On Feb. 14, White Ribbon Fredericton and Survivors United Against Violence sent a letter to Premier Susan Holt to urge New Brunswick to address gender-based, intimate partner and family violence.
The letter asked for three initiatives: to declare intimate partner violence (IPV) to be an epidemic, adopt complex and nuanced public health approaches and enact Clare’s Law, which allows people to ask the police if their partner has a history of IPV.
Barry MacKnight, the co-chair of White Ribbon Fredericton, commented on the purpose of the letter.
“It’s a very complex issue. There’s no one solution and so if governments take a more progressive and comprehensive approach we’ll have better opportunities to reduce violence in our communities,” he said.
Nova Scotia has declared IPV an epidemic, along with 95 municipalities in Ontario. This declaration is the result of an alarming number of “fatality inquiries” into the deaths of women at the hands of their partners.
“There are inquiries that have talked about finding ways for governments to be more effective in addressing intimate partner violence and gender based violence in general,” said MacKnight.
In 2018, approximately 44 percent, or 6.2 million women and girls aged 15 or older reported experiencing IPV.
Sarah Sherman, a member of the coalition Survivors United Against Violence, talked about the insufficient support charities receive from the government.
She mentioned the lack of direction regarding the enactment of Clare’s Law, which was passed in Parliament unanimously over two years ago.
“But the police haven’t been given clear direction, so it’s not happening at all in our province that I’m aware of,” she said. “It was passed, but nothing happened and that’s our concern.”
She also touched on the relevance of preemptive services for people who have gone through childhood, sexual trauma and IPV.
Since 2009, the cost of IPV in Canada is $7.4 billion annually. This includes medical care for survivors, destroyed property, lost wages and criminal justice system costs.
“We would have spent a lot less if we’d had those services in place to start,” said Sherman. “It’s initially a big upfront cost, right? But in the long run, it pays off and it supports people.”
Sherman and MacKnight agreed that awareness and education is one of the most important factors that keep people informed about IPV and how it can be reduced.
“We need to continue to raise awareness, to continue to call out misogynistic, racist, sexist behavior and we need to replace it … if we could have funding that helps support programming, we could do a better job,” said Sherman.
“Declaring IPV as an epidemic is not the solution,” said MacKnight. “It is another important step in making sure that people understand how serious it is.”
White Ribbon Fredericton and Survivors United Against Violence expect to hear a response from the provincial government before Women’s International Day on March 8.
