Gender-based violence is costing British Columbia an estimated $1.12 billion each year, says a new report commissioned by the provincial YWCA.
The report, titled The Cost of Inaction: Measuring the Economic Impact of Gender-Based Violence in B.C., argues that investing in upstream services to prevent such violence will save public money, strengthen productivity and reduce harm and loss of life.
"For decades, the anti-violence sector has highlighted the profound human costs of (gender-based violence) and advanced strong ethical arguments for meaningful action, yet these calls have not been met with the level of response or investment required to match the scale of the crisis," the report says.
The calculated price tag associated with physical and sexual assault accounted for nearly 90 per cent of all examined costs, and included items such as police investigations, lost provincial income per life lost to suicide and productivity losses.
The report says the costs associated with femicide totalled $27.6 million annually, while workplace sexual harassment "contributes an additional $86 million each year through reduced productivity and employment churn."
Robin Shaban, an economist and public policy expert who authored the report, said the cost is likely higher as the scope was limited and because data availability poses a challenge.
"The impacts of gender-based violence are cascading (and) don't just impact the direct victims, but the victim's families and their communities," she said in an interview.
The report suggests investments in education, housing, income supports and community programs could reduce reliance on policing, courts and health services, while also "improving labour force participation and social cohesion."
"Each dollar spent on prevention yields measurable savings and, more importantly, reduces harm and loss of life," it says.
The report notes that B.C. has taken steps by implementing its Gender-Based Violence Action Plan among other initiatives, but "gaps remain."
It highlights the 21 recommendations included in a 2025 report by lawyer Kim Stanton, who was commissioned by the province to conduct the systemic review of the legal system's treatment of sexual and intimate partner violence.
At the time of its release, Attorney General Nikki Sharma said a cross-government committee would review the report and bring forward recommendations for next steps.
She later told a news conference in December that the province would be establishing a comprehensive provincial framework to provide guidance to all those within the justice system to help better respond to intimate partner violence.
The changes also came about two months after B.C. announced stricter bail for those accused or convicted of sexual violence, though Sharma told the December event that it had become clear that more needed to be done.
While the province appears to be addressing some of the issues highlighted in Stanton's review, the YWCA report is encouraging the province to implement all 21 recommendations.
That, it said, includes strengthening education, prevention and cross-departmental co-ordination to reduce violence before it occurs.
It calls for improvement to justice system performance and accountability and survivor supports so violence is addressed promptly and consistently without further re-traumatization.
It also wants enhanced accountability and oversight, such as appointing a Gender-Based Violence Commissioner, to ensure sustained, cross-ministry leadership and measurable progress.
Shaban called Stanton's report "incredibly in-depth and thorough," though noted it did not address workplace harassment.
"We're in a situation where government is not taking action on valid recommendations put forward to it to address gender-based violence, and so this study intends to demonstrate what happens when governments do not take recommendations that have been put forward by experts and people with on the ground experience," Shaban said.
"That's why we are reiterating a lot of recommendations that have already been moved forward. In that sense, we're really not reinventing the wheel here."
She noted the core objective of the YWCA's study is to demonstrate the "return on investment for addressing gender-based violence," Shaban said.
"The subtext behind that is governments have not taken action, and they need to."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Matt Rourke
