After Wednesday night, almost all of the municipalities in Windsor-Essex and the county council will have declared intimate partner violence an epidemic.
Earlier this week, Kingsville and Amherstburg became the latest councils to join the growing list across the province to make the declaration.
Windsor City Councillor Jo-Ann Gignac initiated the local movement with a motion at her council just over a month ago. The city adopted 86 recommendations stemming from an inquest into the murders of three Renfrew County women, Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam, eight years ago.
At the time, Gignac said, "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."
Soon came declarations from Essex, Lakeshore, and Tecumseh.
Despite dozens of cities and towns across the province acknowledging the problem, the Ontario government still has not issued a formal declaration.
It was asked to adopt 30 recommendations in the report following the 2015 inquest but only accepted ten. It rejected eight.
A letter to county councillors from the Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee Windsor Essex calls on the County of Essex to show its support.
"Since October 2021, there have been four femicides in Windsor and Essex County, and the number of intimate partner violent incidents is not decreasing," reads the letter. "As a committee, we hope to raise awareness of this complex social health issue and the numerous factors that need to be considered to help keep women and children safe."
The group, and others like it, are calling for a systemic change addressing the issue, including future discussion on ways to support survivors "through the integration of services."
