No New Funding: BC Budget Leaves Victim Support Services Struggling To Address Intimate Partner Violence

British Columbia’s recently released 2025 budget overlooks survivors and victims of violence, leaving support services to tackle increasing threats to women’s safety with no new funding, says an advocacy group focused on violence against women. 

While BC’s 2025 budget boasts “new investments to keep people safe and communities strong,” Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director of Battered Women’s Support Services, says she was disappointed there were no new funds announced to specifically address violence against women and intimate partner violence. 

“They’re just reporting on things they’re already doing,” MacDougall told PressProgress.

Prior to the budget being announced, MacDougall said violence against women and intimate partner violence are still viewed  as “private issues” rather than as a public safety issue the same way that other crimes are. 

“Because they’re happening against women and they’re happening in the home, they’re not necessarily considered public safety issues and the public safety aspect then becomes policing,” MacDougall said.

“It’s a problem with the framing of this social problem. There’s a relative invisibility of this issue. There continues to be an enduring belief and stereotype that these are one-off instances that are between two people and that those people are then disconnected from the broader community.”

MacDougall suggests this framing makes it harder to meaningfully tackle the issue, especially when funds are being diverted away from community based organizations and towards policing. 

“A lot of the funds are going to the system and not necessarily to community-based organizations, which are totally the ones that are going to have the most impact in responding to victims and survivors,” MacDougall said. 

“The spending ends up being more in terms of police and police interventions, when most victim survivors don’t access the police, they’re accessing or reaching out to community based organizations who are the least funded out of all of the system players but who have the biggest impact on the long-term safety and protection for victims.”

Canada currently has a national action plan to tackle gender-based violence with input and commitments from federal, provincial and territorial governments – including British Columbia. 

In Canada, 44% of women report having experienced some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime.

As part of the action plan, MacDougall says BC is supposed to receive $62 million and match that funding, but organizations in BC are not privy to how the funding will be used. 

“The province is likely not matching those funds in the way that we would expect in terms of new money,” MacDougall said.

“Rather they’re taking the existing projects and programs that they’re funding and calling that a match. So what we don’t have is an actual plan.”

MacDougall also notes that in times of economic and political uncertainty, social problems escalate and with misogyny being normalized in online spaces, there is an adverse impact on women and girls. 

“We’re in a really scary moment, frankly, and we’re going to have to put our heads together as an organization right now to you know to to examine our next steps in light of the fact that there’s no new money in the budget because we have to respond to the things that are on the ground,” MacDougall said.

“It’s not optional for us.”

The office of Public Safety and Solicitor General did not reply to PressProgress’ request for comment prior to publication.