New Funding To Help Reduce Violence Against Indigenous Women

Jan 15, 2018 | 2:19 PM

VICTORIA — The federal government has announced over $715,000 in funding to help reduce violence against Indigenous women in British Columbia. The British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres will be receiving $450,600 of that funding for a 36-month project to look at northern BC communities to help identify gaps in responses to sexual exploitation and human trafficking of Indigenous girls and women. “This partnership with the federal government will make a real difference in the lives of Indigenous women, girls and their families by improving community responses to issues of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The more we do to build the capacity of communities through awareness, education and community-led action plans, the better off those communities will be,” said Leslie Varley, Executive Director of BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.  

The Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC will receive $267,289 to facilitate Indigenous women’s access to child protection programs. By having this access, it will reduce the likelihood of them staying in unsafe households in order to avoid being separated from their children.