United Way: Open Letter Calls on Government of Ontario to Declare Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic

Dear Premier Ford

United Ways across Ontario are writing to express our profound concern with the enduring prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in our province.

For decades, survivors, their families, community service agencies and advocates, elected officials and residents have sounded a clarion call for urgent action at all levels of government. This sustained advocacy and mobilization has helped bring to light the devastating effects on survivors; the intersectional nature of IPV with issues such as housing instability and income precarity and the disproportionate impact on women and children already facing systemic inequities, racism and discrimination; as well as the broader social and economic impacts of IPV in our communities, neighbourhoods, cities and province. IPV has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a major public health issue and a global crisis1 and has severe health consequences, including death, injury, and mental health problems, and is the leading cause of women’s homelessness.

To read the full letter, click here to view it on the United Way Elgin Middlesex website.