Prince Edward County council voted unanimously to declare an intimate partner violence epidemic in the County on Tuesday.

The move came in response to a presentation to Committee of the Whole this past March by the Alternatives for Women organization that highlighted that rates of intimate partner violence are nationally 75 per cent higher for rural women compared to urban women, with 233 local domestic violence investigations occurring in 2022, and sexual assaults in PEC increasing by 54 per cent in 2021.

Julie Watson, Executive Director of Alternatives for Women, stressed the importance of municipalities like Prince Edward County declaring intimate partner violence epidemics, due to the Ontario government not yet declaring a province-wide one, as recommended by the Renfrew County Inquest:

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