Skip to Content Skip to Navigation
TEXT RESIZER Default Larger Largest
 

Statement: YWCA Toronto Marks Three Years Since Toronto’s Declaration of a Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic

July 20, 2026

Today marks three years since the City of Toronto declared an epidemic of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). This declaration was a critical moment of recognition for the pervasive and worsening crisis of GBV and IPV throughout Toronto, and detailed a commitment from City Council to make meaningful investments in preventing gender-based and intimate partner violence and supporting survivors.

In the years following, the City of Toronto named a Mayor’s Champion to Eradicate Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence, Councillor Lily Cheng, and introduced initial measures to support survivors of GBV and IPV. City recognition of the severity of this issue, alongside community advocacy calling for greater transparency and data, also led to the Toronto Police Services (TPS) developing a public database on intimate partner violence. Unfortunately, this database shows that incidents of GBV and IPV in Toronto continue to increase, following broader provincial and national trends.

Despite these initial efforts, the City has not provided the epidemic-level resources and funding required to respond to the IPV and GBV crisis, including investments in prevention, awareness and survivor support. The City's own database shows a continuous increase in IPV and GBV incidents, providing clear evidence that the current funding model is failing to address the epidemic. Existing Intimate Partner Violence Initiatives are fragmented, siloed, and chronically underfunded, limiting their effectiveness and preventing a coordinated response that addresses the broader social and economic factors that intersect with IPV and GBV. Without substantial and sustained investments, the crisis will continue to deepen, leaving more survivors without the support they need.

The City of Toronto must re-commit to eliminating gender-based violence and intimate partner violence by significantly increasing investment in targeted awareness, prevention, and support measures and by monitoring and publicly reporting on the results. IPV and GBV do not exist in isolation, and as such, efforts to address them cannot be siloed. Ending this epidemic of violence requires a coordinated and comprehensive city-wide approach – involving collective action across all city departments and services.

As a frontline service provider, YWCA Toronto sees the impacts that gender-based and intimate partner violence has on individuals, families, and communities every day. We continue to call for transformative efforts to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women, girls, and gender diverse individuals.
 

YWCA Toronto calls on the City of Toronto to:

  • Significantly expand the Intimate Partner Violence Initiatives outlined in Budget 2026, including:
    • Expanding the Rent Subsidy Program to provide access to every woman and gender diverse survivor of intimate partner violence
    • Providing free and guaranteed placements in City-operated childcare services for all survivors of intimate partner violence
    • Expanding the capacity of non-police services, such as 311 and 211, to respond to gender-based violence and intimate partner violence calls
    • Developing prevention measures, including public education campaigns on healthy relationships and consent for youth, particularly young men, and boys
  • Invest significantly in stabilizing non-profit emergency and violence against women shelters, including enabling them to provide wages on par with City-run shelters
  • Recommit to the creation of a Gender Equity Strategy, including:
    • Providing an updated timeline on the creation and implementation of the Gender Equity Strategy
    • Working with community stakeholders to ensure the Strategy reflects the realities of women and gender diverse people in Toronto
    • Developing a monitoring and reporting framework for the Gender Equity Strategy
  • Provide timely, transparent and comprehensive access to all data related to gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and sexual violence throughout the 2026 World Cup. This disclosure must encompass TPS incident reports alongside all municipal tracking, public transit incident logs, and data from the emergency shelter and respite spaces activated during the tournament.

YWCA Toronto calls on Toronto Police Services to:

  • Address the concerns raised by YWCA Toronto and our sector colleagues in 2025 regarding officer training and courses, including:
    • Expanding training to encompass the intersection of identity and experiences of IPV, across all historically marginalized communities
    • Expanding training to all officers, not only new officers or those who are entering an IPV-specific role
    • Implementing mandatory trauma-informed and culturally-responsive IPV training for all frontline officers and first-responders, co-designed with community agencies and centered in survivor-experience
  • Expeditiously release all data on calls, reports, and incidents related to gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and sexual violence throughout the 2026 World Cup
  • Acknowledge that public distrust in policing is justified, particularly among women and gender-diverse people who experience intersecting forms of discrimination and violence. This distrust is grounded in historic and ongoing failures in police treatment of survivors of gender-based violence, as well as institutional cultures that have tolerated discrimination, harassment, and violence.
    • Take concrete steps to rebuild trust, including engaging with community organizations, survivors and advocates to identify pathways for reform. This should include identifying pathways to adopt trauma-informed, survivor-centred policies, practices and accountability protocols.


YWCA Toronto is committed to supporting the City of Toronto in addressing these calls to action, and enabling collective change that will support women, girls, and gender diverse individuals in Toronto to live lives free from violence.

---

MEDIA
Sami Pritchard, Director of Advocacy and Communications, YWCA Toronto
437.286.9627 | spritchard@ywcatoronto.org