Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault and Discrimination

My name is Holly. I am asking for your help in holding the BC Government and Justice System accountable for how they treat victims of violent crime and sexual assault. And dismantling the systemic stigma surrounding mental illness and financial hardship. 

I am doing this not just for myself, but for every survivor who’s been silenced, dismissed, or re-traumatized by the very institutions meant to protect them. 

Survivors are too exhausted, too busy suffering, too busy healing, they may lack the resources, fear no one will believe them, or just don’t want to face being shamed. I am determined to have our collective voice heard.

BC legislature states that victims have the right to fair, unbiased treatment by the provincial government and its agencies. I was not afforded this right, along with so many other survivors. 

In response to this injustice, I have petitioned the Supreme Court of BC for a Judicial Review of an unreasonable and procedurally unfair decision made by the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP).

How It Began

In 2020, I was unknowingly targeted by a predatory pervert on a dating app. He portrayed himself as polite and respectful, a welcome contrast to the vulgarity I was used to seeing online. After a few weeks of conversation, I agreed to meet him - my first social outing since the Covid lockdown.

That night, he drugged me. I blacked out and woke up to him actively raping me. I was broken, inconsolable, terrified and humiliated. At no point has he shown any remorse or been held accountable for his actions. 

Immediately following the assault, I was subjected to a three-hour, unrecorded interrogation by an officer who made several inappropriate statements, not hiding his ignorance about sexual assault or the meaning of consent. When asked a simple question about the SANE exam, his response was 

“I don't know, I've never had one,   I'm a guy. haha". 

Why was this guy-with-a-gun sent to speak to a sexual assault victim???

In Spring 2021, I submitted my application to CVAP for assistance. With the support of my health team and Victim Service workers, I disclosed, in detail, how the assault has impacted my mental health and my life. 

I was expected to forgo all rights to personal privacy and waited two agonizing years to be awarded access to counselling sessions. Nearly everything else was denied with a cold, dismissive letter.

Since 2020, I have spent hundreds of hours sourcing and working with Indigenous healers, mental health professionals, crisis workers, and social workers, etc. Progress has been very slow but incredibly helpful.

For years I lived in a state of panic and disbelief, reliving that night over and over again, stripped of my dignity and financial freedom, pleading for help from a government that viewed me as an adversary.

I stopped sleeping, never left my apartment, and couldn’t eat. My job performance collapsed. I was nearly fired, and was forced to fight a bad-faith eviction during a housing crisis.I was completely alone, with my mental health and spirit already crushed. 

I am so grateful for the few people who stood beside me when I was at my lowest, and my amazing employer who listened to my story, believed me, and helped me through some of the worst years of my life. 

I requested a Reassessment of new information, then a Reconsideration of the reassessment, pointing out the many fallacies in their previous decisions. It made no difference. I had exhausted my options, after four long years, was left only with legal action. 

When researching for this judicial review, I found only a handful of cases involving CVAP, nothing really similar to mine. 

Through discussions with various non-profit organizations offering help to victims of gendered violence, and through accessing online forums, the feedback I’d received regarding the help I needed, was dismal at best. That’s when it occurred to me,

no one fights back.

The current system is designed to wear victims down until they give up.

Until our justice and judicial systems find a way to actually protect us, the very least our government can do is support victims in the aftermath - with transparency, dignity and respect. 

How You Can Help

Lawyers are expensive and a necessary part of the process at this stage. I am raising funds to help cover the legal and administrative costs of pursuing this judicial review. 

Your support will help me stand up to a broken system and demand better for all victims of violent crime, in BC and across the country.

Please donate if you can, and please share this page across your network. 

It’s a well-known fact that at least one person you know has been a victim of sexual assault, likely too scared to come forward. 

Thank you for your support and for believing survivors.

— Holly

Stay tuned for updates that include helpful resources and information intended to help in a time of crisis.