the sustainable-minded consumer on their approach to using and disposing of their clothes.

We would love to have your support and see you at our collection show of funky, fresh thrift, vintage, and eco fashion style! Purchase your ticket here for My Sister’s Closet Sisterhood Swagger Runway Show!

Keep posted on our Facebook group page and Twitter to learn details about our upcoming Vancouver Eco Fashion Week event and also ways of sustainable shopping while giving back to the community!

Have you read about My Sister’s Closet on Vancouver Eco Fashion Week website?  Meet with us…

MY SISTER’S CLOSET

The VISION

Claiming our space in Zero-waste and Ecofashion, we’re solid members of the Thrift Movement.   Empowerment blooms the Sisterhood Swagger and fashion dreams big for an end to violence against girls and women.  Have you met our Mothership?

The MISSION

My Sister’s Closet is a social enterprise of Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS).  Born in East Vancouver, today we thrive in our Yaletown community, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. Our style and designs move through a continuum of new, thrift, vintage, upcycled artisan and ecofashion. Style inspiration is all about the swagger of empowerment; an embodiment of the diversity of the left coast where the mountains meet the sea and where Toronto, Montreal, New York and Paris lean in to learn more.  Fashion with a destination and we will join WITH you in a world where violence against girls and women is a memory.

The ACTION

Consumerism abounds and the forces of globalization grind down in the mainstream retail experience. So our community takes a needed pause to reflect and find meaningful indulgences for a social purpose, for social justice.  Funky fresh styles are ever present and ever changing. The upcycle is in effect through inspired artisan designs, a loving showcase of women’s empowerment. Giving back and paying forward, the thrift experience feels mighty good.

The IMPACT

The Social in the Enterprise – My Sister’s Closet was born from a decision to be free from the whims of government. Revenues generated help fund critical services for survivors and violence prevention programming for youth. We make visible that which happens in private, intervention, prevention, transformation.

The BROTHERS

Urging men to own their role, we have dedicated space for our brothers to engage and be part of the solution.  Encouraging violence cessation and empowered bystander intervention, the Brothers come for the men’s fashion and stay for the future free of violence against girls and women.

The Team

Our frontline team work under the cover of confidentiality in our undisclosed Vancouver location. Our Ecofashion Week Flygirls are highly visible:

• Su Bennett – Stylist
• Dianna Drahanchuk – Stylist
• Colleen Tsoukalas – Vintage Blogger
• Amy Yew – Fashion Writer
• Farah Larki – Artisan
• Melanie Cookson – Artisan
• Samantha Kearney – Orchestration extraordinaire
• Ela Esra Gunad – The calm during the storm
• Angela Marie MacDougall – The ruckus behind the scenes

The virtual dialogue goes down here: We blog at Ending Violence

Battered Women’s Support Services

My Sister’s Closet, social enterprise of BWSS

Our physical engagement is in effect at:
1092 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC (at Helmcken Street)
Retail: 604-687-0770
My Sister’s Closet Vision: 778-996-5451
Battered Women’s Support Services: 604-808-0507

For 20 years Battered Women’s Support Services has delivered dating violence prevention education.
YOUth Engagement in Dating Violence Prevention
Co-facilitated by a trained young woman and a young man.

Anticipated outcomes:

• A better understanding of the roots of dating violence
• Types of abuse
• Healthy Relationships
• How to help a friend who is being abused
• Effective bystander intervention
• Safety Planning

The length of the workshop is approximately 50 minutes. Two and four hour workshops are available upon request.
Book as soon as possible as our calendar fills up very quickly.
ALL THE WORKSHOPS ARE FREE
By providing relevant education to youth about violence in dating relationships we are helping to end violence.

FOR INFORMATION call Rona at 604.318.2011 or email yev@bwss.org

To download poster, please visit here.

