Lisa Rupert: We need action now to address shadow pandemic of gender-based violence – Vancouver Sun

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Opinion: Governments are developing action plans but for the women and girls in danger, we are not making progress quickly enough.

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Since the start of the pandemic, we have been asked to stay home as much as possible a critical measure to stop the spread of COVID-19. But not everyone is safe in their own homes. During the pandemic, domestic violence against women has increased as much as 20 to 30 per cent in parts of the country.

Most women experiencing abuse now have longer, closer contact at home with their abusers, and less in-person access to friends, family and other support systems.Women are losing jobs and income faster than anyone else. How can they leave?

The federal and provincial governments are developing action plans to address the shadow pandemic of gender-based violence. For the women and girls in danger, we are not making progress quickly enough. We need action now.

To be effective, B.C.s plan needs to be coordinated among all levels of support, from non-profits providing services, to the justice system to government. It needs to address the immediate safety needs of women experiencing abuse and the financial barriers to leaving. It needs to reach the public through evidence-based education and awareness campaigns.

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There must also be meaningful acknowledgment that gender-based violence intersects with other forms of discrimination and oppression, creating additional barriers for those who experience the greatest challenges accessing resources that could help.

Finally, this plan needs to be sustainable, with long-term investment and clearly defined, measurable goals that are revised every two years.

Our provincial action plan needs to ensure that staff across the justice system are educated on gender-based violence and trained in best practices to ensure that victims are treated with appropriate and sensitive responses.

Addressing safety also means increasing funding for Legal Aid to ensure all women experiencing intimate partner violence have access to a lawyer for the duration of any family law proceedings.

Intimate-partner violence impacts women regardless of socio-economic status, but women who have lower incomes face substantial financial challenges to leaving. They need support reconstructing their lives. This can include access to a livable income, to transportation, career training, job-related expenses, child care, supplies and services for children, and a safe, affordable place to live.

There has been some progress provincially on income assistance rates, child care and housing. While it was encouraging to see the $175 increase in income and disability assistance rates, it is still not a livable amount. Rates need to reflect the actual basic cost of living in British Columbia and be indexed to inflation to remain at a livable amount.

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Without a place to live, women with children are often forced to return to an abusive partner. BC Housings Womens Transition House and Supports Program has been working with organizations like YWCA Metro Vancouver to build new first- and second-stage transition houses, and long-term housing for women with children. This work must continue.

The pandemic has shown us how critical child care is to our everyday lives, especially a womans capacity to work. Expanding affordable child care must be a priority for the provincial government. To do this, they must also address the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges facing the child care sector.

Addressing gender-based violence at its core must be the ultimate goal of the plan. Changing attitudes will take time and require a well-executed and properly funded plan, including education programs for youth and government public awareness campaigns. We also need to ensure that any programs offered to the perpetrators of violence against women are evidence-based.

The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountabilitys recent report found that 160 women and girls were murdered in Canada last year. Half of these women were killed by a current or former intimate partner. Those who were killed by strangers were often marginalized because they were poor, racialized, or were sex workers. Twenty per cent of women and girls killed last year were Indigenous.

When it comes to COVID-19, most of us have been supportive of government funding and action to tackle the problem to keep everyone in B.C. safe. We have listened to the experts and changed our behaviours.

We can do the same to address gender-based violence so that we dont have to read about another person whose life has been stolen simply because she is a woman.

Lisa Rupert is vice-president for housing and violence prevention with YWCA Metro Vancouver.

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Lisa Rupert: We need action now to address shadow pandemic of gender-based violence - Vancouver Sun