Ford making it worse for victims of violence

Re ‘What will be the legacy of so many women murdered?’ Jan. 7 It is very sad that violence against women is increasing at the same time the Ontario government has done so many things to make it worse for women threatened with domestic violence.

They have cancelled the roundtable on violence against women. This was a highly representative panel that could have developed some really useful strategies for bettering the various situations of women suffering domestic violence.

They have cancelled the basic income pilot. Lack of a basic income pulls the rug out from under any woman who wants to escape an abusive situation and hope to better her future life by being able to plan further training or education.

They have rolled back the meagre increases to already meagre social assistance that was planned by the previous government. If a woman escapes abuse, but has no income, she (and her children) will be thrown into great poverty.

They have repealed the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs legislation that improves the lives of precarious workers by giving them some advance notice on work schedules (think of single mothers) and, among other things, provided some time off for someone dealing with the crisis of leaving an abusive situation.

These decisions, taken together, mean it remains very difficult for a woman to safely leave a violent situation, and could very well result in her death. It is well known that trying to leave a violent partner is the most dangerous thing a woman can do, and is a significant factor in the murder of women by their partners. Lynda Lange, Toronto