The Legal System vs. Survivors: Time for Real Change in BC
Even today, survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) face enormous hurdles when seeking justice in British Columbia. A recent independent review by Dr. Kim Stanton (June 2025) sheds light on why decades of recommendations and reforms haven’t translated into meaningful change - and what needs to happen next.
The Scope of the Problem
The numbers are sobering: 37% of women in BC have experienced sexual assault, and 48% have faced intimate partner violence. Yet most cases never reach the justice system - 94% of sexual assaults and 80% of IPV incidents go unreported. Survivors often face systemic silos, underfunded support services, and myths or stereotypes that influence how they are treated. Rural, Indigenous, and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected.
Systemic Barriers and Gaps
The review identifies significant gaps in coordination and accountability across ministries, police, courts, and community agencies. Data systems are fragmented, trauma-informed practices are inconsistent, and community-based supports - the services survivors most trust - remain chronically underfunded. Without these foundational pieces, the justice system cannot reliably protect or empower survivors.
A Roadmap for Change
Dr. Stanton’s report doesn’t just outline problems - it provides a clear, actionable vision for transforming BC’s response to intimate partner and sexual violence. At its core, the roadmap emphasizes trauma-informed, survivor-centered approaches, recognizing that meaningful justice isn’t just about legal procedures - it’s about safety, dignity, and empowerment at every step.
Key priorities include:
- Declare gender-based violence a provincial epidemic. This bold step signals that GBV is a public health and human rights crisis, demanding urgent attention and coordinated action across all levels of government.
- Appoint a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Commissioner and implement robust accountability structures. By creating a central oversight role, the system can track performance, identify gaps, and ensure reforms are actually followed through.
- Invest in prevention and education. From teaching consent and healthy relationship skills to raising awareness about oppression and the dynamics of violence, education is a vital tool to prevent future harm.
- Fund community-based support workers (CBSWs) and strengthen survivor services. Survivors consistently report that these community-based supports are the most trusted and effective - yet they remain underfunded. Stable, long-term investment ensures continuity of care and access for those who need it most.
- Foster cross-sector collaboration. Integrated teams and hub models can break down silos between police, courts, social services, and community agencies, creating a seamless, coordinated system for survivors.
- Modernize family and criminal law processes. Expanding legal aid, updating the Family Law Act, and ensuring independent legal advice in criminal matters can reduce barriers and challenge the myths and biases that often influence outcomes.
- Enhance court safety and accessibility. Testimonial aids, coordinated case management, and restorative justice options help survivors participate fully in the legal process without unnecessary re-traumatization.
- Develop a comprehensive GBV data strategy and Death Review Committee. Collecting and analyzing data transparently enables evidence-based policy, improved interventions, and accountability when systemic failures occur.
This roadmap isn’t just a blueprint for reform - it’s a call to action. By centering the voices and needs of survivors, embedding trauma-informed practices across institutions, and holding systems accountable, BC has the potential to create a legal response that truly protects, supports, and empowers survivors.
Why Trauma-Informed Practice Matters
One of the clearest messages from Dr. Stanton’s review is that trauma-informed practice isn’t optional - it’s essential. Across the legal and social systems, the way survivors are treated can either compound harm or help them begin to heal. Trauma-informed approaches prioritize safety, trust, empowerment, and collaboration at every stage of the journey, ensuring that survivors feel seen, heard, and respected.
- In police investigations: Approaching survivors with sensitivity and survivor-centered questioning reduces retraumatization, encourages reporting, and improves the accuracy of information collected. It shifts the focus from blaming survivors to supporting them through a difficult process.
- In courts: Trauma-informed procedures - like testimonial aids, private waiting areas, and compassionate scheduling - make the legal process more accessible and less intimidating. These practices allow survivors to participate fully while minimizing emotional harm.
- In community supports: Community-Based Support Workers (CBSWs) apply trauma-informed principles to help survivors rebuild safety, stability, and confidence. These trusted relationships often provide the first and most consistent lifeline for those navigating the aftermath of violence.
- Through training and policy: Embedding trauma awareness in professional development, protocols, and system-wide policy ensures consistency, empathy, and ethical decision-making. This creates a culture across institutions that recognizes the realities of trauma and actively works to prevent further harm.
In short, trauma-informed practice transforms the system from one that inadvertently re-traumatizes survivors into one that supports, empowers, and restores trust. When trauma-awareness is built into every level - from policy and training to frontline interactions - it creates a foundation for meaningful justice, safer communities, and better outcomes for survivors.
The Takeaway
Dr. Kim Stanton’s review reframes gender-based violence as both a public health and human rights crisis. Without systemic reform, justice for survivors will remain elusive. Trauma-informed, intersectional solutions - backed by accountability, funding, and cross-sector collaboration - are not optional. They are essential for a legal system that truly supports survivors and holds perpetrators accountable.
At MindSense, we believe that understanding these systemic challenges - and advocating for trauma-informed, survivor-centered practices - is critical. Real change requires coordinated leadership, sustained investment, and a shared commitment to seeing survivors not as statistics, but as individuals with rights, dignity, and the need for meaningful justice.
MindSense is committed to being part of that change. Through trauma-informed assessments and training for legal professionals and evaluators, we’re helping bridge the gap between psychological insight and systemic reform - creating pathways toward justice that truly center survivors.
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