Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1979 – Family Violence. Report of the Task Force on Family Violence.

Recommendation 1: That support groups for women who have left violent homes be initiated in community-based groups and agencies as well as ministries and departments of government…[and] That ongoing funding be provided to such programmes…(p.7)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1979 – Family Violence. Report of the Task Force on Family Violence.

Recommendation 2: That ways of identifying, assisting and protecting women who are still in a violent situation be developed and …this problem be considered a priority issue of social agency programs concerned with family violence. (p.8)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

Recommendation 3: All levels of government…must provide official recognition of the need for the range of services women require as a result of wife assault. This recognition must take the form of support and funding for Transition Houses, support service, second stage facilities for battered women, and programs for children whose mothers have been assaulted. (p.128)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1992 – Is Anyone Listening? (British Columbia Task Force on Family Violence, 1992).

Recommendation 4: The provincial government, in consultation with the community, must: Increase funding to transition and second stage houses, sexual assault centres, specialized victim assistance programs and other community agencies providing services to victims of family and sexual violence.[All funding to BC’s sexual assault centres was cut in 2002]

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1992 – Is Anyone Listening? (British Columbia Task Force on Family Violence, 1992).

Recommendation 5: The provincial government, in consultation with the community, must: Encourage and support hospitals to establish specialized services to respond to women, children and elderly people who are victims of family or sexual violence. (p.5)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1992 – Gender Equality in the Justice System. A Report of The Law Society of British Columbia Gender Bias Committee. (Hughes, 1992).

Recommendation 6: We believe the victim service program…should be improved to maximize the voluntary cooperation of the victim in the trial process by implementing the following recommendations: Facilitate immediate victim referrals from police or Crown, and enhance communication and cooperation among these service providers in a manner which protects the privacy of the victim. The Committee recognizes this recommendation may require legislative amendments in some cases where victim services are not attached to the police. (p.7 – 50)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1992 – Gender Equality in the Justice System. A Report of The Law Society of British Columbia Gender Bias Committee. (Hughes, 1992).

Recommendation 7: We believe the victim service program…should be improved to maximize the voluntary cooperation of the victim in the trial process by implementing the following recommendations: Ensure every community has a specialized victim service program for battered women (p.7 – 50) and victims of sexual assault…(p.7 – 90)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1993 – Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality. Executive Summary/National Action Plan. (Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, 1993).

Recommendation 8: Provide ongoing funding to all services for short-, medium- and long-term planning. Core funding is recommended for community-based, nongovernmental services such as women’s shelters, sexual assault centres, rape crisis centres, and women’s centres….Some experimentation through pilot projects should be employed to investigate ways of expanding both the community-based and government-based service networks. (p. 36)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1993 – Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality. Executive Summary/National Action Plan. (Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, 1993).

Recommendation 9: Expand…victim support and women’s advocacy programs…until equal access [to the legal system] for all women is achieved. (p.57)

Specialized Support For Women And Their Children Who Are Victims Of Violence

1998 – Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice Reform in British Columbia: Identifying Some Preliminary Questions and Concerns. Prepared for BC Association of Specialized Victim Assistance & Counselling Programs. (Goundry, 1998).

Recommendation 10: The consultation with the victim which is required under the VAWIR policy, and is anticipated by restorative approaches, should only be conducted once the victim has had an opportunity to meet with a specialized victim services worker. This directive should be expressly written into all violence-related polices. (p.48)