Call 211: New Ontario help line aimed at helping men break cycle of intimate partner violence

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 04, 2025 12:31 PM EST | Last Updated: November 4

While women are predominately victims of intimate spouse unit successful Ontario, a caller assistance enactment aims to tackle the contented from the different broadside — by giving men enactment and resources to forestall abusive behaviour.

In Toronto, intimate spouse unit against women and girls has been steadily rising each twelvemonth since 2019, according to Statistics Canada. Last year, constabulary received 11,454 reports compared to 8,887 successful 2019. That aforesaid year, constabulary received conscionable implicit 3,000 reports from men and boys.

Men’s Counselling Link — offering men free, confidential counselling — officially launched Tuesday done 211 Ontario and Family Service Ontario, the FSO announced successful a quality release. The 24/7 telephone enactment connects men to nonrecreational counsellors to assistance them woody with anger, narration troubles oregon harmful behaviour “before it escalates into crisis.”

“We cognize men privation help, but determination is inactive a batch of shame astir asking for it. They request a spot that makes that inquire easy,” FSO CEO Susan Somogyi said successful the release.

“Men don’t person to beryllium successful situation to scope out," she said. "They conscionable request to privation to bash amended for themselves and their families.”

WATCH | Reports of intimate spouse unit up 18% successful 2024, OPP says:

Men’s Counselling Link professionals tin besides notation men to virtual oregon in-person counselling offered done FSO agencies, and link them with supports similar nutrient assistance, employment programs oregon income aid, according to the release.

The assistance enactment is funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, arsenic good arsenic the national authorities nether the nationalist enactment program to extremity gender-based violence.

New programme besides helps men interruption IPV cycle

At Catholic Children’s Aid Society (CCAS) of Toronto, Jeofry Bollers said a caller programme is taking a akin attack to intimate spouse violence, offering assistance to men who person been convulsive against their partners.

After a three-year pilot, the antheral engagement programme was officially launched successful September by CCAS and the Catholic Family Services of Toronto. The program, present partnered with Toronto Children’s Aid, works with men to interruption cycles of harm, Bollers said. Over 50 men person already enrolled, according to a CCAS release, and Bollers said they’ve been seeing results.

“We've had men truly and genuinely amusement remorse for a batch of the things that they did, and [take] accountability for their actions and behaviors. And they're striving to go amended versions of themselves,” helium told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Tuesday.

While resources similar structure abstraction for women and children experiencing gender-based, intimate spouse unit are limited, Bollers said investing successful helping men besides helps women who person been victimized.

WATCH | Ontario women fleeing IPV struggling to find shelter, housing:

Women successful abusive relationships often get backmost with their partners, Bollers said, particularly if they stock a child, truthful determination request to beryllium resources for some partners.

“If this concern with the begetter isn't addressed, the parent has services, but the begetter had nary supports, truthful he's coming backmost the nonstop aforesaid way,” helium said. “And it continues to perpetuate implicit and implicit again.”

The caller programme and provincial assistance enactment travel astatine the commencement of Canada's home unit consciousness month.

The Ontario authorities announced this period it volition walk conscionable implicit $26 cardinal implicit the adjacent 2 years to enactment survivors of gender-based violence. That includes backing for 300 structure sites crossed the state and strengthening the household tribunal enactment idiosyncratic program.

The Progressive Conservative authorities denied motions past twelvemonth to state intimate spouse unit an epidemic, though Doug Ford said astatine the clip helium had “zero tolerance” for it. The City of Toronto declared gender-based, intimate spouse unit an epidemic successful 2023.