On January 3, 2018, the CBC published an opinion piece, “Victims of domestic violence often delay or avoid leaving their abuser due to fears of pets being harmed,” authored by Jessica Scott-Reid.

The Canadian Centre for Men and Families wishes to applaud Interval House of Ottawa and the other seven women’s shelters that have established the infrastructure necessary to accept endangered animals into their facilities. This is a very important step forward as it will guarantee more women are able to access the safety they need.

On December 31st, 2017, our organization completed a successful fundraising campaign to open Toronto’s first family shelter for male victims of domestic violence and their children. We believe all those who suffer or are at risk of suffering abuse and violence deserve support, whether they are women, men, children or animals.

We are proud to join with Interval house and other agencies in working together to close those gaps that currently exist and to identify any and all barriers that impede people from getting the support they need. Just as many women stay in abusive situations out of fear of leaving behind their pets, many men stay in abusive situations out of fear of leaving behind their children, because there are no family shelters for fathers with children who may be fleeing domestic violence.

We are working toward offering men and their families an alternative that approximates the long existing domestic violence shelters operated for women, children and their pets. CCMF has been receiving incredible support from women’s shelters and other victims support agencies as we embark on our unique initiative and we look forward to a day when no human or animal is at risk of abuse.