With gender-based/intimate partner violence on the rise since the pandemic started, Greater Sudbury city council declared it an epidemic during their Nov. 7 meeting.
“Horrific recent events in Sault Ste. Marie have added urgency to the need to act now,” Mayor Paul Lefebvre said during the Nov. 7 city council meeting. “The troubling reality is that gender-based and intimate-partner violence is experienced every day across the province.”
Greater Sudbury Police Service responded to 12,812 related calls for service between 2019-22, Lefebvre related, noting that intimate partner violence has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic.
“As much as these statistics are very shocking, research shows that these statistics are underestimated,” Lefebvre said.
Gender-based and intimate partner violence impacts all facets of life, he said, including education and employment, food security, housing stability and health status. Affected children are more likely to experience negative health outcomes.
“We need to provide a better system for women, girls, two-spirit, trans and non-binary persons to be able to access secure, immediate support and continued resources and protection,” Lefebvre said. “Our community needs to speak up and say, ‘We will not look away from this issue any longer’.”
At least 63 Ontario communities have already declared gender-based/intimate partner violence an epidemic, including Sault Ste. Marie, whose elected officials affirmed as much last week. Their community’s police board also made the declaration.
“It’s been going on and on and on and no one seems to be paying real attention to it,” Brian Sweeney told Sault Ste. Marie council last week, as quoted by SooToday.com.
Sweeney’s daughter, Angie, was among those killed in last month’s murder-suicide.
“From what I see, you would have to be both blind and totally uneducated to not realize this is what it is,” he added. “Police have to be instantaneous, there’s got to be a new way for police to handle these things, scenarios, so this never happens again because the pain is so overwhelming I wouldn't wish it on anyone.”
Among those in the gallery at Tom Davies Square on Nov. 7 to hear city council vote on the declaration was Centre Victoria pour femmes executive director Gaëtane Pharand.
“We’re hoping that by having municipalities declare an epidemic, this will put some pressure on the province to do something,” she told Sudbury.com after the meeting.
Pharand said her organization has seen an increase in the number of women they help, not only due to violence but also when it comes to affordability, with inflation and a lack of affordable housing affecting them.
“Oftentimes, we’re going to spend some time making sure they’re OK, that they have what they need and connecting them with the proper services,” she said.
The main gap she has seen is in connecting services, with women oftentimes uncertain as to who they should contact. There are local shelters and services available, such as the YWCA, but Pharand said that when it comes to situations around violence the police should be called.
With an average of approximately 50 women killed per year in Ontario by intimate partners, family members or someone they’re in close contact with, Pharand said this isn’t an issue that should be happening at all.
“It’s frightening, we don’t know if it’s going to be your mother, your sister, your daughter, your girlfriend ... that’s going to be next,” she said.
Greater Sudbury city council’s motion passed unanimously, and read as follows:
WHEREAS the incidences of gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence increased dramatically throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to surge; and
WHEREAS 43 (now more) municipalities and regions across Ontario have declared a gender-based violence and intimate partner violence epidemic; and
WHEREAS several municipal associations including the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) and Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO) have declared a gender-based and intimate partner violence epidemic across the province; and
WHEREAS funding from the Provincial and Federal Governments has not increased to meet the need to provide the necessary support to meaningfully address the gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence epidemic; and
WHEREAS by declaring gender-based violence and intimate partner violence an epidemic, the City of Greater Sudbury can join the growing number of municipalities and regions in calling for action from all levels of government to address this social problem plaguing our communities.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Greater Sudbury declare gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence an epidemic; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Greater Sudbury calls on the provincial and federal governments to provide the necessary support to the emergency, social services, health care agencies and police services to meaningfully address the gender-based violence and intimate partner violence epidemic.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
