The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is developing initiatives to combat the city’s epidemic of intimate partner violence, but advocates are still calling for authorities to do more.

“City hall declared it (an epidemic), so what does TPS think?” asked Carla Neto, executive director of the Etobicoke Women’s Habitat.

At a police board meeting Tuesday, officials acknowledged the city is seeing an increase in intimate partner violence calls. Officers have responded to more than 15,200 incidents of intimate partner violence so far this year. This is compared to around 15,000 calls in all of 2023.

“Intimate partner violence goes beyond just physical abuse and can include financial, emotional or spiritual abuse along with coercive control,” Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters. “Unfortunately, many victims suffer in silence.”

Toronto Police have recognized November as Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month and are committed to doing more through a comprehensive education and enforcement approach.

“To aid prevention by promoting available community resources to stop victimization, to increase public awareness of resources, in collaboration with community partners, to provide in-house training to our service members,” surf said. Anthony Paoletta.

Police strategies include sending out educational pamphlets and posters and podcasts focusing on intimate partner violence. Next year, the service will launch a program called Project Hope, which will provide resources for new Canadians in the city. Advocates appreciate the submitted plans, but also say they don’t go far enough.

“This means that we are meaningfully engaging the community, survivors and the sector that works with survivors in a conversation about what engagement in survivor strategy looks like,” said Women’s Habitat’s Neto.

Victim and survivor organizations add that police should adopt some of their strategies and look at the root causes of intimate partner violence.

“We’re addressing patriarchy, addressing ingrained gender norms about boys and girls and women and men and how both should act. We’re talking about sexism, we’re talking about rape culture,” said Mary Kokkoros, executive director of Aura Freedom.

Advocates are also pushing the police to take a holistic approach.

“All these great agencies that are funded by the city can stop working in silos and coordinate for a more cohesive plan,” Kokkoros added.

She also noted that attention should be drawn to how gender-based violence is addressed in the media.

“It affects how we talk about violence against women around our dinner tables, how we address it in our own families and communities,” she added. “If we can work with the police to look at the ways they write press releases, the language they use, the way they frame intimate partner violence.”

While intimate partner violence may not end tomorrow, advocates say putting the right steps in place can begin to change the problematic culture.

“We have to be in it for the long haul, we have to be able to say I’m going to die and violence against women may still happen, but we’ve put the gears in motion to steer this ship.” Kokkoros said.