Tuesday December 9, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The annual 16-day campaign about awareness around gender-based violence is wrapping up for this year.
BC Attorney General Niki Sharma says the campaign is a reminder of “what too many women are already aware of”, i.e. that intimate partner and sexual violence remain pervasive and drastically under reported.
There is more to do but she acknowledges federal and provincial initiatives and the work of partners that have produced sustainable progress for women in BC society.
Sharma delivered those remarks today in a news conference held in Vancouver about the new federal Bill C-16 that if passed will strengthen the criminal code around intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence.
Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Jennifer Blatherwick:
Sharma was joined at today’s presser in Vancouver by Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Jennifer Blatherwick (MLA for Coquitlam – Maillardville).
Blatherwick today briefly highlighted that 137 women and girls have been killed by violence in Canada this year, as provided by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability.
Every statistic represents a person, a family, and a community, as pointed out by Blatherwick. She pointed out that misogyny and gender-based violence are “connect and very real”.
“In an intimate partnership there are signs that cannot be ignored,” said Blatherwick. The provincial program called Safe and Supported was mentioned by Blatherwick which works across government and with community partners. Investments includes safe homes for women leaving violent situations, and stable funding for more 475 programs across British Columbia.
Gender equity portfolio:
BC’s Gender Equity office currently falls within the Finance Ministry. That’s a legacy from when gender equity was first created as a provincial portfolio in the Horgan NDP government starting 2017, overseen by then MLA Carole James who was the Finance Minister at the time.
Women’s issues could have their own standalone ministry — that’s always up to the premier of the day.
Today Sharma says that there are internal mechanisms for accountability in government around IPV and gender-based violence.
How does government respond and what is the accountability for that response?
One of the priority actions (being addressed as one of the top 13 recommendations from the June 2025 report by Dr Kim Stanton (The British Columbia Legal System’s Treatment of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence) is figuring that out, says Sharma — so there will be some internal mechanisms within government.
“I don’t know where it’s going to fit yet – we’re still sorting through that,” said Sharma today in response to a question from Island Social Trends.
“It would be an internal oversight mechanism to ensure that the work that we’re doing to turn this around within the systems of government is focused on the clear accountability mechanisms,” said Sharma today. “We’re doing work on that, there will be more to come on that.”
History of the portfolio:
Some other MLAs who have held the gender equity parliamentary secretary role include Grace Lore (currently the MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill) who worked on sexual violence supports; former MLA Mitzi Dean (Esquimalt-Metchosin) who also focussed on the child care file; and former MLA Kelli Paddon (Chilliwack-Kent) who developed gender-based violence initiatives.
More to come on addressing the role of men:
Island Social Trends asked Attorney General Sharma if she sees public understanding of the root causes behind women going missing (as recognized by Red Dress Day). There is a sociocultural aspect to that phenomenon that people either don’t understand or don’t want to talk about.
How much is the BC government working on that, other than specific programs on specific days?
“The numbers are stark — the number of these crimes that go unreported. The number of women who’ve experienced sexualized violence and IPV is a shocking statistic,” said Sharma today. “It goes to show how it sits in our society unaddressed.”
“That’s what propels me for the actions that we’re talking about right now,” said Sharma. She wants the justice system to be there for those women. “To bring these crimes forward.”
“That will treat women with the respect that they deserve – once they’re brought forward. Part of Dr Stanton’s recommendations is about public awareness and that we need to make sure that the public is aware of how this shows up,” Attorney General Sharma told media today.
‘You’re guaranteed you know somebody who’s going through this or has gone through this. That’s what the stats show. We need to get to the root causes of it. We need to get raise public awareness of it. That’s part of the work we’ll be doing in responding,” said Sharma today.
Coming up in the new year:
In the new year there will be some new initiatives around public education as to the role of men in society.
“The role of men and the changes that sometimes not for the good that are happening with some of the reporting of boys and men in the role of violence. We’ll be also talking about that. Stay tuned on some of that work,” said BC’s Attorney General.
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NEWS SECTIONS: 45th PARLIAMENT OF CANADA | 43rd PARLIAMENT of BC | WOMEN IN SOCIETY