Councilors unanimously voted to declare gender-based and intimate partner violence an epidemic in Brant County, following sobering presentations from six local service and support providers.
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“Sometimes as a rural community, we can think that these types of things maybe don’t affect us as much,” Coun. Jennifer Kyle told her fellow advisors on Tuesday, while seeking their support for her resolution.
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“They are definitely present here in our community in the County of Brant,” she said.
The only emergency shelter for women and children escaping abuse in Brantford and Brant County had to turn away women 648 times last year.
On top of that, they answered more than 4,500 crisis and support calls, counselors heard from Natasha Dobler, director of Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Service.
Nearly a quarter of the 62 femicide that occurred in Ontario over the last 52 weeks were in rural communities, Dobler told councillors.
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Rural and farming communities face unique risk factors and barriers to support, such as isolation, limited access to public transportation, and internet connection issues, council heard from Joanna Brant, executive director of the Sexual Assault Center of Brant.
Additionally, the local organizations that provide support services are maxed out.
At their busiest last year, the Sexual Assault Center experienced a 600 per cent increase in crisis and support calls, Brant told counselors, and they have a wait list of around 12 months for counseling.
By accepting the resolution, the County of Brant joins more than 70 other provincial municipalities that have made similar declarations — including Hamilton and Brantford.
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The declaration is one of 86 recommendations made by jurors in the 2022 coroner’s inquest into the murders of Nathalie Warmerdam, Carol Culleton and Anastasia Kuzyk in Renfrew County seven years earlier.
“Let’s continue to be known as the county that includes the prettiest little town in Canada, but let’s also develop a reputation for safety, accountability, healing and change,” Brant told councillors. “I believe supporting this resolution is an excellent step in that direction.”
For those seeking support:
Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Service; novavita.org/, 519-752-HELP
Sexual Assault Center of Brant; sacbrant.ca/, 519-751-3471
Victim Services of Brant; victimservicesbrant.on.ca/, 519-752-3140
Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative reported based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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