[Article] Opinion: Family violence crisis demands action now

Calgarians take pride in our community spirit, our ability to tackle big challenges and in looking after our neighbours. Yet, right now, thousands of people in this city are not safe in the place they should feel safest — their own home. 

Calgary is facing five-year highs in domestic violence incidents, and nearly seven in 10 Calgarians say they’re worried about domestic violence in our city. Unless we are prepared to act — as neighbours, employers, friends, family and a community — we are allowing this crisis to deepen before our eyes.

As Family Violence Awareness Month comes to a close, and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence begins, the Calgary Police Service’s latest statistics are cause for alarm. From January to September this year, there were 3,592 domestic violence incidents in Calgary, and more than 14,600 domestic conflict calls to police — both numbers represent five-year highs.

And the numbers are likely far worse, considering research that shows only 25 per cent of victims of domestic violence will contact the police.

On average in Canada, a woman is killed by her partner every six days. Family violence has a disproportionate effect on Indigenous women, girls, boys and Two-Spirit people. In Calgary, police report that the number of male victims has also risen in each of the past three years.

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