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“Shelters have faced an increase in crisis calls and have reached maximum caseload capacity in the delivery of outreach supports.”

Severe and extreme danger

In 2011-12, around 54 per cent of women faced severe or extreme danger but in 2017-18 that number climbed to close to 65 per cent.

The number of people turned away because of a lack of capacity in 2017-18 rose to 16,722 from the previous year’s 14,497. In 2015-16 that number was 16,532.

The danger assessment measures the risk of a woman being murdered by her intimate partner.

The move into severe and extreme danger categories indicates that, among other factors, more women are being threatened with a gun or subjected to strangulation, the report said.

In 2015-16 the number of crisis calls to shelters climbed from 52,562 to 58,117 in 2017-18.

Close to 10,400 women, children and seniors found accommodation in shelters in 2017-18, which is up from 10,030 in 2016-17 but down from 10,567 in 2015-16.

“We know that effective, early interventions to support traumatized children can make an impact in supporting those children to develop healthy brains and engage in healthy relationships as they grow older,” Reimer said.

“But if we want to prevent this ongoing crisis in violence and abuse from drowning the next generation, we need to increase our investment significantly, knowing that it will pay off in the long-term.”

jgraney@postmedia.com

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