Hiatus House director 'heartbroken' over case of IPV that claimed three lives

The executive director of Hiatus House says she's heartbroken to hear about another case of femicide in the region. 

Sylvie Guenther is reacting to the update provided by Ontario Provincial Police on Saturday regarding the cause of death of the Walsh family of four in Harrow. 

OPP determined that 41-year-old Carly Stannard-Walsh, 13-year-old Madison Walsh, and 8-year-old Hunter Walsh died of gunshot wounds. And that 42-year-old Steven Walsh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

OPP also stated in the update that through investigation they have determined this is a case of intimate partner violence.

The family was found dead in a home on County Road 13 on June 20 after OPP was called to the home for a well-being check.

Guenther says the reality of IPV is very real, and that it needs to be spoken about to bring more awareness to the issue. 

"Historically the message was the this happened at home, and we keep it at home, and we don't talk about it. But what we're trying to say is that we have to talk about it out loud and make it part of the conversation so that it's okay for us to say that this should not happen, that we don't accept it, and there are ways to get help."

She says she's heartbroken that children were involved as well.

"It's always so hard to see the children who are impacted, witnessing the violence at home, and here we have it where the kids got caught in that, and our heart goes out to the family that remains."

She says it's hard to see intimate partner violence happen in your own community.

"We think that they're happening somewhere else, it's not part of our world, but we saw the community in Harrow come together and this made it real. It is a reality, it is happening, and we know that only 20 per cent of women are reporting the violence at home so it is more commonplace then we think."

Guenther adds that Hiatus House offers a 24 hour crisis line for those impacted, or those who need assistance.

Nearly 100 municipalities across the province have declared IPV an epidemic, including Windsor, Tecumseh, Essex, Lakeshore, Kingsville, and Amherstburg.

Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky introduced Bill 173, the Intimate Partner Violence Act 2024, in April - which was debated and passed second reading with support from all parties. Gretzky wants the bill to move forward and wants the provincial government to officially declare IPV an epidemic. 

According to Windsor police, during the first five months of 2024, the service has received more than 1,200 calls related to intimate partner violence. Of those calls, 600 didn't result in charges, but 646 calls did.