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.
Spreading the word, not COVID-19
We are here for you during COVID-19 Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) crisis line remains open providing emotional support to women experiencing gender-based domestic violence and/or uncertainty during these difficult times. Call the BWSS Crisis Line at...
Violence against women and gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
In support of front-line women and women-serving organizations in B.C. by Angela Marie MacDougall I write today from Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS), where our volunteer and staff team continue on the front-line supporting survivors of gender-based violence...
Most women in B.C. have faced discrimination based on their gender
Gender discrimination continues to play out in all areas of life for women identified folks and femmes. A new poll has found that the majority of women (almost 60%) in British Columbia have experienced discrimination on account of their gender. More than one-in-four...
Paid Leave for Workers Facing Sexual or Domestic Violence
At BWSS, we were happy to respond to the BC provincial government's request for consultation on the Employment Standards Act to provide paid leave to domestic and sexual violence survivors. On March 3, 2020, the Province of BC announced a new bill for paid leave in...
International Women’s Day 2020
International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th is an opportunity for us to celebrate women’s achievements while calling for greater gender equity and an end to gender-based violence. The global theme this year is “#EachforEqual: An EQUAL World Is An EMPOWERED World” and...
Violence Prevention and Intervention Training Program
Help End Gender-Based Violence Through This Life-Changing Program BWSS Violence Prevention and Intervention training program is offered to self-identified women who want to obtain the necessary skills to volunteer within our direct services program. Through this...
Beautiful Rage
BWSS Black Women’s Program Presents: Spring Workshop Series Beautiful Rage, A Workshop for Black Women Beautiful Rage is a workshop about Anger. And learning to understand The Value of My Anger and The Value of Myself. To exist in black flesh, and carry the...
Black Women in Canada and the Black Women’s Program at BWSS
By Angela Marie MacDougall As Black people on Turtle Island, we often talk about being “stolen people on stolen land” in recognition of the complicated relationship Africans have with colonization, these lands, and nation-states including Canada. The experiences of...
BC Budget 2020 Takes Important Steps but Leaves Disappointing Gaps That Will Disproportionately Affect Women
For immediate release – February 19, 2020 Vancouver, B.C. –On Tuesday, February 18, 2020 the British Columbia provincial government announced the 2020 BC Budget. This year’s budget takes important steps, however, leaves disappointing gaps in services that will...
Evoke Presence Through the Marking of Absence
The REDress Project focuses on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. Through the installation, Winnipeg, Manitoba by Métis artist Jaime Black hopes to draw...
Car Share Safety
In December of last year, Uber released a safety report on where they disclosed that more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported last year on US car-share rides. The report was released after increased scrutiny over their safety practices, an issue that Uber has...
Safety Planning
Take Back Your Power! Your safety plan is an adaptable tool to help keep you safe in your ever-changing situation. Violence against women continues as an epidemic. Planning for safety can be one way to take back power in abusive relationships. Although you can't...