A vision for a violence free BC : Addressing violence against women in British Columbia

That includes the release of a three-year, $5.5-million Domestic Violence Plan; a Memorandum of Understanding with Aboriginal leadership to address violence against Aboriginal women; opening new Domestic Violence Units in Kelowna and Surrey; and more than $70 million in annual investments in prevention and intervention services, and the continuing work on the recommendations of the Missing Women C [...] Within the context of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, a broad range of complex issues exist as a result of the history of the traumatic experiences associated with colonial policies, such as disconnectedness from family and Figure 1: Ecological Model for community, the loss of land and territory, intergenerational and collective Understanding Violence trauma, and issues related to poverty, [...] In addition, the Province has helped to fund community Offenders who have completed prevention and public awareness initiatives such as “Be More Than a Bystander” both the Respectful Relationships which is an initiative of the Ending Violence Association of BC and the BC and the Relationship Violence Lions. [...] The actions are organized and awareness, services and sup- within four major themes: healing ports, coordination and information and compensation, improvements to sharing, the justice system response policing, safety for vulnerable women to domestic violence, and research and supports in missing persons and evaluation. [...] Informed by themes emerging from the Fourth BC Justice Summit on “Better Responses to Violence Against Women,” explore key policy and practice changes to improve coordination and justice system response in cases of domestic violence and sexual violence, including those most responsive to the needs of Aboriginal women and other populations facing disproportionate levels of violence.