The Town of Milton has declared intimate partner violence an epidemic

There were more than 3,500 intimate partner violence calls to Halton Regional Police Service in 2022, leading to 2,100 charges and 949 arrests. Halton Women’s Place receives 2,500 calls every year to its crisis information and support line.

Zahraa Syeda, a Milton shelter manager with Sakeenah Canada — a national charity organization that provides transitional housing with wraparound services for Muslim women — told council, “women from all walks of life are vulnerable. The recognition of this becoming an epidemic is certainly a step forward.”

Members of survivor advocacy group SAFE — Survivor Advocate for Empowerment — also delegated at the meeting, with one woman sharing her experience being in an abusive relationship.