On March 28^th, under provincial emergency management measures, the sexual assault supports that WAVAW has provided for more than 38 years were deemed “essential services” for the first time by the province of British Columbia. We are grateful for this designation and feel that with it, finally comes the acknowledgement of how vital our services are to survivors of sexualized violence.

We have known since 1982 that supporting survivors is essential, and we have done many things to shift and adjust our service delivery to ensure that survivors can continue to access WAVAW’s services despite the global COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to settle into this new normal under COVID-19, we are witnessing the impact of the scaling back of social services locally, provincially and nationally on our community.

Frontline service organizations have been forced to shift from in person-services to other platforms, and there are limited or no opportunities to visit places of support. These changes to how we can connect with those that provide life-affirming and vital connections are deeply impacting lives, and disproportionately, the lives of survivors.

WAVAW has been saying for years that rape crisis centres and sexual assault services, along with other supports that respond to the needs of those experiencing gender-based violence, are absolutely essential services for survivors and victims.

In the past, we’ve talked about how the two-year waitlist for our counselling program impacts survivors; often equating this experience with waiting two years for an ambulance. We called for systems and governments to recognize that supporting survivors is essential and asked them to fund our services accordingly. We’ve also talked about the crucial work that our hospital accompaniment staff and Victim Service team do for survivors to support them in the early days after sexual violence. Navigating the medical, criminal, and legal systems is incredibly challenging for survivors. These systems often disbelieve survivors, blame them for the violence they’ve experienced, and place the onus on them for their own safety – rather than holding those that have harmed them accountable.  No survivors should have to face those challenges alone. Support from a trauma-informed sexual assault response worker reduces the traumatic impacts these systems often have.

This past week has reminded us that gender-based violence and the impacts of gender inequality are still alive, active and having profound impacts during COVID-19. We have seen this in the attacks in Nova Scotia,  whose assailant had a  history of domestic abuse, in the devastating decision a  woman had to make in the DTES to give birth in a portable toilet without the proper care, and in the increase in domestic violence that has led to lost lives across our country. It is now more critical than ever that survivors can access our services, and all of the essential services that make up the fabric of gender-based response supports across Canada are sustained.

Society cannot underestimate sexual violence and its impacts. When survivors reach out for support, whether expressing a desire to explore what justice might look like or in search of healing for their mind, body, and spirit  – they need options, and they need to know there are places like WAVAW for them. They need to know that we will always be here for them. It is vital, as it has been and will continue to be, that every aspect of our work is seen and understood as essential so that we can ensure that we will always be here for survivors.

Working with survivors is a great privilege, and one we take very seriously.  We are committed to providing them with life-affirming services that move them away from trauma and suffering. We dedicate ourselves to reminding them that they are not alone, they matter,  and that they are more than their assault.  The violence they experienced is not their fault, and every survivor deserves healing and justice to keep them alive and on this planet.

We cannot overstate the importance of providing these services and being part of a local, provincial and national network of services that support survivors. If societally, we don’t recognize this work as essential, we will lose people of marginalized genders to the impacts of gender-based violence, and we cannot afford that. Supporting survivors is essential. WAVAW’s services are essential, and we hope that our recognition as an essential service continues long past the COVID-19 pandemic, because the lives and wellbeing of survivors depend on it. Our shared future free from violence, the one we are committed to building together, depends on it.

Survivors, please know that we are here 24 hours a day to support you and connect you with resources in the community. Call us any time at 604-255-6628.

In Solidarity,

Dalya Israel
Executive Director