The Ottawa Police Service responded to 6,636 intimate partner violence (IPV) incidents in 2024, 89 more than in 2023. The incidents resulted in 3,355 charges, according to OPS data.
“ We pull data based on the information we have in our database. That’s entered by the officers on the scene or investigators,” said Melanie Winwood, senior advisor on violence against women at the OPS. “The partners and alleged offences are labeled so we know there is an intimate partner relationship.”
After collecting IPV data from 2024, Winwood compared it to previous years.
“The numbers confirmed there was a consistent increase because every year from 2021 they have been going up.”
On average, the OPS receives 18 calls per day related to intimate partner violence. Officials say this is symptomatic of Ottawa’s IPV “epidemic”.
“Violence against women and gender-based violence (GBV) is an epidemic which affects us all and we are hoping that by releasing this information, we can shed light on the realities facing women and girls in our communities,” Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson said in a Jan. 22 statement.
The “consistent increase” in IPV incidents has prompted police to dedicate more resources to combating the problem.
“The rise in IPV incidents has been recognized by our command team, who are working hard to provide the necessary increases in staffing,” said OPS inspector Peter Jupp. “More IPV requires more police officers, investigators and support staff.”
In 2024, 79 per cent of IPV victims in Ottawa were women. Advocates believe more needs to be done to support women and prevent intimate partner violence.
Intimate partner violence occurs “because we do almost nothing to stop it,” argues Irvin Waller, an emeritus professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa.
Waller advocates for more education surrounding IPV to prevent violence before it occurs. He also believes the OPS should increase the number of female officers. According to Waller, this will empower more women to report IPV incidents to police.
“ What’s most important is that intimate partner violence is not inevitable. It is very much preventable,” said Waller.
Notably, as highlighted in the Jan. 22 press release on rising rates of intimate partner violence, the OPS became “the first police service in Canada to use the term femicide to describe the killing of a woman or girl. There were three femicides in Ottawa last year.”
OPS said it’s implementing several initiatives in 2025 to “prioritize trauma-informed and victim-centered care when dealing with high risk and vulnerable victims,” including a new risk assessment tool for officers on patrol and improved language interpretation.
