Town councillors in Tecumseh are following the lead of Windsor, Lakeshore, and Essex in declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic.
Councillors passed a resolution Tuesday night that stated systemic change is needed to protect those at risk.
The call came after an inquiry in Ottawa into the murders of three women in 2015, which made 86 recommendations to address the issue.
In Windsor-Essex, Windsor City Councillor Jo-Ann Gignac got the ball rolling on July 10 when she introduced a motion during the city council meeting.
"In Windsor-Essex in 2022, there were 2,378 intimate partner violence calls made to police and 2,357 crisis calls to women's shelters," she said.
That motion was forwarded to the Windsor Police Service and the Ontario government.
However, when the province responded to 30 recommendations to reduce the incidence of intimate partner violence, it only accepted ten. It partially accepted another dozen and rejected eight.
The Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee Windsor-Essex reacted with disappointment.
"We, at the VAWCCWE, are extremely disheartened by the Ontario government's failure to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, especially when over 25 municipalities and townships have already taken this step," it said.
More than 40 municipalities have declared the issue an epidemic now.
The head of Sarnia-Lambton's Sexual Assault Survivors Centre echoed those concerns.
"It was a recommendation based on facts and research, and it aligned with the definition of what an epidemic is, and it would've cost the Ontario government absolutely nothing," said Executive Director Chantel Butterfield. "It would've validated what we already know to be a major issue within our society."
According to the World Health Organization, the three most common types of intimate partner violence includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and controlling behaviours.
