STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN...

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN..., originally uploaded by * Ahmad Kavousian *.

More than a thousand people showed up last night at a forum in Surrey to address domestic violence in the Indo-Canadian community. Women's groups are calling for the government to return the money it took away from programs designed to fight that violence.

While three recent attacks on South-Asian women recently have made the news, women's groups say all segments of society are suffering because of a lack of government funding to fight domestic violence. Daisy Kler from the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter can't believe the Harper government just axed funding designed to keep women safe. She says these cuts are very cruel right now, and reflect what the Conservatives think about women's equality and about women.

The group Women Against Violence Against Women wonders why BC women's minister Ida Chong has failed to show up at recent anti-domestic violence meetings and why she has refused to increase funding for violence counselling. WAVAW says it has a six month waiting list for women needing domestic violence counselling but the government refuses to give them money to trim that list.