Open Statement: Gender Violence in BC Must Stop Now

📢 Open Statement: Gender Violence in BC Must Stop Now

To:
Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,
The Attorney General of British Columbia,
The Minister Responsible for Gender-Based Violence Prevention,
Prime Minister Mark Carney—husband, father of four (including a trans daughter),
Survivors, Indigenous leaders, allies, and concerned citizens,

We stand at a moment of national crisis. In British Columbia, the epidemic of gender-based violence—and the disproportionate toll on Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit/2SLGBTQI+ people—demands urgent, coordinated action.

🔥 The Scale of the Crisis

• Indigenous women are four times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be victims of violence. They represent 16% of female homicide victims while comprising just ~4.3% of the population 1.
• Between 2009–2021, Statistics Canada tracked 490 Indigenous women and girls murdered, a homicide rate six times that of non-Indigenous women 2.
• In 2024, the Aboriginal Alert system issued 1,324 missing-person alerts involving Indigenous people, of which 816 were Indigenous women and girls—30 were still missing and 16 found deceased by year’s end 3.

🚨 Recent Violence in BC

In early July 2025, three women were murdered in BC within a single week—two in intimate-partner violence and one suspected murder-suicide. Yet public and media discourse avoided using terms like “femicide” or “gender-based violence”—erasing the context of these tragedies.

🛑 We Demand Immediate Action

1. Declare a provincial emergency on gender-based violence and femicide.
2. Fully implement the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into MMIWG, with binding timelines and public tracking.
3. Establish an Indigenous-led oversight body to ensure culturally safe services and accountability.
4. Enforce protection orders, fund safe housing, and coordinate agencies through a province-wide emergency response plan.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 A Word to Prime Minister Mark Carney

Prime Minister Carney, as a husband and father of four—one of whom is transgender—you understand the importance of safety and dignity for all children. Your leadership must extend to protecting those most vulnerable. We ask you to use your platform and influence to push for urgent federal and provincial reforms.

📣 Final Appeal

This is not just a statement—it is a demand for justice and safety. We will not accept more names added to the list. We will not settle for words. We demand systems built with survivors, led by communities, and backed by real action.

Respectfully submitted,
On behalf of survivors, families, and communities across British Columbia

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Tags: Gender-Based Violence, BC Femicide, MMIWG, Mark Carney, Women's Rights, Indigenous Justice, National Inquiry, Canada Violence Crisis, 2SLGBTQI+ Safety