International Women’s Day – Love Shouldn’t Hurt – End IPV Today!
International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8th, is a global day recognizing the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while advocating for gender equality.
International Women’s Day is also a time to uplift organizations working on the front lines to advance women’s rights and safety. True equality cannot be achieved while women continue to experience violence in their homes and communities. In Ontario, Luke’s Place plays a critical role in supporting women and children who have been subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV)by providing legal information, advocacy, training, and resources to help survivors move toward safety and justice.
Learn more through Luke’s Place Resources.
Global impact of IPV
The United Nations 2026 theme: ‘Rights, Justice, Action. For ALL Women and Girls’, highlights a crisis that affects women in every country. Around the world, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence, and every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by a partner or family member, making violence against women one of the most urgent human rights issues of our time.
In 2022 alone, an estimated 83,000 women and girls were killed worldwide, with nearly 50,000 murdered by intimate partners or relatives, an average of 137 lives lost every day. The United Nations recognizes violence against women as a human rights violation and a major barrier to gender equality. (UNWomen.org)
Behind these global statistics are women navigating complex systems in search of safety, justice, and dignity. Luke’s Place recognizes that intimate partner violence includes physical, emotional, financial, legal, and technological abuse, and offers clear explanations and tools to help survivors and communities better understand these dynamics.
See, what is intimate partner violence?
National impact (Canada)
In Canada, intimate partner violence is a serious and widespread issue that disproportionately affects women and gender-diverse people, with 44% of women reporting some form of IPV in their lifetime and Indigenous women experiencing even higher rates (about 61%). Police data shows that in 2023, there were over 123,000 victims of intimate partner violence aged 15 and older, and 785 of them were women and girls, with Indigenous women overrepresented among homicide victims. (Canada.ca)
On average, a woman is killed by a current or former intimate partner every six days in Canada.
Across Canada, women leaving abusive relationships often face significant legal barriers related to separation, parenting arrangements, and family court. Luke’s Place provides trauma-informed legal education, summary legal advice, and practical tools to support women navigating these systems.
Access legal information and toolkits via Luke’s Place Resources.
Provincial impact (Ontario)
In Ontario, the crisis is escalating. The Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses (OAITH) reported 43 confirmed femicides in the 52 weeks leading up to November 26, 2025, a stark reminder that intimate partner violence rates have not declined despite decades of awareness campaigns. In response, more than 100 municipalities across the province have formally declared IPV an epidemic, recognizing that when violence continues at this scale, it represents a public health and systemic failure. (OAITH.ca)
Addressing an epidemic requires more than declarations; it requires practical tools to help people intervene early, support survivors safely, and reduce risk before violence escalates further.
Luke’s Place, The Law and Parenting Arrangements after Separation Toolkit helps women in Ontario understand their legal rights and options when leaving a relationship in which they have been subjected to abuse.
The Region of Durham impact
In Durham Region, the impact of intimate partner violence is clear and immediate. Thousands of women and families access IPV-related services every year, and tragically, multiple IPV-related deaths have occurred in recent years. Recognizing the urgency, Durham Region has formally declared IPV an epidemic, leading the way in Ontario by acknowledging the crisis at a local level. Our recent awareness campaign in Durham helped shine a light on this issue, emphasizing that IPV is not someone else’s problem; it happens in our neighbourhoods, workplaces, and families, and addressing it requires all of us to act.
In Durham Region, the impact of intimate partner violence is clear and immediate, affecting women, children, families, and entire communities. Luke’s Place works with partners in Durham Region to provide localized tools and guidance that support survivors, as well as friends, family members, and professionals who assist them.
See the Community Resource Toolkit
From Durham to Ontario, across Canada, and around the world, intimate partner violence continues to take too many lives every day. This International Women’s Day, the UN’s theme, “Rights, Justice, Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, reminds us that IPV is not just a local or national issue, but a global fight for justice, safety, and equality for every woman and girl. Love Shouldn’t Hurt – End IPV Today!
The time to act is now. 💜
