Domestic violence: shelters can no longer do it without "new money" from the government
MONTREAL — The Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale did not come out of its meeting Monday with the finance minister's office as part of the pre-budget consultations. With an increase in requests for services, but without "new money" for the past two years, the Regroupement is making a name for itself for women and children who need help.
"I would say that we are worried about the meeting we had," said Louise Riendeau, co-head of political files at the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. "We fear that because of the difficult budgetary situation, which we are being called a lot these days, that the needs of shelters, in fact the needs of women and children who are victims of domestic violence, will not be prioritized."
The envelope allocated to the shelters currently meets 75% of the needs of women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The Regroupement calculates that the shortfall amounts to $57.7 million for all homes.
"We felt that people were being listened to," adds Ms. Riendeau, "but we were also told that it's a lot of money and why would we prioritize domestic violence over other social problems? "We were able to explain that if we don't support women who are victims of domestic violence, we risk paying later because they will develop physical and mental health problems and the children may have problems adjusting to school."
Shelters for women victims of domestic violence are unable to meet the demand in Quebec. The Regroupement points out that the average occupancy rate in accommodation was 98% in 2023-2024. He is concerned that there are now waiting lists to receive consultation and support services outside of accommodation.
Outpatient services are offered to women who do not need shelter or those who are waiting for a place in shelter. These services can take the form of a consultation with a counsellor to understand domestic violence, how to stop it and establish protection scenarios. "There are 45% of our member houses now that have waiting lists," said Annick Brazeau, president of the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale.
Women currently wait an average of nine weeks before having a meeting, and in some regions, it exceeds three months. "That's problematic because a woman who wants to put an end to domestic violence, it's now that she needs help, it's now that she wants to find solutions and get out of it. This is the moment, this is the momentum to take before your spouse goes into the dynamic of violence, grabs in his nets and changes his trajectory a little to maybe put an end to the violence," explains Ms. Brazeau.
She still asks women who need help not to hesitate to contact resources, because they will always be taken care of and depending on the case, emergency services can be deployed immediately.
Calls for help are skyrocketing
Thanks to the actions taken in recent years in the fight against domestic violence, more women are daring to ask for help. Over the past five years, SOS violence conjugale has seen a 109% increase in requests for housing. The demand for external services has doubled in four years in the network.
"51% of calls [to SOS violence conjugale] ended in refusals. At Maison Prélude alone, 73% of our requests were refused last year. It's huge," says Mélanie Guénette, executive director of Maison Le Prélude in Laval. And every time we pick up the phone and we are forced to refuse, we are afraid to find the name of this woman the next day on the front page of the newspapers because we were not able to offer her the services she needed."
The Regroupement says "it's time" for the Coalition Avenir Québec government to "adjust the service capacities of the houses."
"Right now, the house managers, what they tell us is: 'If we don't have more money, to respect the salary scales, we will be forced to cut services. It doesn't make sense, we already have waiting lists," warns Ms. Riendeau.
The money requested from the government would be used to offer more external services to meet the growing demand. This would be useful, for example, to help allophone women find housing or to support women in their legal proceedings at the Specialized Court for Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence.
"The shortfall is increasing year after year," says Ms. Riendeau. There have been investments, but unfortunately, it has not been enough to meet all the needs. At the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the indexation of subsidies is not sufficient to avoid losing purchasing power."
Deaf ear to the government
In a statement issued Monday, the Regroupement criticized the inaction of the minister responsible for social services, Lionnel Carment, saying that repeated requests to work with him on financial solutions "have not been echoed for a year."
The Regroupement says it has collected more than 160 letters from partners across the province supporting the houses in their funding applications. These include municipalities, elementary and secondary schools, workplaces, CEGEPs and universities.
In its efforts to make the government hear, the Regroupement received 420 greeting cards made in the homes by women and children housed as well as by workers and members of the Board of Directors. These cards are addressed to ministers Lionel Carmant, Martine Biron and Eric Girard, to "testify to the importance of houses in the trajectory of women and children, and the risks of underinvesting in services."
