Post-vigil gathering aims to continue conversation on gender-based violence in Perth County

On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, a local committee dedicated to ending gender-based violence encourages Perth County to keep talking about the issue.

There will be a vigil hosted by the Canadian Federation of University Women on Dec. 6 starting at 8:30 a.m. to lower the flag and honour the 14 women killed during the 1989 massacre at Montreal’s École Polytechnique. Following the vigil, the Stop Violence Against Women (VAW) coordinating committee of Perth County will offer coffee and muffins inside the city hall auditorium. Attendees are encouraged to continue the conversation about prevention and action on violence against women and learn more about available resources.

“We want people to have a space to recognize that this is still an issue today, and to talk about what we can do as a community to try to end violence against women in this 40-year-long discussion that we've been having,” said Jen Olenewa, coordinator of the Stop VAW coordinating committee of Perth County and Optimism Place community projects lead.

On May 23, 2023, Stratford council declared intimate partner violence an epidemic. Each year, the Stop VAW coordinating committee of Perth County puts together statistics to paint a picture of gender-based violence in the region.

"Unfortunately, I think a lot of people think that violence against women is kind of a big-city problem,” Olenewa said. “But it's very prominent in our rural communities because of the isolation that a lot of women experience, and it can be very difficult for them to get to resources, to have supports. Violence against women happens in all communities." 

In 2023, there were 3,021 calls to the crisis line answered, an 11 per-cent increase from 2022. The number of domestic violence reports in 2023 was 1,223, which is 15 per cent more than 2022, and nearly 100 women and children stayed in emergency shelter spaces. However, not every case of gender-based violence is recorded, as two-thirds of women experiencing gender-based violence rely on family and friends for support.

Olenewa said social services provide women fleeing violence with safe and secure housing and counselling, and there is support for the perpetrator as well to help them change their behavior so they don’t commit violent acts in future relationships.

“We know that for the majority of men, this isn't something that they feel good about doing. This isn't something they want necessarily to continue doing,” she said. “Very few people want to hurt the people that they say they love, but this is coping strategies, this is the methods that they've been taught. They don't necessarily know any other options or feel like they don't know other options or how to use other skills."

Domestic-violence incidents also perpetuate when the person experiencing it is coping with it alone.

"The trauma of experiencing violence in the relationship and carrying that and feeling like you have to keep that secret; that's harmful to your overall wellbeing and quality of life,” she said. “As a community, we want to make sure that everyone has the best opportunity to have a happy, healthy, stable environment and life to lead and the best way to do that is through the social services that exist to support you." 

Anyone who is experiencing domestic violence, or knows someone who is, can call the Optimism Place crisis and support line at either 519-271-5550 or 1-800-265-8598. Olenewa said reaching out on someone else’s behalf can help someone experiencing violence leave the situation.

“It might be that they're scared to come to the shelter or to reach out to victim services,” Olenewa said. “So, sometimes it's helpful to have their friend or their family member who makes the call first and say, 'Hey, let's go and do this together.’ "