Intimate partner violence is an ‘epidemic.’ What more should be done?

Intimate partner violence in Canada increased overall by 13 per cent between 2018 and 2023. But those aged 25 to 64 saw it rise by 22 per cent, with a 36 per cent rise for seniors.

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence, call the 24/7 toll-free Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511, or visit sheltersafe.ca to find an emergency shelter near you. 

A surge in the deaths of women from police-reported intimate partner violence shows what experts say has become an “epidemic” in Canada.

These cases come as Canada has seen a surge in intimate partner violence since 2018, and follow several high-profile cases of “femicide” — which the United Nations defines as “intentional killing with a gender-related motivation” against women or girls — which has put renewed public attention on gender-based violence.

“(Intimate partner) violence can often go unnoticed or is often minimized,” Ann de Ste Croix, executive director of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia (THANS), said.

De Ste Croix told Global News that transition houses run by THANS provided services for roughly 4,500 women and children in 2024, a sharp increase from the nearly 4,000 helped in 2023.

In the past two weeks, four women have been killed, with police saying each was a victim of intimate partner violence. Last Monday, Ania Wardzala-Kaminski and her father were found dead in their home in Calgary a day after police said they were killed.

The same day in Edmonton, police said Ashley Burke had been found on a riverbank. Police announced Jan. 5 that a man had been charged in her death, which was considered an “intimate partner homicide.” Her daughter, however, stressed to Global News that her mother and the suspect knew one another but it “wasn’t a relationship by any means.”

Cora-Lee Smith and her father’s bodies were found on New Year’s Eve in Halifax after police allege her boyfriend shot and killed them.