The North Bay Police Services Board unanimously resolved to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.
Executive Director Kathleen Jodouin of Victims Services of Nipissing District presented the Board with statistics about the impact intimate partner violence (IPV) has in North Bay, Nipissing District, and across Canada during its October 17 meeting.
“Daily, Victim Services of Nipissing District and the North Bay Police Service support victims/survivors of intimate partner violence,” said Jodouin. “However, many in our community aren’t as aware of the prevalence and severity of violence occurring in our own community. Declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic increases awareness and understanding and requires an urgent response from not only the criminal justice system but cross-sectorial.”
The Board passed a motion that is in line with recommendations made in the Renfrew Inquest, which investigated the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk, and Nathalie Warmerdam, who were murdered in 2015.
“I am encouraged by the decision of the Board to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic,” said North Bay Police Chief Scott Tod. “The impact of intimate partner violence is profound and far-reaching. The North Bay Police Service will always stand up for victims and survivors and do everything in our power to ensure that perpetrators face justice and victims receive the supports they so desperately need.
"Organizations like Victims Services and Amelia Rising do a tremendous job supporting victims of intimate partner violence, but they require support. I hope this declaration will spur action here in North Bay, across Ontario and Canada.”
In September, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced $100,000 in funding from the Ontario government to the North Bay Police Service through the Victim Support Grant program (VSG) to help support victims and survivors of intimate partner violence/domestic violence, human trafficking, and child exploitation.
The jury adjudicating the inquest made 86 recommendations, the first of which was for the Province of Ontario to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.
Every year in Canada:
- Police make over 40,000 arrests related to domestic violence, which accounts for approximately 12 per cent of all violent crimes committed.
- Over 6,000 women and children sleep in shelters every night because their home is not safe.
- One-third of women and one-quarter of men in Canada over the age of 15 will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
North Bay and Nipissing District are not immune to the epidemic of intimate partner violence.
In 2022:
- Victim Services of Nipissing District received 475 calls for service related to intimate partner violence and supported 400 female victims and 39 children who were harmed by or witnessed intimate partner violence.
- The Children’s Aid Society had 146 investigations open related to children’s exposure to intimate partner violence — 13 per cent of its total call volume.
- 400 survivors and victims of intimate partner violence accessed support services offered by the Community Counselling Centre of Nipissing.
- 31 per cent of admissions to the North Bay Jail had an active domestic violence alert and 7.8 per cent had an active sex offence charge.
A tragic truth, say advocates, is that these are not the complete numbers. The North Bay Police Service receives an average of between 100-110 reports of intimate partner violence every month. Most incidents of intimate partner violence go unreported. It is estimated that reported incidents account for less than one-quarter of the total number of incidents of intimate partner violence.
Intimate partner violence is preventable. A concerted and proactive effort to address the intimate partner violence epidemic would have far-reaching impacts. In addition to helping current victims and preventing new victims from being harmed, a reduction in intimate partner violence would help to reduce homelessness and the need for social housing, increase police and emergency service capacity, and reduce pressures on the health care and social services system.
The motion has received support from dozens of municipalities. North Bay City Council initially cited a procedural by-law snag related to public presentations in declining to proceed. Despite more than 40 municipalities across the province declaring IPV an epidemic, no delegation was permitted to appear in front of the council as IPV was not considered a municipal issue, according to a letter authored by the Nipissing Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee.
Mayor Peter Chirico confirmed the circumstances on Tuesday, saying the proposed presentation did not meet "the purview of council," but was better suited for a meeting of the Police Board.
"This is definitely a serious problem in our society," Chirico observed. "Not just here in North Bay but across this country. The procedural by-law limits [the presentations] to things we have direct control over," as a municipal council.
Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield, also a member of the Board has promised to bring the Nipissing Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee request forward as part of her own council motion.
