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.
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...
Five Immediate Actions to Stop the Next Femicide
A public safety failure. A systemic pattern. A chance to act. Gender-based Violence is endemic Since just the end of May, we’ve seen multiple femicides in communities across B.C.—a cascade of loss rooted in gaps at every level of the system. Even when survivors...
From Vigils to Action: Toward Ending Femicide in British Columbia
From Vigils to Action: Toward Ending Femicide in British Columbia Last weekend, we attended the vigil for Ivy Michelle Bell. Yesterday, we gathered with family and community to honour Jessica Cunningham. This Saturday, we will travel to Kelowna for the celebration of...
Survivor-Centred Safety: Building Momentum with BC Municipalities
Across British Columbia, women have been killed in Kelowna, Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Abbotsford, and Maple Ridge. In Burnaby, a woman was sexually assaulted in Central Park, a reminder that violence in public spaces persists. In Langley, a woman was severely...
BWSS Hosts Provincial Roundtable on Gender Justice and Ending Violence
Today, gender justice and anti-violence organizations from across British Columbia met with Rechie Valdez, Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism. Organizations representing the north-west and north coast,...
A Diagnosis Isn’t Needed to Name Abuse
When describing an abusive partner, it’s common to hear terms like “narcissist,” “psychopath,” or “sociopath” thrown around. These labels may seem to offer clarity, but they often serve to individualize harm, relying on medicalized frameworks that distract from the...