Update (5 p.m.): Organizers have told OrilliaMatters they have decided to postpone the panel until the fall. A specific date has yet to be determined.
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ORIGINAL STORY
As municipalities around the province increasingly declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, North Simcoe Victim Services and Green Haven Shelter for Women are coming together to raise awareness about the growing issue.
On June 20, the two organizations are hosting an intimate partner violence round table discussion, featuring speakers from Green Haven, the OPP, the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, and an intimate partner violence survivor.
“We have a subject matter expert from the OPP. We have a speaker from Green Haven who's going to talk a little bit about the trends, the things that they're seeing, the realities, some stats — really shocking stats, actually,” said Kim Kneeshaw, executive director of North Simcoe Victim Services.
“We also have a very courageous survivor that's going to come and share her story.”
Doors open at 6:15 p.m. in the St. Paul’s Church banquet hall, and the event will be moderated by Senator Gwen Boniface who, among numerous roles, served as the first female Commissioner of the OPP.
“(Boniface) has sponsored the cost of the location, and she's done a lot of work on intimate partner violence during the past couple of years in the Senate,” Kneeshaw said. “It's been something that she's very passionate about.”
The event is open to the public, and following opening remarks from Boniface, the panel will discuss contributing factors, misconceptions, and barriers surrounding intimate partner violence, with a question and answer period taking place following a break.
One of the main goals for the event is to simply spread awareness that domestic violence takes place in all sorts of situations in Orillia and beyond, Kneeshaw said.
“We want more awareness. We want to let people know that it's happening, and it doesn't just happen in the less economically stable areas of town,” Kneeshaw said. “It happens everywhere in Orillia, and in every community.”
Another goal is to help people recognize what domestic violence looks like, and to let them know about available resources that can help.
“We want to provide some education to the general public so that they're more aware of the fact that it is happening everywhere — maybe some signs of things to look for, provide them with some resources so that if they are in a situation, or if they know of someone who's in a situation, there is help out there.”
Last month, city council added Orillia to a list of nearly 100 Ontario municipalities calling on the province to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, as the number of incidents spiked through the pandemic and have remained elevated since.
During the local Take Back The Night event in May, Green Haven’s executive director, Linda Reid, shared some harrowing statistics about intimate partner violence in Ontario.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of domestic violence rose dramatically, and since that time we've only seen cases increasing,” Reid said in May. “Last summer, at the University of Waterloo, women were attacked with a knife while they sat in their gender studies class. Countless women are living in fear across Ontario and Canada.”
Between January and June 2022, the OPP received 4,900 calls for assault, more than 1,000 for sexual assaults, and around 15,000 calls for domestic disturbances, Reid said.
Locally, 2023 stats show 276 incidences of intimate partner violence, 13 human trafficking cases, and 142 sexual assaults across Simcoe County – with Reid noting up to 70 per cent of such cases go unreported, meaning the total figure is much higher.
Kneeshaw asks those interested in attending the roundtable discussion to reserve a spot in advance. More information may be found here.
