Become a BWSS-Certified Advocate through the Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence Advocacy Training Program—a comprehensive 40-hour certification designed for community members, service providers, and professionals seeking to support victims and survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner sexual assault.

This training equips participants with the tools and knowledge needed to provide trauma- and violence-informed, culturally responsive advocacy. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the complexities of gender-based violence with an emphasis on domestic and intimate partner violence, including risk assessment, safety planning, and victim-survivor-centred interventions.

Program Overview

• Format: 10 sessions (4 hours each), delivered in a hybrid model
• Time: 8:30-12:30 pm over ten weeks
• Capacity: 15 in-person spots, 20 online spots

Topics Covered

• Anti-Oppression and Gender-Based Violence Frameworks: Understanding systemic barriers, power dynamics, and intersectionality in advocacy.
• Intimate Partner Violence and Domestic Violence: Recognizing patterns, cycles of abuse, and survivor experiences.
• Intimate Partner Sexual Assault: Addressing the complexities of sexual violence within relationships.
• Dynamics of Relationship Violence: Exploring control tactics, coercion, and trauma responses.
• Safety Planning and Lethality Assessment: Identifying high-risk situations and strategies to enhance survivor safety.
• Trauma- and Violence-Informed Practice: Learning survivor-centred, culturally responsive approaches to advocacy.
• Effective Advocacy Strategies: Supporting victims and survivors of IPV within legal, social, and community-based systems.

Who Should Attend?

This program is open to all community members, including frontline workers, advocates, legal professionals, social workers, counsellors, mental health practitioners, and health service providers. Whether you are new to advocacy or seeking to deepen your expertise, this training will provide essential skills to support victims and survivors with confidence and care.

Join us and become part of a network dedicated to empowering victims and survivors, challenging systemic barriers, and creating safer communities.

Meet Your Trainer: Angela Marie MacDougall – Leading Expert in Gender-Based Violence Advocacy & Training

For over 30 years, Angela Marie MacDougall has been a highly sought-after trainer, educator, and advocate, equipping frontline workers, service providers, and community members with the skills needed to support survivors of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and gender-based violence.

Angela’s expertise is rooted in real-world experience, evidence-based practices, and a deep commitment to intersectional, trauma- and violence-informed approaches. She has trained thousands of professionals, including anti-violence workers, social workers, legal advocates, counsellors, mental health practitioners, and community organizers, ensuring they have the tools to respond effectively to survivors’ needs.

Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Training Rooted in Real-World Experience

With over 30 years of frontline experience, Angela has designed and led high-impact training programs that equip professionals with proven, victim and survivor-centred advocacy strategies. Her expertise is built on leading teams, conducting community-based research, and driving advocacy efforts to improve responses to gender-based violence. Angela ensures that every trainee gains practical, evidence-based tools drawn from real-world practice, frontline engagement, and cutting-edge research—preparing them to effectively support survivors and navigate complex systems.

Why Train with Angela?

• Decades of Training Experience: Angela has designed, developed, and delivered training programs since the 1990s, shaping how professionals across Canada, the U.S., and internationally respond to gender-based violence.
• Intersectional, Trauma- and Violence-Informed Approach: Angela’s training integrates a feminist, anti-oppression lens that recognizes the impact of colonialism, systemic racism, mental wellness, and substance use on survivors.
• Engaging, Practical, and Transformative Learning: Trainees gain hands-on, actionable skills through interactive workshops, case studies, and expert guidance on safety planning, lethality assessment, advocacy strategies, and systemic navigation.
• A Trainer Who Understands Systemic Barriers: As a bi-racial Black woman who grew up confronting racism, misogyny, and systemic violence, Angela brings lived experience and political analysis to her training, making her an authentic and relatable educator.

Who Has Angela Trained?

Angela has led training for a wide range of professionals and organizations, including:

• Community-based anti-violence organizations
• Transition house workers and frontline service providers
• Legal advocates, lawyers, and justice system professionals
• Social workers, counsellors, and mental health practitioners
• University faculty, students, and researchers
• Government and policy-makers working to improve gender-based violence responses

Recognition & Leadership

Angela’s longstanding leadership in the gender equity movement has earned her numerous accolades, including being named a Remarkable Woman by the City of Vancouver and one of Vancouver Magazine’s most powerful people. She is a founding member of organizations like Feminists Deliver, the February 14th Women’s Memorial March, and the Intersectional Feminist Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative, all dedicated to advancing justice for survivors.

As the Executive Director of Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS), Angela Marie MacDougall has been a driving force in developing trauma- and violence-informed interventions across crisis response, counselling, legal advocacy, and systemic change initiatives. Under her leadership, BWSS has expanded its frontline services and advocacy efforts, designed in the interest of victims and survivors receiving comprehensive, survivor-centred support while advancing policy and systemic reforms to address gender-based violence at its root.

Train with an Expert. Advocate with Confidence.

If you’re looking for a trainer with deep expertise, a commitment to empowerment, and a track record of transforming advocacy efforts, Angela Marie MacDougall is the instructor you want. Her dynamic, engaging, and high-impact training sessions will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to effectively support survivors and drive meaningful change.

Join one of Angela’s training programs and become a stronger advocate in the fight against gender-based violence.