Femicide rates in B.C. have reached critical levels, report finds [Video]

A new report examining the effectiveness of protection orders in B.C. has found that there are still a lot of gaps when it comes to intimate partner violence.

The report, released by Battered Women’s Support Services, was based on research conducted in 2023 with frontline workers and victim-survivors across B.C.

“We’ve had some tragic cases here in British Columbia where women who have fled their abusive partners have sought protection orders and then have been… allegedly killed by their abusive partner,” Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of BWSS told Global News.

“So we’ve wanted to, you know, take a look at protection orders and to see to what extent they are meeting the overall objective, which is around keeping victims safe.”

According to the BWSS, femicide rates in the province have reached critical levels.

In 2022, 24 women were killed due to femicide — double the average annual rate between 2010 and 2015. Preliminary data indicates this …