“Since 1979, Lanark County Interval House and Community Support has been providing safe, emergency shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Over the years, our services have grown to include extensive community support programs including individual and group counselling, second stage housing, family court support and programs specific to children and youth. As we honour our 40th year of service, we celebrate the leadership of strong feminist advocates, the outstanding support of community and the amazing demonstration of courage by women and children of Lanark County. We continue to do the work with gratitude, and our evolution remains rooted in the lived experience and the strong voices of women.”
Erin Lee, Executive Director
Follow us on Instagram:
Connect with Us on Facebook:
3,207
Lanark County Interval House
As the only shelter and dedicated support service in Lanark County for victims of woman abuse, LCIHCS offers not only a 24-hour Help Line and Emergency Shelter but also extensive Community Support Programs for women and children. www.lcih.com
Without naming it, advocates say it is easy for people to pretend the murder of women and girls because of their gender is not happening.![]()
![]()
While the recent slaying of an Ottawa mother in a park is bringing more awareness to the term femicide — generally described as the killing of a female because of their gender — advocates say it’s an epidemic that is not new to our country.![]()
![]()
“It’s important to name it, and the name is femicide,” said Megan Walker, the former head of the London Abused Women’s Centre and a longtime advocate for ending violence against women.![]()
![]()
“Naming it does a lot of things: It makes it visible, it gives us the opportunity to create data around what’s happening, it’s palatable for parents and makes them better understand that what happened was not their fault.”![]()
![]()
Between the years of 2018 and 2022, the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability estimates that at least 862 women and girls have been the victims of femicide in Canada, with that number increasing by 24 per cent over that time.![]()
![]()
Walker said the issue has reached “dire” circumstances in this country.![]()
![]()
“We are seeing a woman killed in this country every other day. We’re seeing significant acts of violence, torture, rape and trauma committed against women and girls,” she said.![]()
![]()
Ottawa police say fatal stabbing of woman in park was ‘femicide’![]()
In 2022, the London Police Services Board, which Walker is also a board member, sent a letter to the federal government in a push to have the term added to the Criminal Code. She reiterated that push to a parliamentary committee earlier this week.![]()
![]()
“We’re seeing women and girls across this country who are being trafficked into the commercial sex industry. All of these factors specifically impact women.![]()
![]()
While several countries have identified femicide as a crime distinctly different from homicide, Canada has still not.![]()
![]()
“It’s critical. We can’t live in a community where women, who comprise more than half of the population in this country, are disposable,” Walker said.![]()
![]()
“It’s harder to be preventable when we don’t have a name for it, and it’s not legislated.”![]()
![]()
'It’s happening in significant numbers'![]()
The Ottawa Police Service is widely considered the first police force in the country to start using the term in its policing.![]()
![]()
After consultation between their departments and community groups, the force felt it was essential to use the term despite it not being in the Criminal Code, Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson said.![]()
![]()
“It draws attention to the issue,” she said.![]()
![]()
“Femicide is … often driven by stereotypes, gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls or unequal power relationships between women and men.”![]()
![]()
While Ferguson said it’s important to have a broader conversation about femicide, what should not be lost in the conversation are the women and girls who have died, and the suffering their families have to go through after they are gone.![]()
![]()
Since deciding to use the term, Ottawa police have already labelled two cases as femicide — most recently with the Oct. 24 slaying of Brkti Berhe, a mother of four — and the killing of Jennifer Zabarylo in August.![]()
![]()
“It’s really important that as part of the criminal justice system and generally, we’re the first part of it. We set the stage, if you will, for what it is,” Ferguson said.![]()
![]()
“It’s making lawmakers and decision makers aware that this is happening, and that it’s happening in significant numbers.”![]()
![]()
She notes that while not all motives are known when police start investigating cases, in situations involving intimate partner violence, it does not take much to identify what has happened.![]()
![]()
Since starting to use the term, Ottawa police said several other forces have reached out to them for guidance on how to do the same.![]()
![]()
Like Walker, Ferguson feels that having femicide added to the Criminal Code would help address the issue.![]()
![]()
“In 22 countries around the world, it has become a charge in the Criminal Code and their laws, and I think that’s ultimately where I’d like to see it get to,” Ferguson said.![]()
![]()
“When we consider the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, when we consider the Montreal massacre, Canada has a history and not a great history of how we treat women and girls in society, so I think we need to make some progress and we need to shine some light on the situation.”![]()
![]()
Those in need of help escaping violence can call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline: 1-866-863-0511 in Ontario. Resources for help in other provinces can be found here.
We would like to send a very special thank you to the Heritage Club By-Town Chapter, an Ottawa area group of retirees from Canada Post, for donating $500 to us. ![]()
![]()
This donation is extra special because we were nominated for this donation persistently by Hertiage Club member and one of our longtime, incredible volunteers Martin Stockton! ![]()
![]()
Thank you to the Hertiage Club By-Town Chapter and to Martin, this donation is AWESOME and will go a long way to supporting women and children in our community!
"With the right support, children who've witnessed their mother's abuse can begin to understand healthy relationships, heal and ultimately break the intergenerational cycle of violence."
Violence Against Mothers Is Not a Single-Victim Crime
ed.gr
When mothers are abused their children are also significantly impacted. The abuse ripple-effect is far reaching. Children who witness their mother's abuse can experience learning challenges, behaviour...
We had an amazing time at the Rotary Club of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills’ Women’s Fair today. ![]()
![]()
A HUGE thank you to the Rotary Ckub for all your hard work on the event and for the generous donation to our agency. 💜 We’d also like to thank our fabulous volunteers who supported us at the event and all of the community members who stopped by to chat with us and purchase swag!
Join us for a candlelight vigil as we remember and honour those taken in the December 6, 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre and all of the women in Lanark County who have been taken too soon by violence. This is a call to action to end violence against women everywhere.![]()
![]()
We have two options for vigils, both taking place on Friday, December 6th:![]()
![]()
3 p.m. at Smiths Falls Town Square between the library and town hall![]()
![]()
5:30 p.m. at Perth Women's Monument, in the park next to Crystal Palace