Women's shelter, social worker speak out on domestic violence following LaSalle homicide

WARNING: This story contains a reference to a possible suicide and intimate partner violence

Following a homicide in LaSalle, Ont., which police suggest may be the result of intimate partner violence, service providers that help women in abusive relationships in the region are speaking out to empower them and prevent future incidents. 

On Saturday, LaSalle police said they found 34-year-old Amanda Lyons dead inside her home, located on Sugarwood Crescent in LaSalle. Police have named Amanda's husband, Blair Lyons, also 34, as a suspect in her death and there is an ongoing investigation. 

While Blair Lyons does not have a criminal history, police have been called to the home once before, LaSalle police Const. Terry Seguin said Monday. 

Police are searching for Blair and said there is evidence to suggest that he jumped into the Detroit River on Saturday morning from the Ambassador Bridge. 

Executive director of Windsor's Hiatus House, Sylvie Guenther, told CBC News that while there's no confirmation on what took place in this situation, if it was the result of gender-based violence, she wants women to know that there are resources available to support them. 

"It's important that we talk about it, I think the more that we talk about the issue, the more we can do to change it," she said.

"We need to be aware that this happens and we are all responsible for making it different ... so let's talk about it so that it doesn't continue to happen to other women." 

Hiatus House in Windsor, seeks to end violence against women and children. It offers a 24/7 emergency shelter and crisis line for women. 

According to a list compiled by the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH) and researchers at the University of Guelph, the last reported femicide in Windsor took place on Oct. 3, 2021.

In total, 58 women and girls died violently in Ontario last year. Researchers use public material and media reports to make their list which is "partial" and could include "errors or omissions." 

In the last year, Guenther said Hiatus House received 3,000 crisis calls related to domestic violence or human trafficking  and in the past 11 months, the organization has sheltered 337 women and 159 children. 

She said staff are hearing of an increase in the frequency of violence and heightened aggression in the incidents that are reported to them. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, she said they saw fewer crisis calls, but that they eventually began to steadily increase and are now consistent with previous years.