On Wednesday, June 4, EVA BC’s executive director, Ninu Kang, gave a short presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services for the province’s 2026 Budget consultation. 

She outlined our three key recommendations for the 2026 budget to respond to what she described as the global crisis of intimate partner and sexual violence where some groups are at greater risk of being targeted with gender-based violence, including Indigenous women, women with disabilities, racialized women, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people and young women between 12 and 24. She made the point that these targeted groups also face significant systemic barriers in gaining access to support and justice. 

Pointing to the province’s 2026 Budget Consultation Report, which commits to tackling “street disorder, violence and organized crime,” Kang made the connection that the impact of gender-based violence impacts not only the survivors, but the survivor’s’ children, families, the perpetrator and the wider community, which can contribute to the kind of violence they have highlighted. She reminded the committee that improving our response to gender-based violence can help create safer, stronger communities. 

Here are her specific recommendations for Budget 2026: 

1. Provide funding to support the currently unfunded community coordination work done by frontline anti-violence workers in 50 communities across BC who already provide services to survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence. This groundbreaking coordination work brings together police, healthcare, justice, corrections, and ministry staff to improve the quality and coordination of service to survivors and prevent further trauma and harm.
2. Create a hub that will give community-based victim service workers in BC with increased access to information in JUSTIN, an integrated justice case management system that includes sensitive criminal court information and updates that can impact safety for survivors. There have been far too many women killed in BC after the accused has been released from jailcustody, and we want to create faster access to information for survivors of violence to assist them in their safety planning. EVA BC has already been working together with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General (MPSSG) to improve access to JUSTIN for the anti-violence sector so that support workers can provide timely information to their clients, survivors of gender-based violence.
3. A commitment from the government to create an Intimate Partner Violence Death Review committee in BC. Kang outlined the statistics, that between 2012 and 2022 there were 135 intimate partner-violence related deaths in BC, and that intimate partner homicides are the most preventable type of homicide. She noted the large increases in intimate partner violence from 2014 to 2022 for adults aged 25 to 64 years (+32%) and seniors aged 65 years and older (+42%). When someone is killed in the context of intimate partner violence, an ongoing intimate partner violence death review committee will help us better understand what happened and how to prevent further deaths. We would build on the existing, successful models of Intimate Partner Violence Death Review Committees across Canada, and our province’s experience with previous Domestic Violence Death Review Panels. The findings and oversight of this committee will be critical to understanding the factors that contribute to intimate partner violence-related deaths, improve gender-based violence response systems, and prevent the loss of lives in BC. 

You can read transcripts and listen to audio of the Budget 2026 Consultation presentations on the legislative sessions channel.