Letter to the Editor

Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people experience violence at a much higher rate than other populations. Dismantling the underlying and systemic causes of violence is key to our government’s work toward lasting reconciliation and advancing gender equality.

A Path Forward: Priorities and Early Strategies for B.C., released one year ago today, reflects priorities voiced in community dialogue sessions and sets a foundation for a path forward to ending violence. Today, we are sharing an update that outlines cross-government action in these areas, including community-based supports and justice and public safety initiatives, as well as reconciliation, Indigenous rights and cultural preservation.

A Path Forward is also reflected in action 3.8 of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, the province’s plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous communities and individuals have identified capacity building and safety planning as the top priorities for ending violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people. In April, our government announced the $5.34-million Path Forward Community Fund , which will be developed and administered by the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.

The fund will support Indigenous communities and organizations as they create and implement their own culturally safe solutions. This initiative is an important response to Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

We will continue to travel the path forward with our Indigenous partners, ensuring our work to end violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people is informed by survivors, family members and communities.

Mike Farnworth,

B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General

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