We Can’t Wait Anymore, Women are Being Killed; Pass Bill 173 and Declare IPV the Epidemic It Is
Just last week, a woman was killed in Oshawa, and her husband was arrested and charged with her murder. Sadly, this tragedy is not an abnormality. Intimate partner violence is an insidious epidemic, and it is taking lives. Of the 62 women and children killed this past year in Ontario, at least 25 were killed because of intimate partner violence.[1]
Violence of all kinds, particularly family violence and intimate partner violence, thrives in secrecy and silence. Not making this declaration continues to hide the reality of this violence and its pervasive impact. As we have previously said in our blog, declaring IPV an epidemic would cost nothing yet have a huge impact. It takes the violence outside of the shadows and makes it clear that IPV in Ontario is a public health crisis and public policy issue requiring immediate action. The declaration would also serve as validation for survivors and those still living with IPV, that this violence is both real and wrong.
The Ontario government has been presented with a bill (Bill 173) to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. What more do we need to know in order for this declaration to be made? We know the names and numbers of women and victims killed at the hands of their partners. We know the names and numbers of children left without mothers, including two young children left behind in this most recent femicide last week.
The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability (CFOJA) has detailed the disturbing rise of femicide in Canada. The numbers equate to a woman or girl being killed every 48 hours. Last month, in October alone, there were 6 confirmed femicides in Ontario. [2]
We cannot wait anymore; we are losing lives, and women and children are being killed. We urge the Government to immediately pass Bill 173 and declare intimate partner violence the epidemic we know it is. This is an essential first step to combating this lethal epidemic. You can read more about our support of Bill 173 here: https://lukesplace.ca/its-time-to-address-intimate-partner-violence-in-ontario/