For more information about YOUth Ending Violence Program, please visit the program page:

• YOUth Ending Violence
  • YOUth Ending Violence Blogs
  • Youth Engagement in Dating Violence Prevention
  • Youth Dating Violence Awareness Month
    • Gender Violence and Bullying
    • The Facts on Dating Violence in Youth Relationships
      • Infographic: The Facts on Dating Violence in Youth Relationships
    • YOU & Social Media: How YOUth Can End Dating Violence

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

31. Build on what works- learn from the successes of the anti-violence sector in BC and beyond

Statistics such as “a woman leaves an abuser seven times before she leaves for good” are useful to demonstrate the enormity of the barriers facing women leaving abusive relationships, but these numbers are not inevitable. There are many organizations right here in BC that are effectively supporting women to beat the odds. Organizations that work with women by supporting her in whatever choice she wants to make and by offering whatever supports she believes she needs quickly see that women can make meaningful positive changes in their lives in a relatively short period of time. Whether in the field of policing, child welfare, education or criminal justice the most successful anti-violence programs from other jurisdictions rely heavily on partnerships with women-serving agencies that have a deep understanding of the dynamics of violence against women and whose mandate is not to “fix” or “protect” women, but to work with women to end violence against women.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

27. Ensure women attending the courthouse are not forced to interact with their abuser

28. Ensure consistent access for women to victim-service workers and supports

29. Value caregiving working- invest in childcare and eldercare

30. Develop and implement appropriate programs for men who abuse women with a focus on gender power

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

30. Develop and implement appropriate programs for men who abuse women with a focus on gender power

More emphasis must be placed on making programs available to offenders who are genuinely interested in making a change in their lives. Programs must address belief systems that perpetuate violence and abusive behaviour. Drug and alcohol treatment programs and anger management programs are not a substitute for interventions that target patterns of abuse of power, although they may also be required. BC does not have a comprehensive inventory of programs and services available to men who abuse their female partners. BC should engage in an evidence-based process for selecting programs to develop and fund.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

27. Ensure women attending the courthouse are not forced to interact with their abuser

28. Ensure consistent access for women to victim-service workers and supports

29. Value caregiving working- invest in childcare and eldercare

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

29. Value caregiving working- invest in childcare and eldercare

In 2002, 77% of family caregivers in Canada were women. Women who take on the majority of unpaid work that is required to care for young children and aging parents often make sacrifices in their careers in an effort to balance work and home life. Women who do not have financial security find it much harder to leave an abusive relationship and to stay out. To leave abuse, women need access to affordable childcare, or adequate financial support to care for their families themselves.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

27. Ensure women attending the courthouse are not forced to interact with their abuser

28. Ensure consistent access for women to victim-service workers and supports

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

28. Ensure consistent access for women to victim-service workers and supports

BC’s VAWIR policy states that all victims should be advised of the availability of victim services and identifies clear referral policies depending on the resources available in a given community.  In spite of protocols, many women continue to fall through the cracks. Front line workers play a pivotal role in empowering and supporting a woman when she decides to leave an abusive intimate relationship as well as supporting her when she is faced with having to navigate the Criminal Justice System. Victim-services programs must be resourced and mandated to be available to women within a short timeframe. The Ministry of Justice should ensure that all victim support workers within the Victim Services Programs and Community–Based Victim Services Programs are able to access proper training so they can support women and their families based on a multidisciplinary analysis. It is imperative to ensure that victim service, along with other front line workers, undertake a comprehensive training that includes gender violence and an intersectional decolonizing practice. They must be equipped to engage in a practice that takes into consideration gender, race, class, gender identity, ability and/or disability and that reflect an understanding of the dynamics of power and control that underlie violence against women.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate  of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

