Pamela Cross confronts the epidemic of intimate partner violence
Pamela Cross recently launched her book And Sometimes They Kill You, on November 26th. In the two weeks since then, Pam has completed 14 events in 14 communities across the province.
The Walrus recently published an article about Pam and her book And Sometimes They Kill You. What makes this particularly notable is that the article is an excerpt directly from her book, offering readers an exclusive glimpse into her work through one of Canada’s leading publications. In this excerpt, Cross describes the pervasiveness of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the need for both response and prevention-based mechanisms to address it. She highlights the ways in which the legal system fails survivors and victims of IPV and particular barriers in accessing support in rural areas like Petawawa.
Pam makes clear that IPV is an epidemic, stating, “Intimate partner violence is clearly an epidemic. Women and children continue to die; thousands more flee their homes only to face poverty and a lack of affordable housing. Legal systems and the players in those systems that should protect survivors still don’t properly understand the prevalence and complexity of violence in families.”
Earlier this year, the Ontario government was presented a bill (Bill 173) to declare intimate partner violence the epidemic it is. This is a crucial step in building the systems Pam shows us we need. She writes of the variety of groups that must be listened to and engaged with when addressing IPV. Many of these communities have signed an open letter in support of Bill 173 or released statements in support addressing the importance of this Bill to their respective communities.
