Increasing Pandemic Femicide

"We know that the pandemic is a perfect storm for increasing abuse in the home."

"Where there's social isolation, it adds more stress. There might be more financial precarity in the home, adding stress to the situation, let alone never getting space. Social isolation is a tool of an abuser where someone's self-esteem just gets ground down."

"The risk of femicide increases at the time of separation or in the months and weeks after. One thing that we've heard from people who are preparing to leave is that it feels safer for them to just leave -- when their partners are at work or out of the house -- and it might be a strategy for others to consider."

Erin Leigh, executive director, Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women 

 

"The pattern that we've seen over the past couple of years is that we go into lockdown and our lives would actually get pretty quiet."

"The minute the lockdown lifts, the line just rings off the hook because people who were trapped now have this opportunity to get out again."

"Supporting someone who is experiencing violence is tricky. Blame for the abuse and blame for this femicide, in particular, rests solely on the shoulders of the person who committed the crime."

"In terms of learning from this and what to tell other people who maybe have friends or family members who may be experiencing violence or who are concerned, it's to reach out for help."

Keri Lewis, executive director, Interval House, Ottawa

 

"It's really important that once they make the decision [to leave] and they have the supports in place there's rapid movement."

"We'll get a call and within a couple of days, we're moving the person. Done."

"Were getting them out the door."

Wendy Mitchell, director, Shelter Movers, Ottawa

 

An estimated 55 women and girls were killed in the first three months of 2022 across Canada, according to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. Over a nine-month period in 2021, Interval House found itself at capacity and was forced due to such circumstances to turn away requests from 500 women. Shelter Movers, an organization which provides moving and storage at no cost to women and children fleeing abuse, found during the pandemic that they had to respond to 40 percent more requests for help in moves.

In 2021, Shelter Movers completed 275 moves and is anticipating that 2022 will see requests far surpassing that record. When they're called upon, logistical urgency reflects their mode of operation. According to data, the very time when a victim makes a decision to leave an abusive relationship becomes the most dangerous and the most likely time when an abuser can suddenly become a murderer. When family members blame themselves for not having insisted on taking action, they must understand the blame for an outcome of femicide rests squarely with the abuser.

Abuse, elaborates Keri Lewis, can occur in many ways; physical, but not necessarily. Abuse frequently manifests as control. Complete control; over finances, emotions and of relationships. This is when shelters become needed resources for those people facing abuse. Shelter crisis lines excel in explaining to callers how they can be of assistance in responding to the need to help in such abusive relationships.

People hold signs as they march prior to a candlelight vigil held in honour of Rebekah Love Harry, a victim of domestic violence, in Montreal on April 3.  CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters