B.C. marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women at legislature
The B.C. government will recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with a candlelight memorial at the provincial legislature building on Tuesday evening.
The gathering will also be a memorial in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the Montreal Massacre at Ecole Ploytechnique, where 14 young women were murdered in act of violent misogyny.
Earlier Tuesday, Grace Lord, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, visited The Cridge Centre for the Family in Victoria.
She visited the facility while speaking on the province's Gender Based Action Plan that she is compiling.
The plan will weave together government and sector needs, and will help people access housing, services and justice for those who are navigating a range of issues, such as family violence, sexualized violence or brain injuries, said Lore.
RESEARCH INTO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
While at the Cridge Centre, Lore also spoke with the non-profit's CEO and staff members that work directly with women fleeing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
The organization runs multiple programs such as the Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury Service that supports women who suffered a brain injury at the hands of their partner.
"A lot of those services are supported by donations," said Adam Richards, CEO of The Cridge Centre.
"There’s not a lot of funding in our community so having this engagement right now is really increasing that conversation," he said.
Brain injuries can have life-altering effects leading to cognitive, behavioral or mental symptoms.
The Cridge Centre says the need to support the program is crucial with one in three women in Canada experiencing IPV. Of the women that do experience IPV, 92 per cent will receive at least one brain injury, totaling more than 200,000 women nationally every year.
To put that into a different perspective, the Cridge Centre says for every one NHL player that sustains a concussion, more than 5,500 women will sustain the same injury.
"The reality is that we are only discovering just how big this problem or this need is in our community," said Richards.
"Therefore we know that as we start having this conversation, as more and more individuals recognize this need for service, we’re going to need service provision," he said.
Lore said that deepening the understanding of brain injury from IPV will be a key part of the action plan expected to be announced in fall 2023.
Richards said there are a few key issues he would like to see in the fall report.
"The women that we’re caring for, the families that we’re caring for, children that we’re caring for, have greater needs than just housing – they have greater needs than legal aid," he said.
"There’s a whole myriad of services they need. So as we have this conversation, as we start unwrapping the needs around this, the hope is we can provide wraparound services," he said.
Richards said those wraparound services will give individuals and families the best opportunity to move forward.
The candlelight vigil takes place at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the front steps of B.C. legislature.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.