Prompted by community groups seeking more support and funding, the District of Muskoka has officially declared intimate partner and gender-based violence an epidemic.
At its April 9 meeting, a resolution was brought forward by Councillors Rick Maloney and Brenda Rhodes asking the District of Muskoka to throw its weight behind the first of 86 recommendations from an inquest held in June 2022 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 2015 deaths of three women at the hands of the same perpetrator in and around Renfrew County.
The first recommendation from the inquest asked the province to declare intimate and gender-based violence an epidemic, thereby elevating the urgency of the issue as well as funding for organizations that help victims.
Last June, the Province rejected the request, noting that an epidemic is the spread of a communicable disease, which gender violence is not.
A growing chorus of municipalities have since declared intimate and gender-based violence an epidemic and have asked the Province of Ontario to rescind its position. The District resolution notes that the federal government is supporting the recommendation, adding further pressure on the Province. It states that on August 16, 2023, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani described Gender-Based Violence as an epidemic in the government’s formal response to the coroner’s inquest, “also stating that his government is committed to ending the Gender-Based Violence epidemic in all its forms, and is working to address any gaps in the Criminal Code to ensure a robust justice system response.”
The District resolution further notes that “…the incidences of Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence increased exponentially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has not decreased, while funding to provide the growing demand of services and support for victims and survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Gender-Based Violence has not kept pace; AND WHEREAS it is the District of Muskoka Council’s priority to make sure our communities remain prosperous, safe, connected and healthy; AND WHEREAS by declaring Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic, the District of Muskoka can join the growing number of municipalities in Ontario demanding action from all levels of government to address this growing epidemic…”
Last week, New Democrats tabled a bill that simply declares intimate partner violence an epidemic, which the Ontario Progressive Conservative government said it would not oppose.
“I would say that the resolution before us today is still absolutely relevant in terms of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence and I think it’s absolutely necessary for us, as a District, to align ourselves with many other municipalities who have made similar declarations and, of course, support our local groups…,” said Maloney.
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