Women in British Columbia Demand Action: Inside the August 2025 Advoca

On August 25, 2025, Canada’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Rechie Valdez, sat down with frontline women’s organizations in British Columbia for a high-stakes meeting on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Around the table were Indigenous and Black women’s groups, legal advocates, childcare and anti-violence organizations, and sexual assault centers—leaders whose work daily confronts the reality of life and death for Canadian women.

What emerged was a powerful call to protect women’s safety and equality in a nation where the gains of gender justice increasingly appear under threat.

Why This Meeting Mattered

The organizations gathered in Vancouver demanded that the federal government reverse course on funding cuts, strengthen gender-based violence strategies, and prioritize the most vulnerable women across the province.

Quick facts shared by LEAF:

● Every 6 days, a woman in Canada is killed by her partner.
● British Columbia has among the highest femicide rates in the country.
● Resource extraction sites continue to endanger Indigenous women and girls, defying the MMIWG Calls for Justice.
● The National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence lacks visibility, and no commitment has been made to extend it beyond five years.
● The housing and child care crises trap survivors in unsafe relationships, closing the door to new beginnings.
● Digital misogyny and online hate are fueling new forms of gendered harassment and extremist ideology.
● An 80% cut to WAGE’s (Women and Gender Equality Canada) budget could dismantle the very organizations keeping women safe.

Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director of Battered Women’s Support Services, voiced what many in the room felt: “We’re a little bit nervous about where this country is going around gender equality and addressing violence against women,” she said. “The signals aren’t looking great. So we wanted to look in her eyes and make sure she understood what’s at stake.”

The Minister’s Commitment

Minister Valdez, visibly moved by the stories and statistics shared, spoke personally about her motivation to continue the work: “I also lost someone in my family, so to all the women and girls out there who have experienced gender-based violence, our government remains committed to continuing to fight.”

She outlined federal investments already made under the 10-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, now in its third year, totaling nearly half a billion dollars. Yet advocates caution that investment alone will not suffice without enforcement, accountability, and sustained funding to community organizations.

Unique Risks in B.C.: Rural and Indigenous Communities

One of the clearest messages from the day was that violence is not experienced equally.“

The heaviest consequences are disproportionately carried by racialized and immigrant women,” said Nataizya Mukwavi of Black Women Connect Vancouver and the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society.

From northern regions, where isolation deepens risk, Lynnelle Halikowski of the Prince George Sexual Assault Centre added, “Women, girls, and gender-diverse folks in the north need and deserve safety.”

Their testimonies underscored the urgent need for localized strategies—solutions that meet rural, Indigenous, and immigrant communities where they are, rather than applying one-size-fits-all policies from Ottawa or Victoria.

A Path Forward for Survivor Safety

For British Columbia’s frontline advocates, this meeting was both a confrontation and a collaboration. They asked for transparency and long-term solutions, from housing access and Indigenous safety programs to ensuring that gender equity remains a national priority—even amid shifting political tides.

Valdez’s visit is not the end of this story, but a turning point. Several government bills and public bills related to gender equality and women's rights are currently being debated in Parliament and Senate committees as of October-November 2025, signaling active legislative engagement, though details remain pending.

We look forward to seeing the fruits of these labors for Canadian women. 

In this together,

The Every Woman is Worthy Team

Sources: 

LEAF
CTV News
Global News
Parliament

(https://canadianwomen.org/blog/corporate-canada-gender-justice/)