Delegation calling for intimate partner violence to be declared an epidemic

The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) and partners in the Family Violence Project are bringing a delegation forward to regional council next month to declare intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic.

The delegation will meet with regional council on September 12 and planning has been ongoing since June. The goal is to amplify the conversation on IPV in the community. They will also be asking to integrate partner violence in the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan.

“We believe it’s time to raise that conversation up to the level of our elected officials,” said Jamie Brosseau, Staff Sergeant of the Intimate Partner Violence Unit at WRPS.

Over the last 10 years, WRPS has responded to over 66,000 calls of IPV and laid over 35,000 charges. In 2022, over a quarter of the charges laid were related to IPV, with WRPS receiving an average of 17 calls a day.

“We know IPV has been going on for years,” said Jennifer Hutton, the CEO of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. “What we need to see is an understanding that this really is a public issue and requires a public and urgent response.”

Declaring IPV an epidemic was the number one recommendation of an inquiry released last year. The report made 86 recommendations on how to prevent IPV.

“We just continue to respond to these incidents in the community,” said Staff Sgt. Brosseau. “It’s time to refresh our thinking and refocus on how we can prevent and reduce and ultimately eliminate intimate partner violence.”

For the last year, WRPS and Women’s Crisis Service Centre Waterloo Region have been using a pilot project to create an early intervention strategy. The project will run until October.