Submitted by Sabine Lehr, Private Sponsorship of Refugees Manager

On April 16, ICA participated with other front-line anti-violence organizations in a march to end sexualized and gender-based violence. The march under the leadership of the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre and its Trans Inclusion Coordinator, Alexa Robin, was the culmination of two years of work by a seven-agency network of which ICA is a member. The network’s purpose is to seed an ongoing dialogue about this topic in the community and come up with preventative mechanisms that will hopefully decrease the incidence of sexualized and gender-based violence.

The march led from the BC Legislature along Government Street to Spirit Square at Victoria City Hall. There, speakers from different organizations and representing different communities, as well as local and provincial politicians, gave testimonies and short speeches to raise awareness about the violence that people experience due to their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Thank you to all participants for showing your support to such an important cause.