Every six days in Canada, a woman is killed by her intimate partner. On any given night, over 6,000 women and children sleep in shelters because their home is unsafe.
One day in 2015, three women - Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam - were murdered by the same man in Renfrew County, Ontario. There were several warning signs prior to the murders that slipped through the probation service; the man had a history of gender-based violence, and disclosed to his probation officer that he had been going near the victims’ homes.
A coroner’s inquest examined the three murders and jurors were instructed to come up with recommendations for the Province of Ontario to tackle Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and help protect victims.
They came up with 86 recommendations, and the first recommendation was for the province to declare IPV an epidemic.
Last month, Halton Regional Council declared IPV and violence against women an epidemic.
According to Halton police, in 2022, there were:
- 3,502 IPV calls
- 951 IPV arrests
- 2,327 IPV charges
Halton Region is standing behind the Renfrew County Inquest and asking the province to declare IPV an epidemic.