The Canadian Press' health content is getting funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.
"I would say that we are worried about the meeting we had," said Louise Riendeau, co-head of political files at the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. "We fear that because of the difficult budgetary situation, which we are being called a lot these days, that the needs of shelters, in fact the needs of women and children who are victims of domestic violence, will not be prioritized."
The envelope allocated to the shelters currently meets 75% of the needs of women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The Regroupement calculates that the shortfall amounts to $57.7 million for all homes.
"We felt that people were being listened to," adds Ms. Riendeau, "but we were also told that it's a lot of money and why would we prioritize domestic violence over other social problems? "We were able to explain that if we don't support women who are victims of domestic violence, we risk paying later because they will develop physical and mental health problems and the children may have problems adjusting to school."
Shelters for women victims of domestic violence are unable to meet the demand in Quebec. The Regroupement points out that the average occupancy rate in accommodation was 98% in 2023-2024. He is concerned that there are now waiting lists to receive consultation and support services outside of accommodation.
Outpatient services are offered to women who do not need shelter or those who are waiting for a place in shelter. These services can take the form of a consultation with a counsellor to understand domestic violence, how to stop it and establish protection scenarios. "There are 45% of our member houses now that have waiting lists," said Annick Brazeau, president of the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale.
Women currently wait an average of nine weeks before having a meeting, and in some regions, it exceeds three months. "That's problematic because a woman who wants to put an end to domestic violence, it's now that she needs help, it's now that she wants to find solutions and get out of it. This is the moment, this is the momentum to take before your spouse goes into the dynamic of violence, grabs in his nets and changes his trajectory a little to maybe put an end to the violence," explains Ms. Brazeau.
She still asks women who need help not to hesitate to contact resources, because they will always be taken care of and depending on the case, emergency services can be deployed immediately.
Calls for help are skyrocketing
Thanks to the actions taken in recent years in the fight against domestic violence, more women are daring to ask for help. Over the past five years, SOS violence conjugale has seen a 109% increase in requests for housing. The demand for external services has doubled in four years in the network.
"51% of calls [to SOS violence conjugale] ended in refusals. At Maison Prélude alone, 73% of our requests were refused last year. It's huge," says Mélanie Guénette, executive director of Maison Le Prélude in Laval. And every time we pick up the phone and we are forced to refuse, we are afraid to find the name of this woman the next day on the front page of the newspapers because we were not able to offer her the services she needed."
The Regroupement says "it's time" for the Coalition Avenir Québec government to "adjust the service capacities of the houses."
"Right now, the house managers, what they tell us is: 'If we don't have more money, to respect the salary scales, we will be forced to cut services. It doesn't make sense, we already have waiting lists," warns Ms. Riendeau.
The money requested from the government would be used to offer more external services to meet the growing demand. This would be useful, for example, to help allophone women find housing or to support women in their legal proceedings at the Specialized Court for Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence.
"The shortfall is increasing year after year," says Ms. Riendeau. There have been investments, but unfortunately, it has not been enough to meet all the needs. At the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the indexation of subsidies is not sufficient to avoid losing purchasing power."
Deaf ear to the government
In a statement issued Monday, the Regroupement criticized the inaction of the minister responsible for social services, Lionnel Carment, saying that repeated requests to work with him on financial solutions "have not been echoed for a year."
The Regroupement says it has collected more than 160 letters from partners across the province supporting the houses in their funding applications. These include municipalities, elementary and secondary schools, workplaces, CEGEPs and universities.
In its efforts to make the government hear, the Regroupement received 420 greeting cards made in the homes by women and children housed as well as by workers and members of the Board of Directors. These cards are addressed to ministers Lionel Carmant, Martine Biron and Eric Girard, to "testify to the importance of houses in the trajectory of women and children, and the risks of underinvesting in services."
The Canadian Press' health content is getting funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for editorial choices.
