City councillor to raise motion to declare domestic violence 'epidemic' in Hamilton

Advocates for domestic violence survivors are calling on city council todeclare intimate partner and domestic partner violencean epidemic in Hamilton.

Coun. Nrinder Nann says she believes council will "unanimously" vote through a motion in August to answer that call. She said her motion will be seconded by Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath.

If passed, Hamilton will join over 30other Ontario municipalities in declaringintimate partner and domestic partner violencean epidemic a move the province rejected last week, despite it being a recommendationfrom the2022 Renfrew County inquest.

On Friday morning, at the memorial for the 14 women killed atcole Polytechnique in 1989, nine representatives from theWoman Abuse Working Group (WAWG)spoke about the rising statistics in the city.

WAWG is made up of 22community organizations that support survivors of gender-based violence.

This includes women's shelters like Carol Anne's Place and YWCA Hamilton, Indigenous organizations like the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre and the Native Women's Centre, andthe Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton (SACHA).

The message shared by all speakers was that the organizations cannot meet the demand for women seekingshelter space and counselling services.

Jessica Bonilla-Damptey, executive director of SACHA, said the city needs to offer assistance immediately.

"Not one more life lost because of intimate partner violence. Not one more life lost because of gender-based violence. Not one more woman or gender-diverse person turned away from shelter because there is no space. Not one more Indigenous woman who goes missing or is murdered," she said.

Then together, the crowd gathered outside of city hallchanted, "Not one more!"

2022 domestic violence data 'staggering,'says councillor

Thea Symonds, project coordinator for WAWG, presented a "snapshot" of intimate partner and domestic partner violence statistics for 2022.

Last year 4,498 women were turned away fromwomen's shelters because no beds were available, while only 878 women, some with children, were able to access a shelter.

"There is no shelter space in our city and in surrounding areas. Shelters have no overflow capacity or emergency space left. There isn't any room left, and that is a fact," Bonilla-Damptey said.

Hamilton police received 657 reports of sexual violence, but the average wait time to see a councillor through the SACHA was six months.

In total, Hamilton police received 12,514 domestic violence or intimate partner violence calls in 2022.

In Ontario, 30 women were killed in a 30-week window, including the death of Jackie Buckle in Hamilton.

Nann said the statistics are "staggering," and that they cannot be ignored.

"Asa whole, as a city system, we have to look at them and face them."

'Significant' service gaps for rural, marginalized women

Liza Ritchie, community program manager for Interval House, a women's domestic violence shelter, said rural women face unique circumstances and gaps in service that make them more vulnerable to violence.

She said rural women experience intimate partner violence at a75 per cent higher rate than urban women.

Lack of transportation, being isolated, slow emergency service response times and not having specialized services for rural women are some contributing factors to the higher rates.

"The presence of firearms in rural communities is a frightening reality for many," Ritchie said.

She said an abuser living in a rural area is 2.5 times more likely to use a firearm in a domestic dispute than in an urban area.

"Hamilton is home to many rural communities," Ritchie said.

"Today we move to raise the voice of rural women, as they have been silenced for too long."

At the conference, Nicky Bomberry,healing and wellness coordinator for the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre, said in Indigenous communities, it is common to hearabout women being murdered, going missing or being assaulted.

"Why is it so normal? It's because we've become desensitized to it in our communities," she said.

"When I see organizations at their wits endand shelters full, I'm like, 'Does anybody care?' I think that's the basic message. City of Hamilton, do you care?"