The growing volume of cases of domestic abuse in Lanark and Renfrew counties in the East Rural of Ontario is alarmingly high, according to community agencies and police data.
“We are seeing an increase in our crisis calls, so what we are finding is that people call acts of violence. They don’t call to say:” I am a little worried. “They are calling when they are in it,” said Erin Lee, executive director of Lanark County Interval House.
Lee, who for more than three decades has worked in shelters for women fleeing the abuse of Carleton Place and Ottawa, said last year that the line of crisis in the Lanark County shelter received 3,000 calls, hundreds more than the agency received in the years before Covid.
The volume is increasing throughout the province.
The Provincial Police (OPP) of Ontario says that reports of intimate couple violence increased by 18.1 percent in Ontario in 2024, with 6,289 compared to 5,326 in 2023. And that was 13.5 percent higher than in 2022.
The statistics published on July 7 by the Ottawa Police Service show a nine percent increase in the reports in the last six months.
“Is there reality that there are more incidents? Yes. Is there reality that incidents are more volatile? Yes. And is there greater awareness and more discussion about it? Absolutely,” Lee said.
That newly discovered discussion and coordination with the application of the law is the only brilliant point in this situation, he added.
Historically, the relationship between women’s and police shelters was complicated and somewhat separate. That is starting to change, said Lee, who points out that they now receive OPP calls to “mobilize a team” when the victims contact the police.
But most cases of domestic abuse are not yet reported.
In fact, in 2019, 80 percent of those who experienced intimate couple violence did not inform the police, and According to the Canadian governmentThe cases were more likely to get the attention of the police when there was a greater frequency of abuse.
Police adopting a victim -centered approach
In Lanark County, a woman who has experienced violence is now helping to inform and train police about how to handle domestic situations.
“The police need to know that when women decide to leave, they are at greater risk. I give them an idea of that trip and open their eyes to what women face,” said the coach, whose name CBC is retaining to protect their safety.
A key factor in its own survival was that the police immediately put it with community agencies that provide a safe place to stay, advice and group therapy, he said.
“The day of the attack, an officer attended. He sat with me for hours on my front porch. I was scared and worried, in shock. All my life had exploded,” he said.
This victim centered approach is welcome, says Lee.
“Who would have thought that a survivor would have in a rural community entering and educating the members of their OPP about how they do business?” He asked, adding that there is still margin of improvement.
“If the OPP has 500 calls for service, we imagine that 500 calls should be sent. We are not yet in that place.”
Education is key
No one can say exactly why calls for domestic violence are rising, although OPP has a theory.
“I think that much of the effort that OPP is doing to properly investigate the violence of intimate partners is paying off,” said Ating Det. Staff sergeant. Nick Cloutier.
“The victims in all our communities feel more comfortable with the police, trust the police more and feel more comfortable that are presented.”
He Murder of three women in Renfrew County In September 2015, he is never far from the minds of community workers there. An investigation into the mortal uproar in 2022 produced 86 recommendations For agencies and police.
“The good things have emerged from that investigation. We had several municipalities and the county said that the violence of the intimate partners is an epidemic, which opened opportunities for support,” said Mary Leigh Elliot, executive director of Renfrew County Victims Services.
When leaving the investigation, the cloutier of the OPP said that the force has introduced 70 “abuse problem investigators” throughout the province, hired to ensure that its police work adopts an approach based on trauma and trauma.
“We have two in the Valle del Alto Ottawa, one in Renfrew and another in Lanark,” said Cloutier.
These officers often refer to the services of Renfrew County victims for emotional and practical support, says Elliot. When it comes to intimate violence as a couple, sexual aggressions and human trafficking, all those calls have increased.
“[Comparing] … The year 2023-2024 until 2024-2025 … we had a 24 percent increase in our references in such crimes, “Elliot said.
As in Lanark’s neighboring neighbor, Elliot says that coordination with the police is improving. As for whether there have been more calls to the police or more incidents, Elliot says it is a bit of both.
What is really needed is prevention, he said.
“Education is key and starting young,” Elliot said. “Teaching at an early age is what is a healthy relationship and also providing support not only for victims, but I think that perpetrators of the violence of the intimate couple.”
