Unsettling news this week from the St. Thomas Police Service related to intimate partner violence (IPV).
Police are seeing a steady increase in both incidents and charges laid over the past three years.
In 2022, there were 683 incidents with 114 resulting in charges.
Last year, the number of incidents had risen to 761 with 157 resulting in charges.
For incidents, that is an 11.4 per cent increase since 2022 and a 37.7 per cent increase in the number of charges laid.
As noted in a media release this week, “To meet this challenge, the St. Thomas Police Service deploys highly trained officers and support staff specializing in IPV investigations.
“Our coordinated approach is led by the Community Patrol Division and Investigative Services Unit and a collaboration with multi-sectoral professionals, like Victim Services Elgin.
“The importance of this work was formally recognized in the 2023-26 Strategic Plan, which identifies domestic violence and violence against women as key priorities for our service.”
Category Archives: Violence against women
‘I am getting so tired of losing women and children because nobody is listening’ – Jodi Marissen, whose letter moved St. Thomas city council to action
“I actually was recording it and you can audibly hear me at the end of it, after they voted unanimously I was definitely overwhelmed with emotion.”
That was the reaction of Jodi Marissen when at the April 15 meeting, members of St. Thomas city council unanimously endorsed a motion declaring intimate partner violence to be an epidemic in the city.
That motions was based on a letter sent to council by Marissen – and supported by similar correspondence from St. Thomas Police Chief Marc Roskamp – urging council to take that step on behalf “of all the vulnerable women and children of the City of St. Thomas . . . on behalf of the abused women and children of the City of St. Thomas . . . on behalf of the women and children of the City of St. Thomas who have died at the hands of their abusers.”
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A sunny start to the regional transit pilot program serving St. Thomas
The sun was shining on Monday’s (April 8) launch of the new regional transit service linking St. Thomas with London and Dorchester.
But ironically, it was the brief blocking of the sun in the afternoon that resulted in a busier than anticipated first day of operation.
St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston was aboard the early morning bus to Dorchester and remained aboard for the return trip which offered a pleasant surprise.
“It was quite surprising to find 20 people standing at the White Oaks Mall bus stop to come to St. Thomas.
“A number of people coming out here to see the eclipse today thought a $5 bus ride was the way to do it.”
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‘Protecting victims takes precedence over protecting hockey players and government officials’ – EML MP Karen Vecchio
As the calls for Hockey Canada to be held accountable regarding their handling of a growing number of sexual assault allegations escalate, one local MP says it is time to reform the culture within not only that organization but within the Ministry of Sport.
The latter is the domain of MP Pascale St-Onge.
And, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth this week was one of three MPs who issued a statement on the pair of emergency committee hearings into those allegations.
That would be Elgin-Middlesex-London MP, Karen Vecchio.
In the statement, the trio asserts, “The hearings at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage into Hockey Canada’s involvement in allegations of sexual assault have heard the testimony of a secretive and unaccountable organization where allegations of sexual assault have been covered up.
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With our beautiful consolidated courthouse comes ‘a substantial hit to our operating budget every year’
The city’s portion of the cost of providing court security and prisoner transfer (CSPT) has been steadily increasing since it first received money from the province beginning in 2012.
That year, the province contributed $75,224.
The net budgeted costs to provide the service this year is just over $1 million, with the province providing the city with a grant of $713,000 to offset the expense. That works out to just under 70 per cent of the total cost, down from 74 per cent last year and 83 per cent in 2018.
That diminishing financial support was the topic of discussion at a council meeting earlier this month when members unanimously supported a motion to craft a letter to both the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and MPP Jeff Yurek outlining concerns on the mounting court security costs and to seek their assistance in having the province review this matter.
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Crossing that bridge to affordable housing in St. Thomas
It’s one of those unperceived neighbourhoods in St. Thomas . . . life beyond the hump of the Barwick Street bridge.
The residents, who enjoy a tranquil setting west of the railway track, may soon be joined by a couple hundred new neighbours if the city approves a proposed subdivision in the Hill and Barwick streets enclave.
The Ostojic Group of St. Thomas is proposing a 75-lot subdivision west of Hill Street with Nick and Joe Ostojic making their pitch to council this Monday (June 17).
It’s not the first time the Ostojics have sought to develop the open field nestled between the St. Thomas bypass and Kettle Creek.
The stumbling block in the past has been the restricted access across the wooden bridge that spans the CN line to London.
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Women’s Breakfast for Everyone takeaway: ‘The shared capacity for change in this room is large’
His guest speaker engagement March 7 in St. Thomas was far from a routine outing.
In fact, his appearance Thursday morning at the St. Thomas Seniors Centre, proved a humbling experience for Globe and Mail columnist and award-winning author Andre Picard.
For the first time in the 14-year history of the Women’s Breakfast for Everyone, the 200 or so in attendance – including many high school students – would digest the thoughts and opinions of a man at the Violence Against Women, Services Elgin County fundraiser.
His appearance was equally compelling in the fact, as the first male speaker, he addressed the issue of sexual and domestic violence inflicted upon women by men.
And, as so often is the case, if anything goes wrong, it is the woman who shoulders the burden of blame. Continue reading
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Violence against women: See it, name it, check it
The following is the presentation from guest speaker Barb MacQuarrie at the Women’s Breakfast for Everyone, hosted by Violence Against Women Services Elgin County, held March 2, 2017 at the St. Thomas Seniors Centre.
- Barb MacQuarrie is the Community Director for the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women & Children in the Faculty of Education at the Western University. She develops and promotes evidence based education and prevention initiatives involving both community-based and university-based partners.
- Barb has presented to a wide variety of audiences locally, nationally and internationally about gendered violence and strategies to address it.
- Barb manages several provincial and national public education campaign and training programs. She holds a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant to study the impact of violence on workers and the workplace. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support & Integration.
- Barb is a recipient of the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest official honour, recognizing individual excellence and achievement
Violence against women is both a cause and consequence of inequality. It is really important to remember it’s not just capricious individual behaviour. This problem is underwritten by that big phenomena of gender inequality and we always have to come back to that. And we have to make sure when we’re really trying to address it, that we don’t lose sight of this. So any effort we’re involved in to promote equality is going to help with this problem.
We know it’s a violation of human rights. We know it’s a detriment to help and it’s maybe something we don’t think enough about. Violence against women costs us a lot. It costs all of us. On a societal basis and on an individual basis.
