The B.C. government says they are reversing cuts to supporting survivors of sexual assault made by the previous provincial government in 2002.
As part of Budget 2022, the province has provided $22 million for stable funding for community-based sexual assault response services.
The province will be providing more than $10 million a year by 2023 to service providers who offer “victim-centered, trauma-informed, coordinated, cross-sector support to survivors of sexual assault.”
Every week in B.C., there are an estimated 1,000 physical or sexual assaults against women, according to the government.
“Sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence have devastating impacts on survivors, and that’s why government is helping people get the supports they need,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said.
“Nearly 20 years to the day after the previous government chose to eliminate stable annual funding for sexual assault response services, we announced we’re restoring this critical funding so service providers can get back to focusing on providing the care survivors need.”
According to the province’s data, Indigenous women and girls, people of colour, 2SLGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities are disproportionately targeted.
Currently, community-based services providers must reapply for funding and fundraising to make up the funding shortfall.
The new funding model will support the delivery of coordinated, community-based emergency sexual assault response services in regions throughout the province.
Funding allocation is still being worked out by the province.
“Our province should be a safe place, yet more than half of B.C. women have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of six,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Grace Lore.
“Having been on the front line supporting survivors, I know how hard it is to provide sexual assault response services that are trauma-informed, survivor-centered and culturally appropriate when you don’t know where your next round of funding is coming from.”
Girls and young women under 25 have the highest rates of police-reported sexual assault in Canada, accounting for more than half of victims and the rate of self-reported sexual assault among Indigenous women is almost three times that of non-Indigenous women.
People with disabilities, especially women with mental disabilities, are also at a higher risk of being sexually assaulted, the province said.
“We applaud this government’s continued commitment to the provision of support for survivors of sexual violence across B.C.,” Ending Violence Association of BC executive director Ninu Kang said.
“We applaud, too, those who work to provide the essential services in communities, large and small, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. It is this collective effort, everyone working together, with stable funding, that will make the most difference in the lives of survivors.”