MYTH: You can always tell who's abusive. Many people who abuse are charming, well-liked, and helpful in public. That's often exactly why survivors aren't believed. Abuse is about what happens behind closed doors, not how someone seems at the barbecue. #AWHL #EndGBV,

Can't talk out loud? You can text. AWHL's text line: #SAFE (#7233). Phone and TTY support are available too — free, anonymous, confidential, in 200+ languages. 📞 1-866-863-0511 | TTY: 1-866-863-7868 | Text #SAFE (#7233) #AWHL,

Good news for Canadian crisis lines. 💜 As part of the next phase of the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, the federal government has committed $31 million over five years — and $6.2 million ongoing — to support crisis hotlines. For many survivors, a crisis line is the first door they knock on. Keeping it open matters. #AWHL #EndGBV,

44%. That's the share of women in Canada who have ever had a partner and report experiencing psychological, physical, or sexual violence in an intimate relationship in their lifetime. (Statistics Canada) Nearly half. Not a rare exception — a pattern. #AWHL #EndGBV,

Women's History Month celebrates the women who broke barriers. It should also make us look at the barriers still standing. A woman trying to leave abuse today still faces legal costs, custody battles, and a rental market she can't afford on one income. History is still being written. #AWHL #WomensHistoryMonth,

Ontario workers experiencing domestic violence can take up to 10 days of leave a year. Only the first 5 are paid. Leaving costs money: moving, legal help, time off for court. Five paid days is a start — not a solution. #AWHL #EndGBV,

MYTH: If there are no bruises, it isn't abuse. Isolation. Monitoring. Controlling money. Constant threats. Coercive control leaves no marks — and it is now a criminal offence in Canada. #AWHL #CoerciveControl,

If you are experiencing abuse — or if you're not sure what you're experiencing — you don't have to figure it out alone. AWHL is here 24/7. Free. Anonymous. Confidential. In 200+ languages. 📞 1-866-863-0511 | TTY: 1-866-863-7868 | Text #SAFE (#7233) #AWHL,

Something to celebrate.

On average, an intimate partner homicide occurs in Canada every six days. (Canadian Femicide Observatory) This is not an abstraction. It is a woman, a name, a community. Naming the frequency is how we keep the urgency from fading into statistics. #AWHL #EndFemicide,

We talk about "getting a restraining order" like it's the end of the story. For many survivors, it's the beginning of a new kind of waiting — for a system to respond consistently to violations that were supposed to be illegal the moment the order was signed. #AWHL #EndGBV,

Ontario's shelters remain at or near capacity most nights of the year. Protection orders are issued regularly. Enforcement resources have not scaled with them. A policy without the resourcing to back it up is a promise, not a protection. #AWHL #WomensRights,

"A restraining order means she's safe now." A protection order is a legal document. It is not a physical barrier. Enforcement requires resourced, trained, responsive police services — which survivors across Canada report is inconsistent at best. Paper protects only as much as the system behind it enforces. #AWHL #EndGBV

Canada changed the law, and it matters. 💜 The Protecting Victims Act became law in June, and most of its changes took effect in July. Among them: 💜 Coercive control in an intimate relationship is now a criminal offence 💜 Criminal harassment protections are stronger, and threatening to share intimate images, including deepfakes, is now a crime 💜 Femicide is now treated as first-degree murder, the most serious homicide charge in Canada Why it matters: for years, the legal system mostly looked at abuse one incident at a time. Survivors have always known it's often a pattern of control, threats, isolation and fear that builds over time. The law is now starting to recognize that too. If something in your relationship feels controlling, you don't need to be sure it "counts" to reach out. We can talk it through with you, whether or not you ever choose to involve police. 24/7. Free. Anonymous. Confidential. In 200+ languages. 📞 1-866-863-0511 TTY: 1-866-863-7868 Text #SAFE (#7233) 🌐 awhl.org #AWHL #CoerciveControl, #ProtectingVictimsAct, #EndGBV, #Femicide, #Ontario,

If you are experiencing abuse — or if you're not sure what you're experiencing — you don't have to figure it out alone. AWHL is here 24/7. Free. Anonymous. Confidential. In 200+ languages. 📞 1-866-863-0511 | TTY: 1-866-863-7868 | Text #SAFE (#7233) #AWHL,

Progress in gender equality is measurable. The UN reports that 99 positive legal reforms affecting women's rights were implemented worldwide between 2019 and 2024. Progress on gender-based violence isn't only a Canadian project. It's a global one — and it's moving, country by country, law by law. #AWHL,

October is Women's History Month in Canada. The legal protections survivors rely on today — the right to be heard in court, to be recognized as a full person under the law, to seek protection — were built by women who fought for them across generations. We name them because their work isn't finished. Ours continues it. #AWHL #WomensHistoryMonth,

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Indigenous women in Canada experience gender-based violence at rates far higher than non-Indigenous women — a direct, documented legacy of colonization. Reconciliation and the safety of Indigenous women are the same project. Every child matters. Every day. #OrangeShirtDay #TruthAndReconciliation,

Ontario's shelters report being at or near capacity in most regions, most nights of the year. A woman ready to leave tonight may be told there is no bed available. Safety should not be contingent on shelter capacity. This is an infrastructure problem, not an individual one. #AWHL #WomensRights,

"Real victims leave immediately." The average survivor leaves and returns to an abusive relationship multiple times before leaving permanently. This is not indecision. It is the result of financial barriers, safety planning, housing scarcity, and the well-documented danger spike that occurs at separation. #AWHL #EndGBV,