Calgary Herald

Domestic violence continues to climb in Calgary

Waiting lists grow as demand for help swamps agencies

- YOLANDE COLE

Domestic violence continued to climb last year as the economic crisis deepened, with Calgary police logging 3,709 incidents in 2016.

That tally was up by 12.8 per cent from the previous year, amid what police say has been a steady rise in domestic violence rates over the last few years.

According to a report going before a city committee on community and protective services Wednesday, domestic violence went up from 3,288 incidents in 2015 to 3,709 last year. In addition, the number of sex offences increased by 20.9 per cent between 2015 and 2016, jumping from 446 incidents in 2015 to 539 last year.

Chief Roger Chaffin is scheduled to discuss the numbers as part of an annual update on the Calgary Police Service to city council members.

The report in advance of his remarks states that while domestic violence rates correlate with Calgary’ s economy and unemployme­nt rates, “this is not a cause of this increase.”

Andrea Silverston­e, executive director of Sagesse (an agency formerly called Peer Support Services for Abused Women), said there’s a big difference between the things that cause violence in society and things that exacerbate violence.

Some of the factors she believes have contribute­d to the recent rise in domestic violence rates include unemployme­nt and underemplo­yment, as well as the effects of the Fort McMurray fire.

“Whether it was the flood in Calgary or fire in Fort McMurray, we know that domestic violence rates go up after natural disasters,” she said, noting some residents from the northern Alberta community relocated to Calgary after the major fire last year.

Silverston­e said the consequenc­e of increased domestic violence is longer wait lists and delays before people get help. Her agency has seen a 30 per cent increase in the number of clients wanting to access service, compared to this time last year.

“Waiting lists are getting longer in terms of access to service and so that’s very problemati­c,” she said.

“The other issue is that when people are on waiting lists, often in the past we would refer to other agencies to at least help in the interim — and those agencies as well have waiting lists. So it’s a whole systemic piece of everyone being overwhelme­d.”

To address those longer waiting lists, Silverston­e said her agency is training more volunteers. They are also planning on launching a new program in August to train friends and family how to recognize, respond and refer to domestic violence.

“We know that the majority of clients report that they have first told a friend or a family member, and that how the friend or family member has responded to that disclosure has a very large bearing on whether or not they seek further services before things escalate,” she said.

“So they might report to a friend or family member and if they get a bad response, they don’t tell anyone and then they tell when things are really, really bad and then the interventi­on is that much more severe.”

The report going before council states a few factors have likely resulted in increased reporting of sex assault, including a provincewi­de “I Believe You” campaign and Calgary police partnershi­ps with organizati­ons including Calgary Communitie­s Against Sexual Abuse.

Other statistics in the report include some improvemen­t in the number of residentia­l break and enters and robberies year-to-year.

So they might report to a friend or family member and if they get a bad response, they don’t tell anyone and then they tell when things are really, really bad …

The number of calls related to assault and vehicle thefts saw minor increases last year, at 4.6 per cent, compared to 2015.

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