On August 14th, 2024, WomanACT’s Executive Director, Harmy Mendoza, spoke at the Province’s Standing Committee on Justice Policy as part of their study on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). WomanACT emphasized on the importance of adopting a prevention-focused response model to end intimate partner violence and gender-based violence in Ontario.
This written submission details evidence-based literature on the necessity of declaring IPV as an epidemic in Ontario as well as an evaluation from a public health perspective. It elaborates on our policy recommendations focusing on: affordable housing, improved systems collaboration with a focus on prevention, the need for whole-of-society approach to GBV education and bystander training, and addressing the lack of coordinated and comprehensive data and evaluation strategy and open access to GBV data.