Rural Manitoba holds the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of intimate partner violence in Canada, where the domestic-related homicide rate is 10 times higher than urban areas, according to data compiled by the Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse committee (RESOLVE).
Manitoba had the second-highest rates of police-reported intimate partner and family violence among Canadian provinces in 2022, Statistics Canada data shows.
Manitoba’s intimate partner violence rate was 633 victims per 100,000 people, up from 476 in 2014. The province’s family violence rate increased to 585 in 2022 from 453 in 2014.
Rural Manitoba communities have accounted for two other horrific slayings attributed to intimate partner violence this year.
Ryan Howard Manoakeesick, 29, is accused of five counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his partner Amanda Clearwater, her children and niece in and around Carman in February.
In August, 41-year-old David Glover was found on a rural road near McCreary with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Glover was later found to be responsible for the murder of his former common-law wife’s parents and brother.
The staggering numbers have prompted advocates and experts to call for more supports in rural areas.
Agape House, a women’s shelter serving Steinbach and the surrounding region, experienced a 70 per cent spike in overnight stays between June 1 and Sept. 1 compared to the same period last year. There were 430 adult overnight stays, 479 by children and 274 crisis calls.
Executive director Tracy Whitby says rural communities are facing rising mental health and addictions problems and a lack of housing for victims.
“We want people knowing there’s help available but we need the support after that,” she said.
Kendra Nixon, a professor in the faculty of social work at the U of M, attributes the statistics to a host of social elements, such as keeping the location of women’s shelters private, a higher rate of gun ownership in rural areas, animal and child care concerns and small-town gossip.
“Some people think (domestic violence) is a private issue and people should keep it to themselves,” she said. “You don’t want to say what’s happening to a therapist or a police officer and then risk seeing them at the grocery store.”
Geographically, most neighbours can’t hear or see violence happening and victims can’t run to a nearby home to escape abusers, Nixon said.
“They’re not close to services, or services might not even exist” she said.
Funding tends to be an issue for shelters looking to set up in rural communities, as well as employee retention, she said.
Whitby is looking for a program such as Manitoba Justice victim services to be available through the RCMP in rural areas experiencing increased rates of violence. Nixon, who also works with RESOLVE, has called on the prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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