Just after Christmas, the lives of 3 children and the friends and family of a Calgary woman were changed forever when their mother was killed by their father.
This is almost the exact same sentence from a blog post we wrote this time last year. The difference in this case is that this family also lost their grandfather, father, husband as the perpetrator also killed his father-in-law in this double homicide. We also heard about the domestic homicide of an Edmonton woman in the days before the new year. Last year we said more work needs to be done to prevent these types of tragedies, and unfortunately that is still true today.
This time, we’re taking a deeper dive. There is STILL so much work that needs to be done, but we are making small strides in the effort to ending gender-based violence and, indeed, femicides. We have seen movement in the legal system, and the University of Calgary has established a strong champion in Lana Wells, a researcher devoted to finding the root causes and crucial solutions to ending gender-based violence. At JMMF, we have opened Eileen’s Place, a new second stage housing facility, and launched a new gender-based violence prevention initiative.
The victim’s family reports that this Calgary woman had planned to leave her husband after a fight on Christmas day. Statistics show that the most dangerous time for a victim of abuse is when she leaves her abuser. 71% of survivors in Alberta were at severe or extreme risk of being killed by their abusive partner. Our foundation was born out of our own tragedy that echoes the story in Calgary; like the mother in Calgary, Jessica Martel was also murdered in front of her 3 children as she tried to leave her abusive relationship. 15 years later, we still live with the trauma from this tragic event, and we are here to prevent this from happening to other vulnerable community members.
Last year, we outlined 3 recommendations from ACWS’s response to the National End to End GBV:
- Provide a stronger system of care for survivors and their families
- Strengthen primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention as well as intervention efforts
- Advocate for more responsive legal and justice systems, with partnership at the federal level
Now is a good time to reflect on how we are doing with these recommendations. We are passionate about this work because we want to stop tragedies like this from happening. Please follow along this month as we continue to explore what needs to be done and how you can help us create a future free of abuse and femicide.
In the meantime, our hearts are with the families of these most recent victims of domestic violence. #UntilAllHomesAreSafe…
