The shortage of emergency housing for homeless women in Toronto is linked to the suicides of four women over four months.
Suicides by 4 women linked to lack of space at emergency shelters
Lecker, Sheri. Suicides by 4 women linked to lack of space at emergency shelters. The Globe and Mail, pg 5. December 21, 1981.
Focused on breaking the cycle of abuse through intervention and support, in 1980, Interval House creates a Children’s Program in the shelter. To replace unhealthy perspectives with more constructive ones, Interval House counsellors first work to build trust with the children individually and in a group setting.
On April 11, 1980, Barbra Schlifer, 33, celebrated her graduation and admittance to the Bar of Ontario with parents and friends before heading home to her Toronto apartment. That evening, Barbra was sexually assaulted and murdered in the stairway leading to her apartment unit. Her senseless death sent shock waves through Toronto and across the country. In response, 600 women marched along Queen Street demanding safer streets for women in Toronto’s first Take Back the Night protest to end violence against women.
Take Back the Night
Shameless Magazine
Credits/Citation
Photograph: Levenston, Anne; “For women only.” The Toronto Star, Sept. 13, 1985
Interval House is grateful for the Toronto Star’s licensing support for the imagery and articles in this timeline. Further reproduction is prohibited without the Toronto Star’s permission.
Contact: syndicate@torstar.com
The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women publishes “Wife Battering in Canada: The Vicious Circle” by Linda McLeod paving the way for a damning 1993 report of the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women.
Wife Battering in Canada: The Vicious Circle
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
From “a family affair” and “runaway wives,” the headlines started to reflect the real stories, realities and dangers of domestic violence.