Canada: Domestic Violence shoots high in Calgary

Experts say this trend of violence had been on rise for last ten years and the most apparent reason being identified as a root cause was economic challenges faced by families.

In 2015 CPS(Calgary Police Service) had received 303 more calls of domestic violence compared to 2014; which was a rise of 10 percent in one year, and a 24 percent increase over an average of last five years.

Use of weapons in domestic violence had sharply increased by 70 percent over 2014 showing that violence was increased not by volume but also by the level of intensity as well.

Police had correlated the rise of domestic violence to the rise in unemployment.

In total CPS had received 18,993 calls of domestic conflict in 2015 which was 10 percent higher than the average of last five years.

Vast majority of domestic violence victims were women and 1 in every 5 were men.

The first quarter of 2016 didn't reflect any noticeable change.

CPS received approximately 40 percent more domestic violence calls in the first three months this year than typical.

Total domestic violence calls were up by 6 percent in the last one year.

There had been 34 Police Officers and 4 civilian staff deployed in Calgary to combat domestic violence.

Officers of this unit alongside partner agencies had been working directly with approximately 2400 families each year.

In 2016 2,796 domestic violence calls had been attended so far by the CPS.

The Calgary Domestic Violence Collective (CDVC) in partnership with the Government of Alberta launched Family Violence Prevention month by involving people from all walks of life, like Professionals, Justice Officials, Police Officers, Social workers Counsellors with a view to formulate policy through holding a conference that would show way to address domestic and sexual violence.

In a recent conference hosted by the CDVC and the Government of Alberta, Andrea Silverstone, co-chair of CDVC stressed that one incident of domestic violence is way too many.

“As a community, we need to speak together and stand up against domestic violence. Everyone has a right to be safe and healthy in their relationships,” she said.

According to Silverstone, speaking out the about the problem, understanding the issue and getting involved with the community can only put an end to the domestic violence cycle.

“One of the underlying factors is the way we view genders and the way we look at women’s roles. I believe we have an obligation to work with children to help them understand things like gender-based violence, consent, and how to have healthy relationships,” she explained.

Over 64 agencies are presently working together in Calgary Domestic Violence Collective and are urging people to break their silence using the social media hashtag #breakthesilence. 

(Reporting by Chandan Som)