ACT

• Take our online Working Together to End Abuse training to learn about the warning signs of IPV.
• Learn about healthy relationships, consent, and gender equality.
• Support all victims/survivors of IPV. Believe and validate their experiences. Understand that they may make choices you wouldn’t and offer support regardless.
• IPV can be more complex for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, so it’s important to recognize experiences beyond heterosexual and cisgender couples.

•  Volunteer your time and skills. Many organizations and shelters provide critical services for victims/survivors of IPV. You can help with crisis lines, fundraising, events or awareness campaigns. Attend events hosted by these organizations. Find shelters in your area [HERE].
• Donate. Monetary donations or gift cards are an easy way to support IPV organizations. Most shelters list donation options and “Wish Lists” on their websites.
• Provide essential items. Wish List items often include hygiene products (soap, shampoo, conditioner, razors, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, tampons and pads, diapers, wipes) that victims/survivors may need when leaving their homes quickly.

• Educate and engage. Increase public understanding of IPV through campaigns, social media, community outreach, and educational initiatives.
• Support educational programs. Promote healthy relationships, consent, and gender equality in schools, workplaces, and communities. Learn more about comprehensive sexuality education.
• Advocate Within Schools. Encourage the implementation of comprehensive sex education programs that address issues of IPV. 
• Participate in events. Host or join IPV awareness campaigns, workshops, or public events to raise awareness and engage your community in dialogue.
• Promote core values. Encourage respect, consent, and healthy relationships by creating or sharing campaigns such as Neighbours, Friends and Families: Immigrant & Refugee Communities, Kanawayhitowin: Taking Care of Each Other’s Spirit, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, White Ribbon, I am a Kind Man, and more. 

• Create supportive spaces. Foster environments where victims/survivors of IPV feel safe, respected, and empowered. Promote a culture of empathy, and zero tolerance for violence.
• Engage community partners. Encourage local businesses, community centers, and faith organizations to share anti-violence messages and provide resources to those who need them.
• Work Together. Ending IPV requires collective efforts, mutual-aid, and long-term commitment.

• Stay Informed and vote with intention. Pay attention to how local, provincial/territorial, and federal political parties address gender-based violence. If you can’t find the information, call their offices and ask, especially during elections when your vote can support candidates who align with your values.
• Support comprehensive laws and policies. Advocate for comprehensive legislation that protects victims/survivors, funds prevention, and strengthens support services. Engaged with policy makers at all levels to push for meaningful change.
• Promote Consent Awareness Week. Possibility Seeds is leading a campaign to have Consent Awareness Week officially recognized across Canada. You can help by using their template to send a request to your municipal, provincial/territorial, or federal government.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) Is often hidden, yet rates continue to rise. In 2022, at a coroner's inquest into the 2015 deaths of Nathalie Warmerdam, Carol Culleton, and Anastasia Kuzyk in Renfrew County, the jury made 86 recommendations to prevent future tragedies. Read the recommendations.

One recommendation was for the Ontario government to declare IPV an epidemic. The Ontario government declined, arguing that IPV is not an “infectious or communicable disease.” However, experts, including the VAW Coordinating Committee of Windsor-Essex have pointed out that this reasoning is flawed. According to Merriam-Webster, an epidemic can also mean something that affects a disproportionately large number of people within a population or community. By this definition, IPV clearly qualifies.

Despite the province’s refusal, more than 100 municipalities across Ontario have already declared IPV and GBV and epidemic.

• Ajax
• Amherstburg
• Arnprior
• Armour
• Brampton
• Brant
• Brantford 
• Bonfield
• Burlington
• Caledon 
• Carleton Place
• Cassleman
• Champlain
• Chapleau
• Chatham-Kent
• Chisholm
• Clarington
• Clarence-Rockland
• Conmee Township
• Dubreuilville
• Durham Region
• East Ferris 
• East Hawkesbury
• Enniskillen
• Essex
• Goderich
• Guelph
• Hamilton
• Haldimand County
• Halton Region
• Halton Hills
• Hamilton
• Hawkesbury
• Head, Clare, and Maria
• Hilton
• Hornepayne
• Jocelyn
• Kapuskasing
• Kincardine
• Kingston
• Kingsville
• Kitchener
• Lakeshore Municipality
• Lambton County
• Lanark County
• LaSalle
• Laurentian Hills
• Leamington
• London
• Mattawa
• Mattawan
• Mattice-Val Coté 
• Milton
• Mississauga
• Mississippi Mills Municipality 
• Niagara Region 
• Norfolk County 
• North Algona Wilberforce
• Oakville
• Orangeville
• Ottawa
• Oxford County
• Peel Region 
• Peterborough
• Perth
• Pickering
• Prescott-Russell
• Prince
• Prince Edward County
• Rainy River
• Renfrew - Town
• Renfrew - County
• Renfrew County
• Russell
• Sarnia
• Sault Ste. Marie
• Smiths Falls
• Stone Mills
• Stratford
• St. Joseph
• Sudbury
• Tecumseh
• The Nation
• Thunder Bay
• Timmins 
• Toronto
• Vaughan
• Wawa
• West Nipissing Municipality 
• Whitby
• White River
• White Water Region
• Windsor
• Woodstock

• Why it matters. A formal declaration of IPV as an epidemic brings attention to the severity and scale of the issue. It helps destigmatize conversations, raises, public awareness, and frames IPV as a critical public health concern.
• Beyond symbolism. While the declaration itself is symbolic, it can drive real change by increasing funding, promoting stronger policies, encouraging collaboration across sectors, and sending a powerful message to victims/survivors that their experiences are taken seriously.
• Potential impacts of a declaration include:
  • More funding and resources for prevention, intervention, and victims/survivor support.
  • Greater prioritization of IPV by governments, community organizations, and healthcare providers.
  • Stronger policies and evidence-based practises that address victims’/survivors’ needs.
  • Increased collaboration between government, community services, healthcare, and law-enforcement.
  • Reduced stigma and victim, blaming, encouraging more victims/survivors to seek and have access to support.

• Advocate for your municipal government to declare IPV and GBV an epidemic by sending a letter to your city council. 
• Tip: some councillors may not open attachments, so copy and paste the letter into the body of your email.
• Find your city councillor: Search online for “[Your City] council members.” Most municipal websites have award map councillor contact information. For example:
  • London: Search “London city council members” → City Council page → Ward Map → Councillor details.
  • Brantford: Search “Brantford city council members” → City Council page → Five Wards → Councillor details and email addresses.
  • Hamilton: Search “Hamilton city councillors” → City Council Members page → Choose Ward → View Ward Profile for councillor info.