{"id":502515,"date":"2026-02-27T06:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/502515\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T06:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:50:11","slug":"surreys-forum-on-gender-based-violence-to-raise-awareness-on-growing-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/502515\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrey\u2019s forum on gender-based violence to raise awareness on growing crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(L-R) Wendy Potter, Ending Violence Association of BC; Amy Fitzgerald, BC Society of Transition Houses; Surrey Councillor Pardeep Kooner; Vera LeFranc, Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships; Natalie Klaver, Surrey Police Service; Samantha Grey, Surrey Women\u2019s Centre; Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke; Shana Slater, Shelter Movers; Sarah McIntosh, Surrey Vulnerable Women and Girls Working Group; Winston Sayson, KC, LLB; and Surrey Councillor Rob Stutt.
\nPhoto: City of Surrey<\/p>\n

THE City of Surrey welcomed front-line workers, community partners and subject matter experts on Wednesday for a forum on gender-based violence. Held at City Hall, the event aimed to increase awareness, share data and support coordinated efforts to address what Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke called a growing public safety and public health crisis. The event marks a key milestone in elevating awareness and discourse around an important and urgent topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGender-based violence is not a private matter \u2014 it is a crisis affecting families and communities every day,\u201d said Locke. \u201cWe are committed to providing a platform to keep the conversation going by working actively with our community partners, and by strengthening prevention efforts that protect women and gender-diverse people in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her opening remarks, the\u00a0mayor emphasized the scale of the issue, noting that a female is killed every 48 hours in Canada and that nearly half of women in B.C. have experienced some form of intimate partner violence.\u00a0 She also highlighted that Indigenous women\u00a0are six times more likely to be killed than non-Indigenous women.<\/p>\n

Speakers highlighted\u00a0\u201cmade in Surrey\u201d solutions, including\u00a0advocacy\u00a0for\u00a0safety audits of public spaces and calls for standardized risk-assessment tools across police and health\u00a0services.\u00a0The\u00a0City\u00a0also recognized the essential work of front-line responders, forensic nurses and community organizations that support survivors\u00a0and work\u00a0tirelessly\u00a0to\u00a0eliminate\u00a0gender-based violence.<\/p>\n

Presenters also outlined ongoing challenges, including housing shortages and gaps in the legal system that can allow coercive control to continue after separation. Recent legislation, including the Protecting Victims Act (2025), was highlighted as a step forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreventing gender\u2011based violence requires every part of the system to work together \u2014 public safety, health, housing and community partners,\u201d said\u00a0Brian Edwards, General Manager of Public Safety for the City of Surrey. \u201cThis forum reinforces our shared commitment to early intervention, survivor\u2011centred supports, and building a coordinated response that keeps people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event showcased the network of services available in Surrey, including the Surrey Women\u2019s Centre, Atira, Elizabeth Fry Society, Options, YMCA, Pacific Community\u00a0Resources\u00a0Society,\u00a0DIVERSEcity\u00a0Community Resources Society,\u00a0Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association (FRAFCA)\u00a0and long-standing collaborations\u00a0with organizations\u00a0such as\u00a0the Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR).<\/p>\n

Speakers and panelists included leaders of Surrey-based and province-wide organizations that provide anti-violence and \/ or housing services, as well as relevant subject matter experts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(L-R) Wendy Potter, Ending Violence Association of BC; Amy Fitzgerald, BC Society of Transition Houses; Surrey Councillor Pardeep…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[879,49,48,194869,118181,87674,194871,39],"class_list":["post-502515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-city-of-surrey","tag-gender-based-violence","tag-surrey","tag-surrey-mayor-brenda-locke","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}