When Brkti Berhe was stabbed to death last week, Ottawa police did not waste any time in declaring the killing to be an act of femicide. The media release read:
“[the killer] had a domestic violence relationship with a family member of the victim. This tragic event is a femicide.”
This echoed the response of the same police force in August when Jennifer Zabarylo was stabbed to death by her husband in west Ottawa. At that time, the police commented on Zabarylo’s death with these words:
“It occurred in the context of intimate partner violence, which is one of the many forms of misogynistic killings.”
It’s rare for police forces to identify the killings of women as intimate partner violence homicides or femicides, but it seems that a trend in this direction may be developing. Leading the way was Sault Ste. Marie police chief Hugh Stevenson who — almost immediately after one woman and three children were killed and another woman injured in a mass shooting by the former partner of both women in October 2023– declared the deaths to be the result of intimate partner violence:
“[W]e have to look at what are the antecedents of this behaviour. Are we doing enough as a society? We have to get to these situations earlier in life and teach respect for people. . . . If we avoid it, this will continue. . . . I think all governments have to look at this situation and, in light of what’s happened here, treat it a little more seriously.”
This is important progress.
Having an impact
Along with many of my colleagues who were involved in the 2022 CKW inquest in Renfrew County, we attribute this progress to the decades of work by women’s advocates as well as to the recommendations made by the jury, which have resonated across Ontario in the two-plus years since the verdict was delivered.
The provincial government has been slow to respond in a substantively meaningful way, but action has been underway nonetheless. For example, the Chief Coroner’s Office responded to recommendations it received by creating a transparent process for the selection of Domestic Violence Death Review Committee members and expanding the scope of the committee’s work. The provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner has completed the development of a tool to assist professionals in sharing information in IPV situations while also following privacy legislation.
Bill 173, a private member’s bill introduced by the NDP, calls on the province to declare IPV to be an epidemic, as close to 100 municipalities have already done. The Bill has been sent to a special committee which has heard from dozens of experts on the issue and which is now – we understand – hearing from government officials. Following that, the committee apparently plans to travel to communities across Ontario to gather more information, before making a decision about whether or not to support the Bill.
Given what we already know about the rate of IPV, an examination of this magnitude seems unnecessary and, perhaps, is a strategy to postpone dealing with the Bill before an election. However — whether or not Bill 173 is ever passed — the current process is raising awareness about IPV and other forms of gender-based violence, and that’s a good thing.
Call for action
On October 24th, Ontario’s United Ways issued a call for action on intimate partner violence in the form of a public letter to Premier Ford. It began with these words:
“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. . . .
“Yet, across Canada and Ontario, women and girls continue to be murdered at alarming rates and with untold impact.”
The call for action then urges the government to “take the action needed to:”
- Declare IPV an epidemic
- Prioritize the safety of Indigenous women and girls
- Develop a data-informed plan to end IPV and support those impacted
- Engage experts, including those with lived experience, in planning and decision-making
- Resource sector capacity sufficiently
- Ensure availability and access to safe, adequate and affordable housing
The importance of the United Way call cannot be overstated. The day it was released, two women in Huntsville were killed by a man who then killed himself after calling the police to tell them he had “harmed” two members of his family. While the OPP have declared that there is no threat to public safety, there has been no statement of the obvious – that this is some form of domestic violence homicide.
As the United Way call notes, women and girls continue to be murdered. Advocates have been unable to motivate this government to take meaningful steps to address gender-based violence. Perhaps this call will succeed where we have failed.