Content Warning: This post has mentions of domestic violence (Intimate Partner Violence) and violence against women.
A statement from OPSEU/SEFPO Provincial Women’s Committee (PWC) and Provincial Human Rights Committee (PHRC):
In 1991, the Parliament of Canada established December 6 as a day of mourning and remembrance in honour of the 14 female engineering students murdered at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989.
December 6 is day to reflect, and to recognize that horrific acts of gender-based violence are still happening today.
On October 23, 2023, a convicted domestic violence perpetrator in Sault Ste. Marie shot and killed his estranged ex-wife and their three children, and then injured another woman, before killing himself. In the past, this individual had publicly threatened the lives of several people and had been convicted for assaulting a police officer. See news article here. It’s impossible not to feel frustration and anger, knowing the context of this case. Reporting on incidents of domestic violence is often diluted or softened, rarely providing the full picture.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is preventable and predictable. IPV, as well as violence towards children and seniors, has been on the rise. During the height of the pandemic, rates of IPV skyrocketed. The trauma of these violent acts has a ripple effect in our families and communities. Yet, there is systemic failure within Ontario’s criminal justice system; Probation and Parole caseloads are too high, information silos exist within government, and there continues to be a lack of rehabilitation resources available.
The OPSEU/SEFPO Provincial Women’s Committee and Provincial Human Rights Committee are demanding that the Ford government declare Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic in Ontario and take immediate action to save women’s lives.
In 2022, a Renfrew County coroner’s inquest examined the murders of three women. The inquest’s jury produced 86 recommendations and called on the provincial and federal governments to adopt them all. Read the recommendations from the inquest here.
To-date, 63 communities have taken action to declare IPV an epidemic. The Ontario government has refused.
By declaring IPV an epidemic and recognizing femicide in criminal law as a hate-based crime, we could address it more appropriately, and work towards prevention. Laws must be tightened and enforced to better protect the wellbeing and safety of women and children in Ontario.
It is the responsibility of the Ontario government to provide permanent and adequate funding to shelters, victim supports and agencies that all disrupt the systemic cycle of Intimate Partner Violence and abuse.
On December 6, take action to raise this issue with your MPP, and to urge the Ford government to declare Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic in Ontario.