MPP Sattler calls on Ford to act as IPV reaches crisis levels in London

QUEEN’S PARK — The London Police Service has painted a grim picture of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the region, with Chief Thai Truong revealing that the force receives an average of 19 calls per day related to IPV.

NDP MPP Peggy Sattler (London West) is calling on the Ford government to finally act in the face of this growing crisis:

“19 calls per day, with five or six arrests,” said Sattler. “That amounts to roughly 7,000 calls per year and doesn’t include the countless victims who are suffering in silence.

“While these figures are horrifying, we can’t say that they’re surprising. New Democrats have consistently called on the Ford government to take intimate partner violence seriously. Their constant deflection and partisan politicking is failing survivors.”

Last week, the NDP released 121 recommendations to end Ontario’s IPV epidemic; part of a dissenting response to the Ford government’s own IPV report, which was written — in highly irregular fashion — by one government member.

“Women in London, and across Ontario deserve to be safe and protected from intimate partner violence. The current numbers are unsustainable, and the situation is only getting worse. The Ford government must urgently implement our recommendations and declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.”