📰 EVA BC Backs Stanton Review: A Blueprint to End Gender-Based Violence in British Columbia

The Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC), the province’s leading anti-violence network, has welcomed the independent Stanton Review as a “blueprint for real change.” With gender-based violence (GBV) affecting more than half of women in BC and intimate partner violence (IPV) cases rising, EVA BC’s support adds powerful momentum to the call for systemic reform.

For decades, advocates have warned that piecemeal, short-term responses are not enough. The Stanton Review’s nine-point plan offers a roadmap to transform BC’s fragmented system into one that prioritizes survivor safety, accountability, and prevention. EVA BC insists this is the time to move from talk to action.

What EVA BC Supports

EVA BC highlighted several key recommendations from the Stanton Review that could reshape how BC addresses GBV:

1. Independent Oversight Body

• Create an arms-length body to track government progress and hold leaders accountable.

• Without oversight, previous recommendations have often been ignored or underfunded.

2. Stable, Multi-Year Funding

• Shift away from short-term, project-based grants that leave shelters and crisis lines vulnerable to shutdowns.

• Provide predictable funding streams so frontline services can plan long-term.

3. Specialized Training

• Ensure police officers, judges, and frontline workers receive ongoing training in trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches.

• This builds consistency and trust in how survivors are treated.

4. Dedicated Housing Initiatives

• Expand transitional and permanent housing specifically for survivors of IPV.

• Housing insecurity is one of the greatest barriers to escaping violence.

Why This Matters

EVA BC has long argued that short-term responses fail survivors. Without systemic reform, the cycle of crisis will continue:

• Shelters forced to turn away survivors due to lack of funding.

• Survivors trapped with abusers because there’s nowhere safe to go.

• Courts and police ill-equipped to respond with urgency or empathy.

With GBV recognized as one of BC’s most urgent crises, EVA BC stresses that this moment is an opportunity to rebuild survivor services on a strong, stable foundation.

Community-Level Impact

EVA BC emphasizes that reforms will make a difference where the crisis is most acute:

1. Rural Survivors

• Survivors in remote areas often travel hours or even days to access safe housing.

• Stable funding and housing initiatives could ensure local supports exist closer to home.

2. Indigenous Women

• Indigenous women face IPV rates nearly three times higher than non-Indigenous women.

• Cultural safety training, Indigenous-led housing, and policing reform are essential parts of systemic change.

3. Newcomers and LGBTQ2S+ Survivors

• Many services are not designed with language, cultural, or identity-specific supports.

• Expanded funding could ensure inclusive services for all survivors.

Momentum for Change

EVA BC’s endorsement amplifies pressure on the provincial government to act on the Stanton Review’s findings. By adopting the nine-point reform agenda, BC has the chance to:

• Lead the country in systemic GBV reform.

• Demonstrate that gender-based violence is treated as a public health crisis, not a private matter.

• Build trust with survivors, who for too long have felt silenced or ignored.

Conclusion

The Stanton Review has been described as a blueprint for real change, and with EVA BC’s backing, momentum is growing for BC to finally transform its response to gender-based violence.

Adopting the nine-point agenda — from independent oversight and stable funding to housing initiatives and training — could turn BC into a model for systemic reform.

For survivors, these reforms are more than policy ideas — they are the difference between continued cycles of violence and a chance at safety, stability, and justice.

FAQs

1. What is EVA BC?
The Ending Violence Association of BC is a provincial organization that supports anti-violence programs, shelters, and frontline workers across the province.

2. What reforms is EVA BC endorsing?
Independent oversight, stable multi-year funding, specialized training for frontline systems, and survivor-focused housing initiatives.

3. Why is stable funding important?
Without it, shelters and crisis programs face financial instability and potential closures, leaving survivors without support.

4. Who benefits most from these reforms?
Survivors across BC, particularly Indigenous, rural, newcomer, and LGBTQ2S+ communities who face the greatest barriers.

5. How does this connect to the Stanton Review?
The nine-point plan originates from Dr. Kim Stanton’s independent review, which EVA BC has endorsed as a roadmap for systemic change.