The provincial government is pledging $1.5 million to help prevent domestic violence.
The announcement comes one week after the bodies of three children in Merritt were discovered. Police are still searching for their father, 40-year-old Allan Schoenborn, considered to be the prime suspect in their murder.
The new funding will be used for expanding domestic service units and elder abuse units in the Lower Mainland, and providing rapid follow-ups for high-risk domestic violence cases reported to police.
It is hoped the money will also give special assistance to immigrants by providing culturally appropriate information.
According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, ten thousand spousal abuse cases are reported to police each year. One in ten women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
B.C.'s Solicitor General, John Van Dongen, admits more must be done to educate all involved that perpetrators of family violence need to be dealt with properly.
"Some of the work that comes out of the dollars that are announced today are intended to help improve understanding by all of the players in the system about that expectation that domestic violence of any form is not acceptable," he said.
The funding comes on the heels of last week's murder of the three Schoenborn children in Merritt -- five-year-old Cordon, eight-year-old Max and 10-year-old Kaitlynne.
A moment of silence was held in honour of the children.
The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General provided funding of $500,000. Funding of $1 million is provided through the Ministry of the Attorney General.
The announcement was made this morning at the launch of B.C.'s third annual Victims of Crime Awareness Week.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart
