The Saskatchewan RCMP saw an increase in intimate partner and family violence in their jurisdictions between 2019 and 2023.
They recorded a 7 per cent increase in incidents of such violence in the South District, which includes the Moose Jaw area.
Last year, Saskatchewan RCMP recorded incidents of intimate partner violence across all of their jurisdictions at 813 per 100,000 population, and 890 per 100,000 population, which is higher than the overall provincial rates of 710 and 741 per 100,000 population respectively.
When compared to the rest of the country, intimate partner and family violence rates among the provinces are the highest Saskatchewan, with the rate across the country in 2023 sitting at 354 per 100,000 for police-reported intimate partner violence, and 350 per 100,000 population for police-reported family violence.
In Canada there was a 1 per cent increase in intimate partner violence and a 3 per cent increase in family violence reported to police last year, with the Statistics Canada report suggesting that numbers may be higher, as people may not report violence to the police.
Sgt. Kim Stewart, Domestic Violence Coordinator with the RCMP, said they acknowledge and accept the statistics, but can’t say specifically what has caused the increase in their jurisdictions.
“We do know that since 2020, there was a spike back then, and the numbers have continued to increase or stay about the same since then.”
Types of violence recorded can include reported assaults, uttered threats, and harassment. “When those are reported to the RCMP, a file is made up, and if it’s in one of those categories, then that is how we’re coming up with those numbers.”
“So not necessarily does that mean charges were laid in those, but we had a report of one of those crimes.”
Stewart said they’re addressing intimate partner and family violence though working with different organizations in the province, including transition houses and the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS), family services, victims' services, and municipal policing partners.
She talked about The Interpersonal Violence Disclosure Protocol Act, also known as Clare’s Law, which lets a police service disclose information regarding a person’s previous intimate partner violence to current or former intimate partners, with components including ‘the right to ask’ and ‘the right to know’.
When it comes to the ‘right to ask,’ people are able to apply to a police service for information to help them determine if they are going to stay in a relationship.
“Say I just start dating somebody new and maybe there’s some red flags of some sort. I hear from other people that he might have been involved in domestic violence in the past, or maybe there’s increasing anger, temper, outbursts from this individual,” explained Stewart.
A person can confidentially approach their police service about doing a Clare’s Law application, which goes to a multi-sector review committee consisting of community and policing partners. “We decide if it’s high risk, low risk, or medium risk, and what information we can share with that person.”
There are instances where a third party, who is concerned that someone they’re close to may be at risk, can also make a Clare’s Law application.
Under the ‘right to know,’ police can proactively decide to disclose information to a potential victim.
“We might be aware that a male or female was involved in domestic violence in the past, and now we see them with a new person, and we think, ‘I wonder if he or she even knows what that person has been involved in in the past.’”
Through the Clare’s Law process, and review committee, they can extend that information to a new partner, so they are fully informed.
You can find more information and resources for abuse or violence by visiting abuse.sk.211.ca, or by calling or texting 211 any day or time. The RCMP also have more information about relationship violence on their website here.