Press Releases

For Immediate Release:

The Assaulted Women's Helpline Marks 20 Years of Service

(Toronto, November 1, 2005) - On November 4th, The Assaulted Women's Helpline (AWHL) marks 20 years of service to women across Ontario. The Helpline, through confidential counselling, emotional support, safety planning, information, and referrals, has helped hundreds of thousands women escape from violence inflicted on them by a current or previous partner.

The Helpline was the first crisis service of its kind in Ontario. Shelters for abused women that handled many of these calls (and still do,) found it difficult to handle the immediate needs of their clients, both in person and on the telephone.

In 1985, the Community Information Centre, the Distress Centre and the Metro Toronto Region for Interval and Transition Houses submitted a joint funding proposal for a 24 hour a day coordinated service to the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Full funding was granted and the Assaulted Women's Helpline was born providing service to the Greater Toronto Area.

In its first year, AWHL staff answered more than five thousand calls. Over the years, the Helpline has increased its services and now provides counselling in 154 languages and has two dedicated TTY lines for the hearing impaired. In 2003 AWHL expanded its service area to cover all of Ontario and now fields more than 49,000 calls per year.

Unfortunately, while the number of incidents of violence against women has decreased slightly over the past three years, it continues to be a serious issue in Ontario and across the country. Between 1999 and 2004, according to a recent Statistics Canada report, 653,000 women have experienced some form of violence at the hands of a current or previous spouse or common-law partner. The report also indicated that female victims were more than twice as likely to be injured as male victims, three times more likely to fear for their life, and twice as likely to be the targets of more than ten violent episodes.

"Thousand of women and their families continue to live with the fear and devastating effects of this problem every day. In Canada, at least 60 women die every year at the hands of a partner." said Huong Pham, Executive Director of the Assaulted Women's Helpline. "If there is to be an end to this violence, additional and continuous funding and public education is essential."

While full funding for the Assaulted Women's Helpline was provided when it serviced the GTA, the province-wide expansion is a partially funded pilot project that ends in March 2006. To ensure this service exists beyond the pilot phase and to support current core services and awareness programs, AWHL relies heavily on both public and private donations.

The Helpline can be reached at any time by calling 416-863-0511 in the GTA or toll-free at 1-866-863-0511 from anywhere in Ontario. Access to the TTY line for the hearing impaired can be reached at 1-866-863-7868. To make a donation or volunteer time, visit www.awhl.org or call 416-364-4144.

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For more information, please contact:

Sandra Diaz Manager, Resource Development The Assaulted Women's Helpline (416) 364-4144 X236 sdiaz@awhl.org

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