As Carolyn Bennett, federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, made a funding announcement to combat domestic abuse in Sudbury Thursday, the concern was expressed that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the overall struggle of domestic violence.
Bennett was in Sudbury to announce a federal funding commitment of $589,340 over four years to support the Sudbury YWCA "Building Opportunities for Women"(BOW) program at Genevra House.
The program aims to support the mental and physical well-being of women experiencing — or who may be at risk of experiencing — family and gender-based violence.
The BOW program offers women aged 16 and older special workshops where they can explore the roots of gender-based violence, address their own self-esteem and vulnerabilities, and identify their future education and training needs.
The YWCA Genevra House describes itself as "an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse from their intimate partners (including same-sex partners), as well as women 50 years and over who are escaping abuse from their live-in caregiver."
Bennett commended the Sudbury YWCA for its progressive work in the city.
"We have to work together to stop the violence before it starts. And by building and promoting healthy relationships and by changing the existing patriarchal and damaging attitudes into ones that promote equality and build healthier families. So I want to commend the Sudbury YWCA for leading this innovative project and for your ongoing work to support women and families and this community," Bennett said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PAC) said the funding announcement was being made at a critical time.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact children, women and families at risk of violence due to disrupted services and additional emotional stressors affecting caregivers such as parental stress, depression and problematic alcohol use," said PAC.
Genevra House executive director Marlene Gorman said the pandemic meant that many women were forced to stay in their homes, and she explained why that was dangerous.
"When women are told to isolate at home, because we were in a pandemic, their only option is to isolate with their abusive partner,” Gorman said. “And they have a lot less opportunity to escape from that. So that's where the biggest need came.”
She added that many community services were not open, and their services would be offered virtually.
"We worked with our community partners to make sure that women had access to equipment that they could borrow to use to access those services," Gorman explained. She said this included things such as borrowing laptop computers and cell phone calling cards. Gorman said the effort continues to help women who are still isolated in abusive situations.
Gorman said she was pleased that federal funding for the BOW program was provided.
"YWCA Sudbury empowers women and their families to reach their full potential in body, mind and spirit through action, community collaboration, advocacy and education," Gorman said.
MP Lapointe remarked that this latest federal investment would be helpful to many women. Lapointe added that the pandemic was especially hard hitting in Northern Ontario for women in abusive situations.
"We know that Northern Ontario was greatly impacted by the pandemic,” Lapointe said. “There's a vastness of our geography, there is scarcity of resources. And so the ability, for example, to even to be able to access services if you didn't have broadband was not provided to you.
"We know that our economic recovery in the North is slower coming out of the pandemic. So that is why investments in the community and certainly the investment today in Sudbury in Northern Ontario is very important, because that does provide us with that ability to help those vulnerable populations," she added.
Len Gillis covers mining and health care for Sudbury.com.
