Last year, Aura Freedom led the Urgent Call to Action that called upon the City of Toronto to declare Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic in our communities. Building upon decades of feminist work, we led this Urgent Call in collaboration with Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke, and with the encouragement and endorsements of more than 40 organizations working to end gender-based violence in Toronto. We also had the support and advocacy of Councillor Lily Cheng and many survivors from our communities.

On July 20, 2023, herstory was made when newly-sworn-in Mayor Olivia Chow declared Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence an Epidemic in Toronto, with the unanimous support of City Council. As we celebrated this collective “victory”, it was important for us to ensure that the work didn’t end at the declaration.

From that time, along with our brilliant partners below, Aura Freedom collaborated in the GBV/IPV Working Group, which engaged in a deep analysis and organized a sector-wide consultation to ensure more voices were heard and more communities represented. The GBV Sector Consultation, held earlier this week, will inform the City on how address the IPV epidemic in a meaningful way. We also heard from City staff on the work that has been done so far.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our amazing GBV/IPV Working Group co-members and our consultant extraordinaire with whom we’ve shared so much:

• Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
• Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto
• White Ribbon
• Woman ACT
• Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke
• YWCA Toronto
• Monica DaPonte, Shift & Build Consulting

And so much gratitude goes to all of the participants and attendees of the GBV Sector Consultation who brought their brilliance and passion to the table and to Councillor Cheng for her constant support of this work.

We are looking forward to what comes next. There is so much still to do.