York Regional Police respond to more than 6,000 reports of intimate partner violence every year.
Officers lay almost 2,000 domestic violence charges annually.
The crime is chronically under-reported.
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The risk of violence is higher for women who are Indigenous, racialized or newcomers to Canada.
Now, the police department, in partnership with the York Region Centre for Community Safety (YRCCS) and 482 Collective, is launching a three-month bus ad and billboard campaign to raise awareness of intimate partner violence and to encourage victims and survivors to “recognize, report and prevent it.”
The campaign, called Access to Justice: Integrated Services for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, was unveiled at a news conference at police headquarters in Aurora Dec. 4.
The goal is to increase public awareness of intimate partner violence, which affects every community, crossing every culture and social boundary, and to encourage survivors to report physical, sexual or emotional abuse, police said.
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Survivors can access a variety of services and resources through YRCCS at 1-855-541-2220.
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The 482 Collective provides essential items such as food and personal hygiene products to survivors and offers wraparound services and skills as survivors move forward.
York police also have an officer at YRCCS so survivors do not have to attend a police station to report, and to ensure the interaction between police and survivors is supportive and as positive as it can be.
As part of its campaign against intimate partner violence, the police department has also participated in the raising of the Purple Ribbon flag on Nov. 1 to mark Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month, joined Yellow Brick House as it raised the Wrapped in Courage flag during the annual Break the Silence — Step in My Shoes Walk on Nov. 5, partnered with YRCCS in hosting The Training Institute on strangulation prevention on Nov. 14, which provided vital education to more than 150 attendees from 34 agencies, marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Again Women on Nov. 25, which was the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and commemorated the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on Dec. 6 in honour of the 14 victims of the Montreal Massacre.
has been a reporter for more than 30 years. The Carleton University journalism graduate has spent the majority of her career covering issues affecting communities in York Region. She was also a news reporter in Toronto for eight years. The proud mom of a grown daughter and a goldendoodle now covers Newmarket, as well as some breaking news and regional issues.
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