Intimate partner violence reports, charges on the rise in N.L., according to RCMP data
Expansion of what's included in data likely behind part of increase, says RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland
Reports of intimate partner violence continue to rise across Newfoundland and Labrador, according to numbers from the RCMP.
Related charges are also on the rise.
Over a five-year span from 2019 to 2023 the number of reported occurrences involving intimate partner violence went up from 1,367 to 3,394 — an overall increase of about 150 per cent, and an increase of about 51 per cent from 2,246 in 2022.
"It's one of our biggest priorities at this point. Our numbers are not decreasing. Rates of serious incidents are there. They're alarming," said RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Jolene Garland.
"We know that at any given time, any one of these incidents could be fatal. We've had them in the past."
While the numbers "would seem like an exponential increase," they mustn't be taken out of context, Garland said. Rather than only criminal offences or charges laid, they reflect all reports that contain some aspect of intimate partner violence.
What falls into this category, she said, has been expanded since 2020, and now also includes reports of child custody disputes or property damage, and even mental health calls.
"We do realize that many of these incidents do start on the lower-scale end … and then turn into something much more serious," said Garland.
"It's not just to a point where somebody's threatened to harm you … or committed a criminal act. Oftentimes, it can take on other forms: control, coercion. It builds up."
Meanwhile, the number of charges in connection with intimate partner violence has also increased. In 2021 there were 891 incidents where a person was charged with at least one offence. That number increased to 1,061 in 2023 — a rise of 19 per cent.
"In any case at all where there's evidence to pursue a charge, whether or not the victim is willing and wanting to do so, it is our policy to proceed," Garland said.
"So, that likely has increased the number of charges we're seeing."
But officers often face challenges in doing so, said Garland, like survivors not wanting to press charges due to embarrassment or fear, or when evidence is lost because a report wasn't filed quickly enough.
Once charges have been laid, she said, officers provide resources to survivors to help them proceed through the court system.
Internally, the RCMP's special victims section provides oversight and guidance to front-line staff, and reviews every report of intimate partner violence to ensure the investigation was done properly.
Garland said 70 per cent of intimate partner violence incidents involve repeat offenders, and one third of incidents involve one or more parties that are currently on court-ordered conditions.
'Tip of the iceberg'
For one provincial advocacy group, the numbers are proof that current measures aren't far-reaching enough to protect survivors — and yet, they don't come as a surprise.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately," said Olivia Lynch, member of the Act Now intimate partner violence reform committee and executive director of Violence Prevention Avalon East.
"We know that those numbers are likely much higher due to a lack of reporting."
In April, the group renewed its calls to the provincial government to implement ankle bracelet monitoring for people accused of serious or repeat intimate partner violence crimes and released on bail — a measure that had previously been promised by then justice minister and current Premier John Hogan in June 2024, but has yet to be implemented.
Lynch has noticed increased awareness of the issue among the province's police forces. She said there still is more progress to be made.
"We also have to look at what are we doing after we have determined that this is IPV? What protections, what intervention methods are we providing to those specific cases and how are we best protecting those involved?" she said.
Angie Brenton, fellow committee member and family services counsellor at the St. John's women's shelter Iris Kirby House, agrees that better wrap-around support is needed for survivors going through the court system, especially given a high number of breaches of court-ordered conditions.
"That's when the protections have to come into place. It's not working now," said Brenton.
"Our shelters are full.... There has to be some kind of protection at the post-charge, pre-conviction stage. There has to be or it's just going to continue to get worse."
In addition to ankle bracelets, the group wants to see panic buttons, risk assessments and increased training within law enforcement and the judicial system, as well as a victim services navigator or advocate within government.
Not only would those measures help protect survivors, said Lynch, the implementation in other provinces, like Manitoba or Prince Edward Island, has shown to alleviate the workload of those on the front lines.
"The RNC, the RCMP want to do their jobs properly," she said. "These are giving them the better tools to be able to do that and to protect their community at the same time."
The group is also calling on the provincial government to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic — similar to Nova Scotia, various municipalities in Ontario, and, only earlier in June, New Brunswick.
Doing so, said Brenton, would come with more funding and awareness.
"I would describe it as a critical level at this point," she said. "We're at the levels now where judges are calling it an epidemic, politicians are calling it an epidemic. So, it needs immediate action."
Meanwhile, Garland believes the conversation around the topic is changing, also thanks to more survivors speaking out publicly.
"Some people carry that embarrassment, some people carry a lot of fear.… It's not the victims of the crime who are in the wrong here or who need to be embarrassed. It's those that are causing this sort of crime," she said.
"We need to wrap our heads around, to be a victim of that crime."
Support is available for anyone affected by intimate partner violence. You can access support services and local resources in Canada by visiting this website. If your situation is urgent, please contact emergency services in your area.
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