Victims of intimate partners soon to have access to new expanded support
Victims and survivors of intimate-partner and sexual violence will soon have access to new and expanded supports to help them navigate B.C.'s legal system, which is part of the Province's response to the Stanton Review."No one who has experienced intimate-partner or sexual violence should have to navigate the justice system alone," said Niki Sharma, Attorney General. "The Stanton Review made it clear that survivors need better support, more co-ordinated services and safer experiences throughout the legal process. This funding will help expand critical supports, strengthen prevention efforts and ensure people can access the services they need when they need them."Through the federal National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (NAP), the Ministry of Attorney General is receiving more than $3 million in funding for 2026-27 to advance initiatives that support recommendations from the 2025 Stanton Report.The review, led by Kim Stanton and commissioned by the attorney general, examined how victims and survivors of intimate-partner and sexual violence are treated within B.C.'s justice system and provided system-wide recommendations to improve it.The funding will help expand survivor supports, strengthen justice-sector capacity and improve efforts to prevent violence before it occurs.Investments include expanding the Safe Supports Project, which helps people affected by intimate-partner violence navigate family-law processes in rural, remote and northern B.C. communities, funding will help add as many as three family court support workers in additional locations that are still to be determined, developing a public-awareness strategy that better educates and informs people about intimate-partner violence and available supports, reviewing behaviour-change programs for men and boys to identify service gaps, highlight promising practices and strengthening intervention and prevention efforts, advancing the B.C. First Nations Justice Strategy, including training for justice-sector professionals on intimate-partner violence and gender-based violence, funding will also help expand the Indigenous Justice Centres' Aunties Program, which provides culturally grounded, wraparound supports for Indigenous victims and survivors. Together, these investments support several key Stanton Report recommendations, including strengthening prevention and public education, expanding supports for survivors, enhancing family-law services, advancing Indigenous justice initiatives and improving intervention programs for men who use violence. The funding helps advance a more co-ordinated, trauma-informed and survivor-centred approach to addressing intimate-partner and sexual violence in B.C.The NAP funding builds on other provincial investments under Safe and Supported: B.C.'s GBV Action Plan, such as expanding access to safe housing for women leaving violent situations, improving rural cellphone service to make travel safer and investing in skills training and affordable child care to support women's economic independence.The Province provides more than $60 million annually to support approximately 475 victim-service and violence-against-women programs throughout B.C.By investing in education, awareness and other prevention efforts, the Province is working to address the root causes of violence, break the cycle of harm, strengthen community safety and reduce long-term pressures and costs across the health, social, child-welfare and justice systems.Rechie Valdez, federal Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) said, "Gender-based violence is a violation of human rights, and in many cases, a violation of Canadian criminal law. Ensuring victims and survivors of gender-based violence and their families can access a justice system that responds to their experiences with care and understanding is an integral part of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. Together, with provinces and territories, including British Columbia, the federal government will continue working to ensure all victims and survivors can access trauma-informed supports, no matter where they live."
