Media Releases

For Immediate Release:

April 10, 2002
THE ASSAULTED WOMEN’S HELPLINE GOES PROVINCE WIDE

After 16 years of uninterrupted 24-hour, 7 days a week service to Toronto and the GTA, the Assaulted Women’s Helpline (AWHL) is now available to women in need across Ontario.

Last year, the Ministry of Community and Social Services granted the AWHL $4.5 million in provincial funding over a five year period to expand from a citywide service to the much needed province wide service it has become today.

“Supporting women who have been abused is a personal priority of mine, and a priority of our government,” said John Baird, Minister of Community and Social Services. “The $4.5 million in provincial funding to expand the Toronto based Assaulted Women’s Helpline, is another step in our campaign to eradicate violence against women.”

At a media conference to announce the expansion, Barbara Hall, former Toronto Mayor and MC of the event said, “The Assaulted Women's Help Line is more than just a telephone service; it has literally been a lifeline for many Toronto women. Its expansion province wide will save lives.”

Over the past year the AWHL has been consulting with its community partners and forging links with some 2000 agencies and support groups across Ontario. These are the shelters, rape crisis centres, housing agencies, legal services, counsellors, therapists, child protection agencies, anger management groups, police, hospitals, and other support groups to whom the AWHL refers people.

Every year the AWHL receives over 25,000 calls. With the province wide expansion we expect that number to at least double. Before the expansion, the Helpline was already receiving calls from outside of the GTA from places such as Timmins, Kingston, Ottawa, Lindsay, Sault Ste. Marie, Kapaskasing, and Barrie, among others. At that time the Helpline was not advertising the service outside of the GTA. The women represented by these crisis calls somehow found the AWHL on their own.

Speaking at the media conference, the woman known as Jane Doe said, “I didn't come here today to celebrate. It is no happy matter that the Assaulted Women's Helpline must expand to even begin to meet the needs for service for the one in four women who experience violence in our province. It is no happy matter that our shelters have waiting lists; our agencies are overrun and under funded. I came to continue the work to generate awareness and education as we provide services to those women.”

“Although there has been progress made in the last few decades in recognizing partner abuse as an equality rights issue, a criminal offence and public health epidemic, there are still many areas in this province that lack a comprehensive response system to women in immediate crisis,” said Beth Jordan, Director of Programs and Services at AWHL. “Many women continue to fall dangerously through the cracks because they lack access to critical help or information they need. This is particularly true for women who live in rural or isolated areas, northern women, women whose first language is not English, racialized women, lesbians, Bi-sexual and transgendered women, Aboriginal women and women with disabilities. It is time to provide the means for women to break the silence. Today, we are hoping to do just that!”

To prepare for the increased workload the Helpline has added extra phone lines and staff. At the end of the month a website will also go online at www.awhl.org. To get the word out to women across Ontario, radio and television public service announcements have been created and Beth Jordan will be visiting communities across Ontario spreading the word and toll free telephone numbers.

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