YWCA Lethbridge calls for more funding amid spike in domestic violence in Alberta

The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters says domestic violence is on the rise in the province. A person uses a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters (ACWS) says domestic violence is on the rise in the province, and the YWCA Lethbridge is pushing for more funding to help survivors.

A report titled On the Front Lines: Striving to End Domestic Violence, was released on Monday. It compiled data from April 2022 to the end of March 2023 for 39 organizations operating 53 domestic abuse shelters across Alberta.

According to the report, there were more than 59,000 calls for help answered by Alberta shelters, a 10-year high.

YWCA Lethbridge and District CEO Jill Young says several thousand of those calls were made to the YWCA.

"Over a three-year period, we've actually seen more than a 200 per cent increase, specifically for women and children accessing our services," she said.

The report indicates about 8,400 people received help at shelters, an increase of 19 per cent, and almost half of those people were children.

"Another 10-year high is 42 per cent of survivors surveyed said their partner tried to strangle them, one of the most significant predictors of future lethal violence," said Jan Reimer, ACWS executive director.

"Strangulation actually increases the risk of being killed by 750 per cent."

Young says the YWCA Lethbridge saw an increase in people being turned away during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She expected that number to go down once restrictions lifted, but says it didn't.

"It was actually the opposite," she said. "What we saw was a continual increase for the need for our services."

Shelters could not, however, accommodate another 30,000 requests for admission, which is the highest number in the past decade, due to the lack of shelter space and growing complex needs of some survivors.

Young wants to see more funding made available for resources as a result of the report.

"There is a national action plan to end gender-based violence that the federal government released in 2021, and I would love to see how that is intertwined, and how women's shelters can work together, not only on the intervention of this domestic violence, but also on the prevention side as well," Young said.

According to Reimer, women’s shelters have faced stagnant budgets since 2015.

"While shelter space sees rising and more desperate needs, they are increasingly under budgetary pressures," she said. "Women's shelter budgets have had their purchasing power cut by 25 per cent."

In a statement sent to CTV News, Children and Family Services press secretary Ashli Barrett said all Albertans should be able to "live their lives free from fear or violence."

"That's why Alberta's government is increasing funding for women's shelters and sexual assault centres by $10 million each over the next four years. Children and Family services is currently working with stakeholder partners on the best use of additional funding for women's shelters."

With files from The Canadian Press