British ColumbiaA legal group’s interviews with survivors of intimate partner violence show that many stay in abusive relationships because they can’t find affordable housing. Following the interviews, a report from Rise Women’s Legal Centre is recommending changes to provincial laws, and an expansion of legal aid services. Law reform is needed to ensure victims of intimate partner violence can leave and find safe homes, says lawyerAkshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Nov 16, 2025 2:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A new report looked at the intersection of B.C.’s housing crisis and gender-based violence — and it calls for changes in the family law system to ensure victims can access support and housing in a timely manner. (ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock)Abusers are weaponizing B.C.’s housing affordability crisis, say domestic violence survivors who were interviewed by a Vancouver non-profit.Rise Women’s Legal Centre conducted interviews with more than 40 victims of intimate partner violence and, in a new report, it recommends legal reforms to ensure protection orders can be accessed more quickly, and an expansion of legal aid services so victims can exit relationships and find safer housing.Rise staff lawyer Haley Hrymak spoke to the victims, along with dozens of others who are involved in the legal system and domestic violence charities, and authored the report.B.C.’s housing crisis, she says, often leads to people to stay in abusive relationships, or return to them, because they can’t find affordable alternate housing.WATCH | Call for more action on intimate partner violence:Advocates call for action on intimate partner violenceB.C. has seen a spate of intimate partner violence in the last week, two of which involved people in their 60s and up. As Johna Baylon reports, intimate partner violence has been on the rise among older adults, and advocates are calling for something to be done.”Abusers are using the housing crisis, including, you know, the lack of available alternatives for people, as a way of perpetrating their violence,” she said.”So people are experiencing threats like, ‘If you were to leave me, you’d have nowhere to go.'”The report revealed how B.C.’s family law system often doesn’t consider safe housing when deciding on protection orders or applications for custody, Hyrmak said.It recommends, among other things, that B.C.’s Family Law Act be amended to require courts to consider gender-related factors in relocation applications — including housing affordability and family violence.WATCH | More strict action needed on domestic abusers, advocates say:Calls grow for tough action on perpetrators of intimate-partner violence B.C. Premier David Eby was in Ottawa on Thursday, and one of the topics he raised with his federal counterparts is the need for bail reform and tougher action on perpetrators of intimate-partner violence. As Katie DeRosa reports, it comes as the family of a woman allegedly killed by her ex-husband in Kelowna calls for urgent reforms.”There should also be flexibility within the notice requirements to keep the address confidential, or to provide an address closer to the date of the proposed relocation,” the report reads.In addition, the report recommends an expansion of legal aid services to help domestic violence survivors file applications to obtain family property.It also asks for more communication within the family law system itself to allow for faster protection orders and child support — something also recommended in an independent review commissioned by the province and authored by Dr. Kim Stanton earlier this year.”You can’t wait six months to have a family court child support order be enforced. You really needed that money five months ago when your rent was due,” Hrymak said. Long waitlist for transitional housingErin Seeley, the CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver, says the organization has more than 1,000 women and families on its waitlist for transitional and long-term housing units.”No matter how many units we build, our waitlist is not going down,” she said. “And, in part, that’s because we hear from women who, when they’re offered … transitional housing, it can be a shorter term stay up to 18 months,” Seeley added. “They don’t want to take a short-term stay because they don’t want to risk that.”YWCA Pacific Spirit Terrace is a series of housing units set up above a fire hall in Vancouver. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)Seeley said she’s encouraged to see the call for more legal aid funding — but adds that those working in the family law system need to be trauma-informed and sensitive to the needs of intimate partner violence victims.”One of the discouraging things is, we didn’t see in the federal budget, we didn’t see anything for women in housing,” Seeley said.”We did see some funding from women’s advancement and gender equality that we’re hopeful will continue to flow to provinces. But we need more provincial investment in addressing gender-based violence.”A spokesperson for the B.C. Attorney General said that the province is investing over $1 billion in women’s transitional housing over a decade.They added that, following Stanton’s report, the government is conducting a comprehensive review of the Family Law Act.Proposed changes to the act may include expanding eligibility for protection orders and reducing barriers for those seeking consecutive orders, the spokesperson said.”In the coming weeks, government will share an update on the Province’s progress responding to the recommendations in the report, including next steps to promote [co-ordination] and collaboration between the actors within the legal system,” they added.With files from Tanushi Bhatnagar
Domestic abusers are weaponizing B.C.’s housing crisis, report reveals
