$20,000 grant to Abbotsford Community Services to help South Asian children who have experienced violence in their neighbourhoods
BY SUZANNE ANTON
Attorney General and Minister of Justice
SOCIETY has ignored violence against women for too long. For years, discussions about the physical, emotional and sexual abuse of women have been reduced to whispers.
Sometimes those whispers were between neighbours who heard something happening next door, but didn’t think it was their business to do anything about it, or colleagues who noticed concerns about a co-worker. Today, I want you to know that it is your place to do something and, more importantly, to say something.
The truth is that we all likely know someone who has been affected by violence. Finding ways to safely end the violence is everyone’s issue, in every community throughout B.C. That’s why our government recently announced $5 million in civil forfeiture grants for anti-violence and crime prevention measures throughout the province, including ones in Surrey and the South Asian community.
This funding is going toward projects that support our Vision for a Violence Free BC, the Province’s long-term strategy to end violence against women, and to crime prevention and restorative justice programs. This funding is reaching women and families through 220 grants, such as $45,000 to the Surrey Women’s Centre for an emergency-response victim-support worker who will provide 24-hour crisis response for women and girls immediately after a sexual assault. Further east, a $20,000 grant to Abbotsford Community Services is helping South Asian children who have experienced violence in their neighbourhoods.
This latest round of civil forfeiture grant funding continues the legacy of giving back in ways that make our communities and families stronger. B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office is a driving force in creating a safer province for everyone. Since it began, the program has returned more than $21 million from successful forfeiture actions to crime prevention and victims programs, and just this week, destroyed a forfeited vehicle once involved in gang-related crime to further undermine the profit-motive of illegal activity and enhance safety in our communities.
Working toward a violence-free B.C. will require true collaboration, engagement and partnership. At the provincial level, we will continue to provide strong leadership to ensure meaningful progress on the strategy, but we need your help to end violence, and violence against women. It’s an ambitious goal, but one that together we can make a reality.
If you or someone you know needs help, please say something. Know that even one voice standing up to violence holds more power than the collective silence of everyone else who chooses to look the other way.
To find help, call VictimLink BC toll-free at 1 800 563-0808, visit www.saysomethingbc.ca or www.victimlinkbc.ca, and be connected with resources in your community.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
