Why does ending gender-based violence begin with a safe home? Because for so many, the violence victim-survivors experience isn’t in public—it’s behind closed doors, where it should never occur: at home. A home is supposed to be a safe place, a place of comfort and security. But when that safety is absent, where do you go?
Across British Columbia, shelters, safe homes, and transition houses are operating beyond capacity, turning away over 200 women and children every night. With nowhere else to turn, 75% of women return to their abusive partners. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for resources to protect survivors and offer them a path to safety.
During this 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we must confront the truth: violence against women is at epidemic levels. Every day, BWSS stands on the frontlines, delivering vital support to women, girls, and gender-diverse people—creating pathways to safety, healing, and empowerment. But we cannot do it alone.
Donate today and share this post to raise awareness. Together, we can bring safety and take action to end gender-based violence.
Vulnerability of Women, Femicide, and Radical Economic Disruption
BWSS answered over 52,000 service requests last year. Each call for help represents a woman experiencing violence—many in life-threatening situations. These numbers aren’t just statistics—each number has a face and is a call to action.
So we are on the frontlines every day taking action against gender-based violence, which is an epidemic and endemic, supporting survivors with the pathways to safety and healing they urgently need.
The vulnerability of women in society is a systemic issue, perpetuated by invisible homelessness, entrenched economic inequities, and male violence. Without radical economic disruption and meaningful investment in housing and safety, women will continue to endure precarious circumstances, driving them further into danger and perpetuating cycles of oppression.
To radically disrupt these issues, we must tackle seven critical areas that address the intersection of economic inequity, housing insecurity, and violence against women.
1. Invisible Homelessness Crisis
Many women fleeing violence are forced into invisible homelessness, living in their cars, couch-surfing, or returning to abusive homes due to a severe lack of safe, affordable housing. Invisible homelessness disproportionately affects women and often goes uncounted in official statistics, masking the true scale of the crisis.
2. Housing as Survival
Housing is not just shelter—it’s survival. Safe, stable housing provides women fleeing violence a chance to rebuild their lives, heal, and escape cycles of abuse. Lack of housing forces women to make impossible choices: return to violent situations or face homelessness.
3. The Housing Crisis in BC
BC’s housing market is among the most expensive globally, with vacancy rates below 1% and average rents soaring over $3,500 for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver. These conditions leave women on income assistance, particularly those fleeing violence, without viable options for safety and stability. Women in abusive relationships are forced to stay with abusive partners and their children are forced to continue witnessing their mothers be abused by their father or father-figure.
4. Link Between Domestic Violence and Homelessness
Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children, driving many into precarious living situations. Women escaping violence often face barriers such as lack of income, inaccessible housing, and the lasting impacts of trauma. Women who have left abusive relationships temporarily are forced to return to their abusive partner because there is no housing
5. Shelter Capacity and System Failures
Each night in BC, approximately 200 women and children are turned away from shelters due to capacity limits, forcing them to endure unsafe conditions. Temporary shelter solutions fail to provide the long-term stability needed to ensure lasting safety and independence for survivors.
6. Femicide and Vulnerable Populations
Femicide is an epidemic, with marginalized groups—Indigenous women, Black women, racialized and immigrant and refugee women, and women with disabilities—facing the greatest risks. Violence against women is deeply tied to systemic inequities, including economic precarity, colonialism, and gendered power imbalances.
7. The Impact and Urgency
BWSS received over 52,000 service requests last year, illustrating the scale of the crisis. This number includes more than 33,000 crisis line calls and over 14,000 safety plans completed. Each call, each plan represents a woman who has had to navigate a housing market that offers no safety net and no shelter from violence.
This speaks to the sheer scale of the problem and the limitations of temporary solutions like shelters or short-term housing. Without immediate investment in diverse housing solutions, many women will continue to endure violence, and some will lose their lives to male violence.
Call to Action
Radical economic disruption is needed to dismantle the systems that perpetuate women’s vulnerability and enable male violence. This includes:
- Investing in affordable, diverse housing options tailored to the needs of women fleeing violence.
- Addressing the colonial roots of land theft and the commodification of housing, which exclude marginalized groups from stability and safety.
- Centering survivors’ voices in policymaking to develop systems that genuinely support women’s independence and security.
Take action today by donating and sharing our resources to raise awareness. Together, we can bring safety and take action to end gender-based violence.
You are not alone.
If you or someone you love is in need of support, please contact the Battered Women’s Support Services Crisis Line:
Call toll-free: 1-855-687-1868 Metro Vancouver: 604-687-1867 Email: EndingViolence@bwss.org
