Following the recent death of a 41-year-old Vancouver Island mother, nearly 200 people of all ages gathered outside Victoria’s Courthouse on Wednesday, as the community and anti-violence organizations honoured her death and called on the government to act.

Laura Gover, a 41-year-old mother of two, a university instructor and friend to many, was found dead in her Saanich home on Jan. 5.

Gover’s ex-husband, 47-year old Muhammed Ali Basar, is charged with second degree murder in her death. An allegation that hasn’t been proven in court.

People of all ages came to honour Gover and rally for government to act.

Victoria Schmid and others wore a hoodie with a “#loudforlaura” printed on the back in memory of their friend.

“We’re a group of ladies, we all worked out with Laura three days a week. And yeah, her loss is huge to our community,” Schmid said.

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While many had never met Gover, what happened to her resonated with many, and drew the large crowd

At the rally, speakers highlighted the decades-long problem of domestic and gender-based violence, and the systemic barriers impeding progress.

“Today, we stand united as a coalition of community partners who work together every day to support survivors and victims of intimate partner violence,” said Bahar Dehnadi, executive director, Victoria Women’s Transition Society.

Liza Scott, executive director of Cowichan Women Against Violence, said more needs to be done to protect women in this province.

“We are here today because Laura Gover was killed. We hold her children, her loved ones, and her community in our hearts,” Scott said.

Advocates here say the system needs to take women’s concerns seriously, and do a better job of keeping women safe.

“We have a responsibility in this community to speak out when we see that the system is not working as it’s designed to. Our clients’ voices are often silenced or dismissed in these proceedings. And we have a collective responsibility to show up and advocate for them when we can,” Dehnadi said.

Marlene Goley, manager of Victoria Women’s Transition House Society says after 35 years of doing this work, she hasn’t seen a decline in the number victims and survivors seeking services.

“Have the numbers increased? It feels like it, but it’s always been bad and that’s why we’re here, again, today, pleading for the same changes that we’ve been pleading for these many decades,” Goley said.

She doesn’t think she has another 35 years in her to keep doing this work, and hopes real action comes from today.

Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services, spoke remotely, as fog prevented her from flying into Victoria, and with urgency.

“What happened here in Victoria fits a pattern that all levels of government already know, already recognize and have already said they intend to address. And yet women keep being killed,” MacDougall said.

The rally was held on a scheduled court date for Gover’s ex-husband, who has been charged with second degree murder. A charge that has not yet been proven in court.

Advocates called on the province to have standardized risk assessments for police, a checklist police used to assess the danger level of a domestic violence situation. Something organizers say is crucial for keeping women safe.

They are also calling for a minimum 15 per cent increase core funding for frontline anti-violence services in hopes of reducing the wait times for victims and survivors.

Those here say the province has no timeline for when it could be implemented.

Last month, B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma announced announced “a step toward justice” by starting to sit down and look at provincial measures to combat intimate partner violence.

But Grace Lore, NDP MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill said the province is working towards improvements.

“We know there is work to do. I’ll say it, the attorney general says it, the system is not always working, and it’s not working when women need safety. And efforts on a provincial level and the federal level, we’ve been advocating there, and I’ll continue to push around risk assessment. That’s something I heard from community,” Lore said.

Gover’s friend, Kelsea McLaughlin, said the mother of two would have attended a rally like this.

“She was very community minded. And I feel like she would have come to an event and rally like this for others in show of support,” McLaughlin said.

So far the GoFundMe fundraiser for Gover’s two daughters totals more than $317,000.

Basar’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 4.

The following organizations supported Wednesday’s call to the government to act:

Organizations including Victoria Women’s Transition House Society, The Cridge Centre for Family, Sooke Transition House Society, Greater Victoria Women’s Shelter Society, Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, Bridges for Women Society, Safety Changes Everything, Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, Cowichan Women Against Violence, and Battered Women’s Support Services.