Recently, we held an event to launch the BWSS Justice Centre.
The Justice Centre at BWSS is more than access to justiceโthe presence of a legal advocate can help toward the opportunity to access a just result for survivors who are facing family law, immigration, child welfare, and/or criminal legal systems.
Overall, survivors of violence often face significant legal and systemic challenges, such as abusers who exploit their knowledge of the legal system or the patriarchal nature of the legal system itself.
Often women are navigating several areas of the law concurrently and often at opposing purposes.
The Justice Centre at BWSS advocates for law reform, gender, and racial justice to drive systems change advancing gender and racial justice for women survivors of violence in B.C., Canada and internationally.
The Justice Centre fills a critical gap in services for women who face systemic barriers in accessing legal support and achieving justice on their own.
It provides a safe and supportive space for survivors to receive the legal guidance and representation they need and deserve as a basic constitutional right which is often denied due to systemic barriers created by the Canadian government and legal system and reinforced by patriarchal values of the legal system itself that prevent survivors from having equitable access to the legal system.
The majority of the women who access services navigate a complex intersection of legal systems and a high percentage of women do not have adequate legal representation.
The Justice Centre at BWSS takes an intersectional approach to accessing justice while aiming to advance systemic advocacy by changing the legal systems that oppress survivors on their path to finding safety.
