Victoria – BC’s Representative for Children and Youth is calling on government to accept the recommendations made in this week’s Coroner’s report on intimate partner violence.
“The report, Our Time to Act, is a timely and urgent call to action to address the widely recognized epidemic of intimate partner and family violence in British Columbia, I am grateful to the Coroner for convening the Death Review Panel that contributed to this report,” says Representative Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth.
Charlesworth is renewing her calls for enhanced supports for young people who are witnessing violence, noting the Coroner’s report highlights that almost 30 percent of those who were killed due to intimate partner violence between 2016 and 2024 had children living in the home.
“What we are seeing through the data highlighted in the Coroner’s report, our own injury and death data, and the young people that we support through our work, is that when children witness violence in their families, they experience violence and are deeply impacted. This should be a wake-up call for us all,” said Charlesworth who was part of the Coroner’s intimate partner violence death review panel.
She notes that the Coroner’s findings reinforce that young people are the “hidden victims” in cases of intimate partner violence. “The trauma of watching this kind of violence unfold cannot be underestimated. There are life-altering impacts which often lead to very serious and cascading issues for young people. From mental health and substance use challenges to emotional, behavioral and academic effects – the harms are real and can be very difficult for our stretched systems to address.”
Charlesworth highlights that she is supportive of the Coroner’s report’s recommendations as well as those of Dr. Kim Stanton, who authored an independent review of how the legal system responds to intimate partner violence. However, she says she believes young people too often get lost in the conversation.
“I know our focus must always be squarely on direct victims, but we have to extend our definition of victims to include young people who are witnessing – and thus experiencing – violence as well. In doing so, we must ensure the unique supports and services they need when intimate partner violence occurs, are not forgotten, which they too often are.”
Charlesworth is renewing calls that she made in her 2024 landmark report Don’t Look Away which include strengthened supports for young people including:
- dedicated resources to enhance intersectoral and interministerial collaboration to respond to violence in communities
- dedicated culturally relevant victim’s services for children and youth
- an assessment of the service capacity within local service areas and Indigenous Child and Family Service Agencies to respond to family violence
- strengthened early help services to support families
“We can do so much better for our young people and for our families,” said Charlesworth. “It’s up to all of us to collectively lean in to make sure violence is not the defining experience of a young person’s childhood.”
Media Contact – Sara Darling I 778 679 2588
