By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Peel Committee Against Women Abuse (PCAWA) has shared the 2024 release of their third Peel Regional Snapshot.

This Snapshot is a resource PCAWA uses annually to share data and trends related to gender-based violence in the Region of Peel. 

Founded in 1984, PCAWA is a cross-sectoral community collaborative of community members and organizations in Peel that have a shared goal of ending gender-based violence.

PCAWA shares that the snapshot serves as a key resource for them as they continue their advocacy efforts to raise awareness of the issue of gender-based violence in Peel.

In their media release, they stated the Peel Regional Snapshot is based on the model developed by Building A Bigger Wave, the coordinating body for the Violence Against Women Coordinating Committees (VAWCC) in the province of Ontario.

These snapshots are developed as an advocacy and education tool for both government officials and the wider community. 

In 2024, they noted 14,432 survivors who accessed community support services through a PCAWA partner agency, up from 13,933 in their 2023 snapshot.

There were 26,506 crisis calls and self-referrals for support from survivors, compared to 3,132 in 2023.

When it comes to policing and justice in their Snapshot, there were 445 incidents reported of sexual violence and 10,155 incidents reported of intimate-partner violence.

Region of Peel 2024 Point in Time (PiT) Count Results showed 2,799 individuals experiencing homelessness, a 223 per cent increase in overall homelessness in Peel compared to 2021 PiT

Count when asylum claimants are included.

27 per cent of women experiencing housing loss report it being due to conflict or abuse with a partner/spouse or parent/guardian, according to the Snapshot.

Additionally, 7,274 children were referred to Peel CAS who were exposed to intimate partner violence.

32,329 households in Peel are on the Centralized Wait List for Subsidized Housing, a 12 per cent increase since 2022 and a 32 per cent increase since 2020.

The snapshot, they said, demonstrates the “broad range of systems that survivors encounter and are impacted by, and why community coordination is essential in meaningfully supporting survivors and ending gender-based violence.”