Good afternoon and thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Giulia and I'm the executive director of the Sudbury Women's Centre, which is located in northern Ontario. The Sudbury Women's Centre offers a safe place to support women in their journey, in getting from where they are now to where they want to be. We've been helping women in our community for over 40 years.
Like all organizations in Canada, we know that the number of domestic violence situations has increased over the years. This pandemic has created a spike in intimate partner violence as we've seen an increase in financial and mental health strains on the family due to COVID. These lockdowns meant many women were unsafe in their own homes, with fewer ways to escape the atmosphere of abuse and control. According to a spokesperson from the Sudbury police, from March 17 to May 26, 2020, Sudbury police fielded 367 domestic dispute calls, which is an increase of 7% since 2019. We'll learn the exact numbers only when reporting is published and when women come forward with their stories.
As I stated in the beginning, we offer a safe place for women to escape what is happening in the outside world. In 2019, we saw an average of 150 to 250 women access our centre per week. That could be attending a workshop that we have, using computers in our library, or getting some free clothing for themselves and their children.
Once the pandemic hit, we followed the public health regulations and closed the centre. We continued to offer support for our clients virtually, over the phone, or met with them at the centre to do curbside pickup for some of their basic need items. Due to the closures, women did not have our centre to visit during the day and get away from their abusers for a couple of hours, to sit with staff and do safety plans.
In 2020, we were physically open for six months and we still saw over 2,700 women seek our support. We did our best to keep up with the demands of our clients and the staff capacity that we had.
We know there are so many other women who are trying to access our services or others within the community. Collaboration has become an important element for us, and this pandemic really showcases the importance of working together and supporting one another.
Our staff mental health has also been an important element in terms of learning to handle the pressures of COVID in their own lives and dealing with burnout.
In the last bit of time, I want to share one story from our community, told via The Sudbury Star, our local newspaper. This is not a story from one of our clients; it details one abuser's dealings with domestic violence, not in just one incident but in three separate intimate partners over a span of a year and a half, as well as violence towards children. This one story shows the need to increase support in our community for intimate partner violence and mental health support for women and children, and to support staff who are helping these clients.
In September 2020, the abuser and his partner became separated. The abuser came to the woman's home, used physical violence on the woman, her son and his teenage daughter. He pulled out a switchblade, put it to his daughter's throat and pushed her head in towards a wall. The abuser told his partner that he was so mad he could seriously hurt his teenage daughter.
In May 2021, the abuser was in a new relationship with a second woman. She called police to report that the abuser had beaten her and she had fled to a friend's residence. The abuser had grabbed her hand, pushed her head into the wall, and put his thumbs into her eye sockets. He proceeded to verbally assault her while choking her.
In October 2021, a third woman called police, reporting that the same abuser was upset that she had ended their relationship, and that he had been harassing her through social media and texts.
It was brought up in court that the abuser had suffered from emotional and verbal abuse as a child, as he had seen domestic violence in his own home. This is a cycle that needs to be broken, as the children he has abused now need that help.
One of the women wrote in a victim statement, “Because of these offences, I haven't been able to sleep at night; I can't open my windows at all because I am afraid to do so. In my home, I feel that someone is looking in through my windows.... I am afraid to leave my home. I am afraid he will be outside the door. I can't trust anyone....”
In closing, the Sudbury's Women Centre is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing information, referrals and support services to women who've been impacted by violence and/or difficult life situations. I'm confident in the investments by the government to address intimate partner violence in reports, and that within organizations we will create that positive change that we're looking for. It will take time and collaboration with other organizations, but I do see this happening.
We're committed to serving the needs of women in our community, to create and maintain a safe environment that is inclusive and respectful of diversity.
Thank you.