The number of reported domestic violence incidents is trending downwards in Calgary, but some experts say the police’s numbers do not tell the whole story.
According to a news release on Thursday morning, reports of domestic violence incidents to the Calgary Police Service (CPS) have continued to decrease since 2019.
The police said there were 243 reports of domestic violence incidents in January last year compared to 423 in 2019, around a 42.55-per cent decrease.
Meanwhile, there were 227 reports of domestic violence incidents in September last year compared to 390 in 2019, a 41.79-per cent decrease.
While the number of reported domestic violence incidents has continued to decline, domestic conflict reporting has gone up. Domestic conflict refers to people recognizing a potentially dangerous domestic situation and placing a call for help, according to the CPS.
The CPS said it responds to around 20,000 calls related to domestic violence a year.
“This means that Calgarians are reaching out for help and being connected to the necessary supports and resources before a violent act occurs,” acting Staff Sgt. Glenn Andruschuk said in a statement on Thursday.
Experts, however, say domestic violence and abuse are much more complicated than that.
Around 80 per cent of domestic violence incidents go unreported, said Sagesse‘s chief executive officer Andrea Silverstone.
“Less than 20 per cent of people who experience domestic violence call the police. The police numbers only tell us a picture about a very small swath of people who are experiencing domestic abuse,” Silverstone said.
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“There are a lot of people who don’t feel comfortable going to the police or whatever is happening does not hit the threshold of a crime. (The survivor) might come from a marginalized community where they don’t feel comfortable accessing police resources and feel like they can solve the problem on their own.”
Calls for services and resources have also gone up. According to Silverstone, the number of people who are accessing support and services have gone up by about 30 per cent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People are reaching out to supports and services before the violence escalates to the point that they need to call the police,” Silverstone said.
Kim Ruse, chief executive officer of FearIsNotLove (formerly known as the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter) said support workers have been busy throughout the pandemic.
Last year, FearIsNotLove served over 20,000 people in and around Calgary. Around 600 people came through the shelter, Ruse said.
Those who weren’t able to secure a shelter bed were referred to other shelters or hotels when the risk is high.
“We were worried about the ability of people to get somewhere to call safely and reach out at the beginning of the pandemic. Our statistics are very steady: our shelter beds are very full right now and people are coming out of stressful situations with their families,” Ruse told 770 CHQR.
“We’re also seeing a hard economic situation happening in Canada. There are a lot of extra stressors for people.”
Ruse also said cases are becoming significantly more severe compared to previous years.
“In more severe cases, we’re seeing the severity escalate quite significantly compared to this time last year,” she said.
But the police statistics can also be a hopeful sign that support services are doing a good job at outreach.
“The health mandates that were put in place to keep us safe also kept us separate and isolated from each other so people might be more hesitant to reach out. Our aim is always to connect with people at an earlier point so the services they need are less intense and intrusive,” Ruse said.
“The curve shows a trajectory towards that healthy goal.”
Silverstone also said she is hopeful about the numbers but continued to urge people to listen to survivors.
“The majority of people who experience domestic abuse, whether as a perpetrator or a victim, will first and foremost tell a friend or family member… Friends and family members need to know how to respond to disclosures of abuse because how they respond determines the person’s trajectory of help-seeking,” Silverstone said.
“If I respond in an empathetic, supportive way, that person is then going to get the support and services they need… The most important thing that we need to do is make sure that we listen and know how to do something.”