Specific supports are needed for Indigenous survivors of intimate partner violence.
Over the last two years, the alarming increase in gender-based violence around the world has been dubbed “the shadow pandemic.” According to the United Nations, global data shows an increase in calls to domestic violence helplines since the outbreak of COVID-19. About half of all shelters across Canada reported an increase in the number of crisis calls during the pandemic.
Our own crisis line at Battered Women’s Support Services in Vancouver, serving all of B.C., has received 94,736 calls since March 2020 — an almost three-fold increase compared to the previous two-year period between 2018 and 2020. Many of those calls came from women isolated at home with their abusive partner.
Read More: https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2022/07/14/Indigenous-Survivors-Hard-To-Remember-Not-Alone/