Government to back bill declaring partner violence an epidemic: OCRCC responds

Ontario will support a bill to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic in the province. Previous to this, the province rejected this recommendation.

The recommendation came from an inquest into the deaths of three women at the hands of their former partner and acquaintance: in 2015, Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam and Carol Culleton were found murdered at separate locations in Renfrew County, Ontario[1]. The resulting CKW (Culleton, Kuzyk and Warmerdam) inquest took place in 2022, with the recommendations released in 2023.

In the past week, the New Democrats tabled a bill to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. In response, the Progressive Conservative government has now agreed to back the bill and declaration[2].

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) is heartened to see Ontario declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. Intimate partner violence prevalence and impacts have been escalating in recent years: in 2022, overall rates of family violence and intimate partner violence were higher than in 2019 and 2020[3]. We stand in solidarity with those affected by all forms of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, femicide[4] and sexual violence.

To address gender-based violence, all levels of government must prioritize prevention and response, and increase resources to address the needs of those experiencing violence. Fartumo Kusow, who lost her daughter to gender-based violence, said in support of the bill:

“Declaring intimate partner violence as epidemic is not merely a symbolic act, it’s a critical step toward the mobilizing a comprehensive and coordinated effort to address it’s root cause, support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable”[5]. 

 

Survivors of gender-based violence face many difficult realities in Ontario

In Ontario, gender-based violence is increasing. In late 2023, the Ontario Association of Interval Houses (OAITH) noted that over 52 weeks, there were 62 women and children killed in the province of Ontario[6]. From 2014 to 2022, there were large increases in intimate partner violence among adults aged 25 to 64 years (increase of 32%) and seniors aged 65 years and older (+42%). Physical assault was by far the most common form of intimate partner violence in 2022, followed by sexual assault[7].

At community sexual assault centres, we know that most sexual assault survivors never report to police[8]—and many that do report do not see justice[9],[10]. Given this, we often work with hidden groups: these include racialized survivors of violence; survivors from the 2SLGBTQQIA+[11] community; and survivors with complex confidentiality issues, such as youth and human trafficking survivors. We also note that while intimate partner and femicide rates in Canada overall are appalling, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people in Canada are at even greater risk of being targeted for acts of gendered violence: a Canadian inquiry found that Indigenous women and girls are 16 times more likely to be slain or to disappear than white women[12].

Social and economic realities that make it easier to become trapped in situations of gender-based violence have gotten worse in recent years. 96% of Ontario sexual assault centres note that gender-based violence survivors in their community are facing increased income insecurity, or food insecurity (85%)[13]. The ongoing crisis in emergency shelter space and affordable housing is also a serious problem: intimate partner violence survivors have limited options when they wish to leave a violent home[14].

We need Ontario’s leaders to take gender-based violence seriously, and to take action to address it now. As a sector, we are doing our part; but more resources are needed.

 

Naming intimate partner violence an epidemic must be followed by informed action

Kusow called the government’s move to support the bill “a good first step”—but asks to see this declaration followed by action[15]. In response, the government said it will now “thoroughly examine intimate partner violence and return with recommendations”[16].

We do not believe that the issue of intimate partner violence needs to be examined, nor new recommendations proposed: this work has been exhaustively done. Many needs assessments, studies and consultations with survivors and gender-based violence organizations have occurred in recent years, and these remain current. Ontario was also the subject of most of the CKW inquest jury’s 86 recommendations on violence prevention[17], released just last year.

The current government can learn about intimate partner violence through these resources, as well as through organizations like OAITH, OCRCC and many others. These organizations have been working in the area of gender-based violence for over 30 years.

 

We ask that government leaders in Ontario:

• Follow the declaration with targeted resources for community-based intimate partner violence prevention and support. Much work by gender-based violence organizations exists in communities, but is vastly under-resourced.

 

• Build on and invest in existing prevention and support work, such as existing shelters, shelter-based transitional support programming, sexual assault centres and other community-based services. Government dollars are too-often allocated to new work or time-limited projects. Project funding keeps gender-based violence services precarious, “funded partially and irregularly”[18]. This translates into inadequate resources and service limitations for survivors of violence, particularly limited-term services addressing the needs of young, Indigenous, racialized or other marginalized populations of survivors—who are often the subjects of project and pilot work.

 

• Engage intimate partner violence experts and other gender-based violence experts in planning for the National Action Plan on Gender-based Violence. Plans for Ontario’s province-specific strategy (Ontario STANDS) includes $162 million over a four-year strategy. Many needs assessments, studies and consultations with survivors of violence and experts in the field (i.e. GBV organizations) have occurred in recent years, and remain current. This expertise in intimate partner violence can be drawn upon now for effective planning.

