This Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Greater Sudbury City Council will be voting to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic. Local anti-violence groups, as members of the Greater Sudbury Coalition to End Violence Against Women, are calling on Mayor and Council to join 60 municipalities who have already declared intimate partner violence an epidemic and to urge the Ontario Government to do the same.
Following the triple homicides of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam in Renfrew County on Sept. 22, 2015, recommendation #1 from the CKW Inquest held in June, 2022 calls on Government to Declare Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic.
November is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Canada. This commemorative month aims to promote education and prevention, support survivors, and advocate for policies to combat domestic violence. Marlene Gorman, Executive Director of YWCA Genevra House states, “It is time we take this issue more seriously.”
“Genevra House, a 32-bed shelter for women and children escaping intimate partner violence, is full and women are calling daily for bed availability”, says Gorman.
Gaëtane Pharand, Executive Director at Centre Victoria pour femmes adds, “It takes the commitment of our entire community to end violence. »
Mayor and Council will vote to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic at the Council meeting on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 starting at 6pm at Tom Davies Square, Council Chambers.