Ending Violence Blog
Via our award winning blog Battered Women’s Support Services provides education and advocacy as we work towards the elimination of violence.
What Happened After B.C. Declared Gender-Based Violence an Epidemic?
A look at the missed opportunities, the rising risks, and the five urgent actions B.C. needs today. In January 2025, the Government of British Columbia declared gender-based violence (GBV) a national epidemic. That moment carried weight. It signaled overdue...
16 Days. One Emergency. One Province Rising
Every November 25th: The World Rises International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based ViolenceIn British Columbia, 48% of women and girls have experienced intimate partner violence.Reports have...
BWSS Addresses Vancouver City Council on Gender Equity and Violence Prevention
On November 5, 2025, Battered Women’s Support Services Executive Director Angela Marie MacDougall addressed Vancouver City Council on two critical motions: Ensuring Continuity of the Women’s Equity Strategy Following the Closure of the Equity Office...
Safety Isn’t a Feeling, It’s Infrastructure: BWSS 2024–2025 Impact Report
The most dangerous moment for a survivor is not when violence begins — it’s when she tries to leave.Not because she lacks courage, but because our systems too often fail to hold her. At BWSS, we know survivors don’t face one barrier — they face many. Leaving violence...
In Pursuit of Justice 2025
Advancing Feminist Litigation and Survivor-Centred Legal Reform The Justice Centre at BWSS invites you to our national feminist legal-justice gathering during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Building on the momentum of last year’s conference,...
BWSS Statement on Federal Investment in Gender Equality
A Collective Victory Rooted in Organizing, Led by Survivors, Powered by Communities Across These Lands This Commitment Did Not Happen by Chance With Celebration Comes Vigilance Our Commitment Forward — Together Today’s announcement of renewed, multi-year federal...
Public Safety, Power, and Breath
Public Safety, Power, and Breath Summary of a keynote address by Angela Marie MacDougall, Battered Women’s Support Services at Shattering the Silence Conference hosted by The Cridge Centre for Family on October 16, 2025 in Victoria, British Columbia [gallery...
60 Barriers to Leaving: Why Survivors Stay and What Systems Must Change
60 Barriers to Leaving: Why Survivors Stay and What Systems Must Change Adapted and expanded from Sarah M. Buel’s “Fifty Obstacles to Leaving, a.k.a. Why Abuse Victims Stay,” updated through a BWSS feminist, decolonial, and trauma- and violence-informed lens – 2025....
BWSS Brings Five Urgent Actions to UBCM: Calls for Government to Stop the Next Femicide
This week, Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) attended the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Victoria to push forward five urgent actions needed to end femicide in British Columbia. In meetings with mayors, councillors, provincial ministers, and...
Statement on the IIO Report into the RCMP Killing of Vanessa Rentería
Today, the IIO has published its findings into the fatal police shooting of Vanessa Rentería in Surrey, BC. As an anti-violence and mental health advocate organization, we issue the following response: This report highlights the narrow focus of the Independent...
Three Women Killed, One Man Charged – Anti Violence Organization Responds to Yet More Vancouver Killings with Five Urgent Actions to Prevent the Next Femicide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 16, 2025 Three Women Killed, One Man Charged Anti Violence Organization Responds to Yet More Vancouver Killings with Five Urgent Actions to Prevent the Next Femicide Vancouver, BC: This week, three women are dead in East Vancouver, two...
From Grief to Action, Five Immediate Actions to End Femicide in BC
In the past 13 months, 34 women have been killed in British Columbia. Each was loved, cherished, and irreplaceable. Each should still be alive today. Last week, we gathered in Gastown at the vigil for Ivy Michelle Bell. This weekend, we stood with family and community...