WARNING: This story contains discussion of intimate partner violence.
One year after his 17-year-old daughter was killed by her boyfriend, Brett Broadfoot says he’s learned a lot about how gaps in the legal system are failing women and girls facing domestic violence.
“We have victims willing to step up and say what’s happened to them, and then be left wondering why their abuser is on the street waiting to go to court with no monitoring,” said the London, Ont., man.
He spoke to CBC News ahead of the one-year anniversary of Breanna’s killing and as new provincial police figures indicate a rise in the number of intimate violence cases.
Breanna Broadfoot, 17, died in hospital on July 18 — two days after she was stabbed in a case that police have linked to intimate partner violence. An 18-year-old was shot by police, who say he had confronted them with a knife, and later died in hospital.
Breanna’s dad said she had a peace bond against the man who killed her. The protection order, commonly used in cases of domestic violence and other criminal offences, puts specific conditions on defendants to prevent them from committing harm.
It didn’t help in Breanna’s case.
“Unfortunately, what happened to my daughter is exactly what happens to a lot of these women where they still don’t feel protected because the person that has abused them is left to be out on the streets, and that should not be happening,” he said.
“The reality is right now [alleged abusers] can do what they want and say, ‘Yes, I won’t communicate with this person or come near them,’ but who’s genuinely monitoring that?”
A CBC analysis of data from Ontario Provincial Police has found reports of intimate partner violence rose by 18.1 per cent in 2024: 6,289 compared to 5,326 in 2023, when there was a 13.5 per cent increase over 2022.
Last month, the Ontario New Democratic Party introduced another bill that would require the province to recognize intimate partner violence as an epidemic and create an “implementation committee” to review the 86 recommendations from the 2022 Renfrew County inquest. (A similar bill, 173, received two readings and was referred to the province’s justice committee last year, but the committee was dismantled amid February’s provincial election.)
The inquest followed the 2015 killings three women in the rural county. All were killed by the same man and on the same day. The recommendations provide a roadmap of systemic changes that could prevent domestic violence and femicide, and give oversight and accountability for perpetrators in the justice system and supports for survivors.
The bill passed its first reading and is expected to be revisited in the fall.
London West MPP Peggy Sattler is among its co-sponsors. She believes the declaration would allow the government to have more tools to address the issue.
“When you declare an epidemic, it enables the government to mobilize resources to implement policy changes, make investments and to engage in the co-ordination needed to address a serious public health emergency — and that’s what intimate partner violence is,” said Sattler.
“It has significant repercussions in our justice system, in our health-care system, and that’s why so many organizations and experts have been repeating that call.”
Sattler said an implementation committee would include both experts and politicians from different ministries who would report back to the Legislature, to create accountability for which recommendations are being enforced.
She also wants more investments in education and prevention, justice reform, affordable housing, and funding for shelters and agencies that help individuals fleeing abuse.
Sattler noted the province can make the declaration without a bill, pointing to provinces such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which have recognized intimate partner violence as an epidemic, along with 106 Ontario municipalities, including London.
Broadfoot believes the province declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic would be a good first step, but he also wants grassroots action.
Raising awareness about domestic violence keeps the family going as they cope with the grief of Breanna’s death, said Broadfoot, who has since joined the board of directors for the London Abused Women’s Centre.
“We continue to move forward and find the courage and strength to keep going each day, but there’s a piece that has been taken from us,” he said. “That grief will never go away, but it just comes in waves now.”
On Friday, the Broadfoots will host an event at Ed Blake Park to honour Breanna’s memory.
For anyone affected by family or intimate partner violence, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services. If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
In London, support is also available through Anova, Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services, London Abused Women’s Centre, Regional Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre, and Victim Services of Middlesex-London.
