By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
Town of Oliver Council has proclaimed October 2025 as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”.
The proclamation, carried unanimously at Council’s Monday meeting, recognizes the Desert Sun Counselling & Resource Centre’s efforts to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence, and supports their efforts to combat domestic violence in the Town of Oliver.
The Centre wrote to Council seeking the proclamation, to “amplify our message, [and] also provide a platform for collective action against domestic violence in our communities”.
These processes, the letter notes, help by “fostering awareness and encouraging proactive measures”, which in turn empowers the community to stand up against domestic violence and create a safer environment to give victims of domestic violence the support they need.
The motion, as approved by Council, directs staff to promote Domestic Violence Awareness Month on the Town’s website and social media channels.
The matter is becoming even more significant for the towns of Oliver and Osoyoos in recent years. An increasing number of instances of domestic violence have been reported, the Centre explains, making this year’s awareness recognition more important than ever.
BC Emergency Health Services notes that abuse can happen to anyone: someone in a family or someone in a dating relationship, a spouse or former spouse, a partner in an intimate relationship or former partner, a child, young person, or older person.
The abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or financial and may include more than one type of abuse.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month is observed nationwide, and the Town of Oliver recognized it through a proclamation in 2024. While statistics were not provided in the report or the letter, there has been a notable rise nationwide in reported instances of abuse and domestic violence.
According to Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) citing 2019 self-reported data, women and girls were significantly more likely than men and boys to have experienced any form of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), including physical abuse (23 versus 17 per cent, respectively), sexual abuse (12 versus 2 per cent), and psychological abuse (43 versus 35 per cent).
The scope of the problem was highlighted in the Okanagan this summer by the tragic death of Bailey McCourt who was assaulted by her former partner James Plover in a Kelowna parking lot on July 4 in broad daylight. Plover appeared in court on Sept. 16 charged with second-degree murder.
Plover has also been found guilty of three counts of uttering threats and one count of assault by strangling in a previous assault. Sentencing for that will take place in November.
McCourt’s death has sparked further calls for reforms in how domestic violence is treated. This includes changes to the bail system, more protections for survivors of domestic violence, an offender’s registry and more severe charges.
If you are in immediate danger call 9-1-1. Help is also available by visiting VictimLinkBC, call/text 1-800-563-0808 or email [email protected]. For women and children seeking shelter, visit sheltersafe.ca. Desert Sun Counselling provides free counselling to female survivors of family violence, sexual assault, or historical abuse of any kind. Call 250-498-2538 or email [email protected] .
