As we welcome the beginning of Violence Prevention Week, we are dedicated to garnering support to end gender-based violence. We share a story of our work over the last 45 years, we want to invite you to engage with BWSS as we continue to release resources and action steps on violence prevention.
The reasons why people want to end violence against women are often deeply personal. It could be due to individual experiences of witnessing the abuse of a mother or mother figure or watching a news story on TV or the internet. What unites people is a desire for justice.
When Rosa Elena, arrived in Canada 27 years ago from Mexico, pregnant and with a two-year-old child to care for, she faced the daunting challenges of finding housing and employment while she taught herself a new language and navigated cultural barriers.
To gain local experience, she was encouraged to volunteer, so she sought out organizations where she could lend her skills and passion for social justice. Eventually, she saw a poster advertising the violence prevention and intervention training at BWSS. Rosa Elena wasted no time in applying, driven by a deep-seated desire to make a difference in the lives of those who had suffered at the hands of abuse.
That was in 1998, and 26 years later, Rosa Elena is now the Director of Clinical Practice at BWSS.
As you know, the fight for justice is not an easy road. So, we begin our 45th year on the frontline, with community members and supporters combined with the hard work of our volunteers and staff, such as Rosa Elena, together making justice for survivors and victims possible.
Despite never meeting her, Rosa Elena was deeply affected by the story of a woman named Lucia Vega Jimenez. Lucia, who was also from Mexico, took her own life while awaiting deportation while in detention at the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). Lucia had fled Mexico to escape an abusive partner, and it seems that Lucia would rather end her life than be deported back to an uncertain future that potentially included violence.
The BC Coroners Service held an inquest into Lucia’s death, and BWSS successfully fought to intervene with Rosa Elena, representing as an expert witness. In her testimony, Rosa Elena emphasized the importance of recognizing gender-based persecution and the lack of protection for women who flee violence by migrating to Canada. Rosa Elena challenged the narrative that Lucia’s suicide was solely due to mental health issues, instead pointing out the impossible choice she faced between deportation and potential death in her home country.
We successfully lobbied for the CBSA to create informational pamphlets, we delivered training for CBSA staff as well as the staff at the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, and we have become a key referral resource for these agencies when they encounter women, immigrant detainees, ensuring they received services such as legal aid, effective legal representation as well as connecting women to available supports in their homelands if they are deported.
These efforts honour Lucia’s memory and the many other women we’ve encountered over the 45 years, including today, facing similar situations. We vow to continue fighting against systemic oppression and advocating for justice.
As we look ahead, we aim to expand our reach and services. We recognize the ongoing need for diverse programs and wrap-around support to empower survivors who often access multiple services within BWSS. We will not stop until we see the end of gender-based violence.
But we cannot do it alone, we need your help to continue our vital work. Like Rosa Elena, we know you are driven by a passion for justice. We are right alongside you as justice permeates everything we do, anchoring us not as a mere social service entity but as a catalyst for social change.
Thank you for supporting the work to end violence against women throughout these 45 years. We are so happy to have you on this journey with us, fighting for justice.
Will you donate today to help us continue fighting for women’s justice?
Like Rosa Elena, we know you are driven by a passion for justice. We are right alongside you as justice permeates everything we do, anchoring us not as a mere social service entity but as a catalyst for social change.
As we look ahead to the next 45 years, we aim to expand our reach and services. We recognize the ongoing need for diverse programs and wrap-around support to empower survivors who often access multiple services within BWSS. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help to continue our vital work. Please donate today and your gift will create safety and justice in the lives of many women and children in crisis.
Thank you for supporting the work to end violence against women throughout these 45 years. We are so happy to have you on this journey with us, fighting for justice.
I have put myself in Rosa Elena’s shoes . Started crying for both of us and all women, whom “ Justice system “ of Canada has failed and failing!
We only can put a good fight together to make everyone whom have done wrong to survivors.