Local organizations need an additional $2 million annually to adequately help intimate partner violence survivors, a proposed new community action plan says.
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The money would be used for additional staffing and doesn’t include the costs of developing new programs, services or initiatives, the plan says.
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The action plan will be presented to city councilors at a March 5 committee meeting. It includes 26 recommendations and highlights the growing local need for resources.
Findings of the plan include:
- Nova Vita had to turn away women seeking emergency shelter 648 times in 2022.
- Local gender-based violence crisis lines answered 8,641 calls in 2022.
- Wait lists for counseling for those impacted by intimate partner violence and their children ranges from four to 12 months.
- Wait lists for male-specific counseling services for those who cause harm is anywhere from 1-4 months.
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The findings are based on a review of local services conducted after city council in October 2023 declared intimate and gender-based violence an epidemic. The recommendations were developed with the assistance of 25 local organizations.
Intervention efforts are reactive and insufficient due to a lack of resources, said the report. Emergency shelters are often over capacity and the length of stay has increased, due to a lack of affordable housing, the action plan says.
As well, the plan says there is a lack of diverse, accessible counseling options which has led to extremely long wait lists for help.
The recommendations focus on several areas: addressing gaps and stabilization of local services; innovative service model; additional resources and support; prevention, education and awareness and enhancing partnerships and opportunities for collaboration.
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By way of example, the report calls for improved access to prevention and early intervention supports for children and young people.
As well, the action plan recommends expansion of options for safe, affordable housing options for survivors of intimate violence.
An annual intimate violence, gender-based forum for organizations to exchange ideas and develop approaches to address the problem is also recommended.
According to the plan, Brantford had the highest rate of police reported intimate-partner violence in Ontario and the fourth-highest in Canada in 2018.
The city’s rates of police-reported intimate partner violence and family violence continued to rank in the top five in Ontario and the Top 15 in Canada from 2019 to 2022.
City councilors will be asked to add the community action plan as a priority to the city’s community safety and well-being plan.
The community action plan has already been endorsed by Indigenous Victim Services, Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services, Sexual Assault Center of Brant, Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Team, Victim Services of Brant and Willowbridge Community Services.
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