YWCA Vancouver conducts Close to Home campaign
By Rob Bale
YWCA Metro Vancouver has begun a campaign called “Close to Home” intended to raise awareness of the issue of gender-based violence. According to the association, the campaign uses bus shelter ads to visually represent the number of reported sexual assault cases within a 10-block radius of each ad. The campaign is part of a larger effort by a group of anti-violence organization to convince the province of British Columbia to declare gender-based violence an epidemic. The initiative encourages residents of the province to sign a letter to the premier at <http://www.ywcavan.org/hiddenepidemic>.
“The harsh reality of gender-based violence is that it's among our communities and closer to home than we may want to believe,” said Erin Seeley, CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver. “This campaign paints the picture of how critical this issue is in our community and why we need to advocate for coordinated action to end gender-based violence in British Columbia.”