 

• Provide intentional resources for Indigenous organizations supporting women, girls and gender diverse people. Engage Indigenous leaders and community members for input in planning for supports for Indigenous survivors. On addressing gendered violence against Indigenous women, the Native Women’s Association of Canada notes: “There can be no more aspirational documents…The next steps must be concrete, actionable, costed, and quickly put into effect”[19].

 

• Name and include sexual violence in Ontario’s plans to address gender-based violence. This will make a difference to sexual violence survivors, address stigma around sexual violence, and create a more well-rounded plan for Ontario. There have been large increases in intimate partner violence among adults (increase of 32%) and seniors (+42%): physical assault was the most common form of intimate partner violence, followed by sexual assault[20].

 

• Invest in community-based programs that help survivors of violence. Not all cases of intimate partner violence come to the attention of police. Sexual assault has the lowest rate of reporting to police amongst all violent crimes[21]. The bottom line is this: investment in gender-based violence services that are situated in criminal justice services will only reach a minority of survivors.

 

We are heartened to see Ontario declare intimate partner violence an epidemic: we look forward to the next steps in helping survivors of intimate partner violence get the supports they need.

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) is a network of community-based sexual assault centres in Ontario. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, get help here.

 

Additional resources:

• Read OCRCC’s response to the CKW Inquest recommendations here
• Read the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls here
• Over 90 communities in Ontario have declared gender-based violence an epidemic (see the map of communities here)

 

[1] Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2015. Culleton knew nothing of alleged killer’s violent past, say friends and family.

[2] Casey, L. for The Canadian Press. April 10, 2024. PC government to back bill listing partner violence an epidemic: Move comes a year after coroner’s inquest into triple homicide in 2015.

[3] Statistics Canada. Released: 2023-11-21. Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2022

[4] Unlike the gender-neutral terms murder and homicide, the term femicide conveys the motivation behind a killing: in femicide, those that kill are motivated by a sense of a right to do so, or an assumption of ownership over a woman, women and other feminized people: Baker, L., (July 2015).  Issue 14: Femicide.  Learning Network Brief (29).  London, Ontario: Learning Network, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children.  Femicide impacts women, girls and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, non-binary (2SLGBTQQIA+) people.

[5] Bond, Meredtith for CityNews. April 10, 2024. Ford government to support NDP motion to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic

[6] Ontario Association of Interval Houses (OAITH). November 2023. 2022-2023 Annual Femicide List, November 26, 2022-November 25, 2023.

[7] Statistics Canada. Released: 2023-11-21. Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2022

[8] Statistics Canada. Released: 2021-08-25. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. 

[9] Few Sexual Assaults Lead to Court Convictions: The Attrition Pyramid. Using data from Statistics Canada, Holly Johnson estimated the conviction rate for sexual assaults reported on victim surveys to be .3% to 1.6%. Data from: H. Johnson, (2012). Limits of a criminal justice response: Trends in police and court processing of sexual assault. In Sheehy, E. (Ed), Sexual Assault in Canada: Law, Legal Practice, and Women’s Activism. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, pp 633-654.

[10] According to Canadian research, just 33 out of every 1,000 sexual assault cases are reported to the police[10], and just 29 are actually recorded as a crime. Patel, A., Huffington Post Canada. October 30, 2014. 460,000 Sexual Assaults In Canada Every Year: YWCA Canada

[11] This initial stands for “Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual.” It may also appear as LGBTQ2SIA, or in shortened versions such as LGBTQ2S or LGBT+. Learn More: The 519, Definitions/glossary

[12] National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Report released June 2019.

[13] Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC). 2022. This information was compiled by Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis

Centres in 2022, with data provided by 26 of our member centres. OCRCC includes over 30 community-based sexual assault centres in Ontario.

[14] Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN). 2023. Ontario Budget 2023: Budget 2023’s piecemeal approach doesn’t meet the moment.

[15] Casey, L. for The Canadian Press. April 10, 2024. PC government to back bill listing partner violence an epidemic: Move comes a year after coroner’s inquest into triple homicide in 2015.

[16] Ibid

[17] CBC News. June 28, 2023. Ontario rejects some recommendations from triple murder inquest jury.

[18] Ibid

[19] Native Women’s Association of Canada. 2021. NWAC ’s Action Plan to End the Attack Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and Gender-Diverse People: 4. 

[20] Statistics Canada. Released: 2023-11-21. Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2022

[21] Statistics Canada. Released: 2021-08-25. Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019. 

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