As she left her message, he was apparently in court facing charges of assault with a weapon. She claims the crown didn't even call her to get her side of the story; to find out how scared she was and what she believes he will do to her if he is allowed to walk.
She talked fast, like someone does when they are working on pure adrenaline and not really thinking straight, just going through the motions of doing whatever they can to survive.
I couldn't quite make out her name and she didn't leave a number but her message haunts me and I, too, believe that her life is in danger.
How can I not? The overwhelming evidence screams at us every day in Canada, as another woman is killed by her intimate male partner. Many had the courage to call police and report the abuse and/or leave, just before they were murdered. In fact, statistics tell us that women are at most risk of being murdered shortly after they leave their partner.
According to the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH), which gleans information from media reports, in 2006, at least 24 Ontario women were killed by their partner in Ontario. Some of them had contacted police and expected - as we all do - that Ontario's legal system would protect them from their abuser.
Women like Cindy MacDonald, 29, of London, who was found with a knife through her chest in June. Her boyfriend was charged with second-degree murder. He was out on bail with a no-contact bail condition ordered in April after he was released on a charge of uttering a death threat against the woman.
Thirty-five-year-old Gwendolyn Pilgrim of Toronto was found strangled to death in her basement apartment, in June, after her boyfriend turned himself into police. He was charged with second-degree murder. The man had been charged in March with possession of a dangerous weapon and released on bail with conditions to stay away from her but he moved in with her again after he was charged.
Again, in June, Kathy Rajher, 66, of Hamilton was stabbed to death by her husband who then hanged himself. Several weeks before the murder-suicide, she had reportedly said she wanted a divorce and the couple's house had been put on the market. The media reported that police had visited the home a number of times and the woman had taken refuge at a women's shelter.
Eleven children were also killed by their father's or mother's partners in 2006 - the youngest being five-month-old Ian Chau who was stabbed to death, along with his mother and three-year-old sister. His father was arrested at the scene and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
These victims are women and children who live in Ontario - they could very easily be your friends, sisters or neighbours.
November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month and although the month is far from over, at least two women and one child have already been killed in Ontario. Women and men need to work toward changing these alarming statistics. Nov. 25 is the International Day Against Violence Against Women and the start of 16 days of activism against gender violence.
Just as my phone message illustrates, this area is not immune to domestic violence. In this community, there are women who are beaten and threatened every day, just as there are in every other community across Simcoe County. Tragically, many people turn their backs on the victims and don't want to get involved in a 'family' issue.
