The respective ministers, Bernard Davis and Pam Parsons, met with Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray, Atlantic Regional Council (ARC) Women’s Committee Member Doretta Strickland and ARC Treasurer Adele Jackman. Unifor and Murray were involved in the designation of IPV as an epidemic in Nova Scotia last month.
“I was pleased Premier Furey’s office reached out to us to discuss intimate partner violence because Newfoundland and Labrador has seen some of the country’s steepest increases of reports of this type of violence,” said Murray in an Oct. 28 statement.
“Our meeting was productive … Now, we need to see if this meeting turns into action. Every province can and should do exactly what Nova Scotia did and pass this legislation immediately.”
Jackman suggested the creation of a role within public health to act as a navigator similar to the Unifor Women’s Advocate who would assist those impacted by IPV, as services and supports can often be complex.
“Abusers often prey on people’s inability to navigate the legal questions and that contributes to people not reporting the violence they are facing,” said Jackman in the statement. “Having someone act as a guide might give more people confidence when they are looking for help.”
Unifor Women’s Advocates have reported an increase in the number of their peers telling them about the violence they face. The advocates were said to be trained to connect members with appropriate medical and community supports. However, they are “increasingly seeing coworkers being forced to wait for help as shelters are over-full and other public supports are strained or non-existent.”
“We can take action today to treat IPV with a whole-of-society approach that addresses the root causes, increases funding to women’s shelters and support programs, and ultimately brings this epidemic out of the shadows and into a space of awareness and action,” said Murray.
Unifor said it was part of a decades-long push by community organizations, unions and other advocates to respond to IPV as the “societal and public health emergency it is.” It noted that in 2018, Unifor members advocated for and won paid domestic violence leave, which was adopted across the Atlantic provinces and the country.
The union said it will continue to raise awareness about this issue and encourages local unions and members to do the same, especially ahead of Dec. 6, the National Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
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