Friday is International Women’s Day.
Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis is hosting a couple of events in the Royal City coinciding with the global event.
Among them will include one on Veterans Memorial Bridge on Carden Street at around noon. A short rally will feature speakers, celebrations and activities.
Cindy McMann, public educator with Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, said it’s important to celebrate women and their accomplishments, including ones on domestic partner violence.
“We also have a keynote speak going on in the evening of March 8 — that’s from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring Layne who is the auctionista, who’s going to tell their story of overcoming intimate partner violence,” McMann said,
Audiences will have a chance to see and listen to Layne when they present “Embracing the Future After Intimate-Partner Abuse – An Inspirational Keynote Address on Resilience and Finding Fortitude.”
McMann recently made an appearance at a Wellington County council meeting, encouraging staff to declare domestic partner violence as an epidemic.
She said domestic partner violence has become an epidemic throughout Wellington County, as well as across Canada, and she wants to shift our discussions surrounding the matter.
“We’re really interested in reframing intimate partner violence and shifting our discussions about it from a legal criminal justice approach, which is currently the only way of going about it,” she said.
She said the uptick alone would meet the criteria of an epidemic, similar to heart disease and the opioid crisis.
“These are called epidemics because they are causing a great deal of harm in our society and because they are also things, that are in some ways, transmitted,” she said.
McMann said shifting that framework from a legal approach to one involving public health would help destigmatize domestic partner violence and show people that it’s a social problem.
She said if there is someone is struggling with intimate partner violence, or there’s someone they know and care about who might be struggling, help is always available.
“It’s really common for folks to feel isolated when they’re experiencing violence, but there is help out there, there is support out there,” she said.
McMann said the organization has a crisis line that’s available 24/7, plus you can search and find a local organization online and get connected with them as well.
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