Nine times each day, Halton Police officers are called to respond to an incident of intimate partner violence.

Now the service has decided it wants the community to know "how pervasive" the underreported violence is.

The police service, which polices Oakville, Burlington, Milton and other smaller communities west of Toronto, announced this week it will begin publishing media releases about some of those intimate partner domestic violence calls. Those releases will not disclose names or residential details, but will include the "nature of the incident" and detail the charges laid.

Officers in Halton region responded to more than 3,300 intimate partner violence calls last year, according to a release. Statistics Canada estimates that more than 80 per cent of incidents go unreported.

"Intimate partner violence reaches across socio-economic, cultural, racial and class distinctions," said Halton Police Deputy Chief Jeff Hill in a release announcing the new approach. "We are broadening the conversation to clearly signal that this insidious violence is not solely an issue of concern to victims."

Halton Women's Place has applauded the initiative by police and it hopes it will encourage more abused women to seek help.

"It can happen to your neighbour, your mother, your sister, your best friend or yourself," said Executive Director Diane Beaulieu. "If women actually see themselves in the story, they may be more likely to come forward."

She noted that "when women are being abused, very often they think they're the only ones — that it doesn't happen in somebody else's home," and so an approach like this could help victims.

"It's all about awareness, which is what [Halton Police] are trying to do, is to bring awareness to the issue and let people know it does happen in our community."

Police said along with non-identifying details of incidents, each media release will also include three "key messaging" points of information:

Reinforce that no one has the right to abuse another person.

Encourage victims and witnesses to contact the Halton Regional Police Service.

Provide a comprehensive list of community resources for those affected.

Police hope the new initiative will create an opportunity to connect those who are at-risk or who are already victims of intimate partner violence, with "the resources and support they need and deserve."

Hope is more women seek help

The Halton Women's Place would fall under one of those resources for support. It's a place where abused women and their dependent children are allowed to stay for up to 10 weeks.

Its beds — 52 in Halton, 22 in Milton and 30 in Burlington — are at "95 to 105 per cent capacity at all times, and those are the women that do come to the shelters," said Beaulieu.

However, Beaulieu says "so many [women] don't access services," and can be "dependent on their partners and not able to leave a situation."

Men were responsible for 83 per cent of police-reported violence committed against women, according to a report on gender violence by Statistics Canada released today. Most commonly, the accused was the woman's intimate partner.