27. Ensure women attending the courthouse are not forced to interact with their abuser

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

27. Ensure women attending the courthouse are not forced to interact with their abuser

In BC, court processes and courtrooms are not safe or accessible for women victims of violence.  When coming to court to testify, women are often forced to share waiting space with their abuser and it is not uncommon to find the accused bullying the victim in and around the courthouse.  Greater emphasis needs to be placed on ensuring that women do not have to interact with the alleged perpetrator, his family or his support network when arriving at, waiting for and leaving the courthouse or when accessing court-based victim services programs. Steps must also be taken to make it easier for women to testify via CCTV from a safe location.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate  of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

PRESENTATION OF THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES

by students in SOCI 3245

“the most explosive event of the season”

-Banksy

“if you only attend one production this season… make it this one”

-Simone de Beauvoir

GET READY

because SHE’s ready to talk

April 16, 2013 7-9pm

Admission by donation

All proceeds go toward ending violence against women.

Organizer and Contact info: Fiona Whittington-Walsh Fiona.Whittington-Walsh@kwantlen.ca

Cedar Conference Room G1205

12666 72nd Ave, Surrey BC

31 Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

26. Fully implement best practice standards for child protection workers working with women experiencing violence

Since 2004, the Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD) has provided their representatives with practice guidelines through Best Practice Approaches Child Protection and Violence Against Women.  In December 2010, the B. government released the latest version of the Violence Against Women in Relationship (VAWIR) policy and an updated version of the Best Practice Approaches Child Protection and Violence Against Women and created a training curriculum based on the VAWIR policy. However, they have not provided this training to their child protection workers in a comprehensive way. In 2013, decades after the B.C. government created these policies, many women around the province continue to report they experience inconsistent, unhelpful and unsupportive involvement with MCFD child protection workers when dealing with situations of gendered violence and spousal abuse. It is critical that social workers across the province are adequately trained and resourced to deliver service that is in line with MCFD’s Best Practice Approaches and that MCFD audit for compliance with those practices.

Women in British Columbia have waited too long already. That is why we are offering 31 things that BC’s new Provincial Office of Domestic Violence (PODV) can push for right now to increase safety for women and to bring us closer than we have ever been to ending violence against women once and for all. We are calling for 31 social, economic and legal changes, none of which are unachievable in this province. Some would require very little financial investment, and each of them will save resources in the long term given the high costs of violence against women.

For more information:

Jane Doe Advocates – 31 Things British Columbia can do Right Now to End Violence Against Women

Follow The Violence Against Women in Relationship Act – 2. Audit for compliance with BC’s Violence Against Women in Relationship policy

3. Address the immediate financial and housing needs of women fleeing violence

4. Enhance access to justice for women – invest in family, immigration and poverty law legal aid services

5. Make addressing women’s inequality a core learning objective for all BC students

6. Add sexual violence by police to the mandate  of the Independent Investigations Office

7. Address the feminization of poverty with a provincial anti-poverty plan

8. Push to add gender and sex to the hate crime provisions of Canada’sCriminal Code

9. Bring back regional coordination committees for women’s safety

10. Join the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women

11. Do not let immigration status stand in the way of women’s safety

12. Value the expertise of women’s organizations by investing in their work

13. Make women’s safety the first priority in police response

14. Create binding guidelines on the use of psychological testing and labeling in child custody and child protection cases

15. Train and support specialized Crown Counsel for cases involving gender violence

16. Ensure women have access to interpretation in interaction with police, courts, social workers and other decision-makers

17. Increase access to gender appropriate drug treatment and harm reduction services

18. Monitor and evaluate the implementation and interpretation of BC’s new Family Law Act

19. Hold offenders accountable for impacts on children of violence against women

20. Take action on women-blaming and women-shaming in all its forms

21. Do not force abused women in to parenting programs or counseling

22. Get perpetrators of violence against women in front of the courts quickly

23. Work with the anti-violence sector to develop training for all first responders and decision-makers

24. Provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing options for women

25. Provide safe and accessible transportation options for low-income women

Follow @EndingViolence to learn more about #31Things British Columbia Can Do Right Now to End Violence Against Women