“You are not alone” – a new public awareness campaign reaching out to immigrant and refugee women experiencing violence.

The BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH), in partnership with the FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children, SFU, and the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, is excited to announce the launch of the Building Supports Public Awareness Campaign, “You are not alone.”

This province-wide poster, video, TV and radio campaign reaches out to immigrant and refugee women experiencing violence, informing them about Transition Houses and how to access their support. Transition Houses and Safe Homes provide free shelter to women and their children experiencing violence in more than 100 communities across BC.

The need for this campaign arose out of the collaborative and community-based Building Supports project, focused on the barriers to housing for immigrant and refugee women experiencing violence. Violence against women remains a significant and prevalent issue and immigrant and refugee women often face additional difficulties in accessing support. These include language and cultural barriers, uncertain or precarious immigration status, isolation, fear of repercussions of disclosure, limited or lack of access to finances and lack of knowledge of their rights and available services. These barriers can prevent women from accessing the help that is available.

The “You are not alone” campaign addresses these concerns and educates the public about what Transition Houses and Safe Homes are and how to access them. It is a multi-lingual campaign in Farsi, Punjabi, Arabic, Mandarin and English and is taking place across the province during February and March of 2017. It includes posters in buses, bus shelters and in women’s washrooms across BC as well as video and audio Public Service Announcements broadcast on TV and radio stations.

For more information about the Building Supports “You are not alone” campaign, visit www.bcsth.ca/youarenotalone