Six Maritimers killed by domestic violence in three months, raising urgent calls for action

Six lives have been lost to domestic violence across the Maritimes in the past three months, sparking renewed calls for intervention and preventive measures.

“It’s saddening,” said Ann de Ste Croix, executive director of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia. “It highlights the urgency of the situation.”

On New Year’s Eve in Halifax, Cora-Lee Smith and her father, Bradley Downey, were killed by Matthew Costain, who was in a relationship with Smith.

A week before, a woman was allegedly killed by her husband in Saint John, N.B., on Christmas Eve.

Three Nova Scotia women also died in separate incidents of intimate partner violence in Cole Harbour, Enfield and Yarmouth in the fall.

“We need to see substantial investments in prevention and intervention services. We need to see more wrap-around supports for victims and survivors, as well as their families,” said de Ste Croix.

Between 2018 and 2023, domestic violence increased by 13 per cent across Canada, with 78 per cent of victims being women. Psychologist Dayna Lee-Baggley said the barriers for victims include trauma, fear and systemic challenges.

“They’re doing what they need to survive. They’re already having to deal with trauma on a daily basis. They don’t have a lot of extra battery to figure out all these enormous changes that you have to do to leave a relationship,” Lee-Baggley said.

Experts believe these numbers are only part of the picture, as many victims never report their experiences.

“What we see in shelter and what’s reported to police is only the tip of the iceberg,” said de Ste Croix. “We estimate that about 70 per cent of cases here in the province aren’t reported.”

Sherry Hamby, a psychology of violence researcher, says one in 15 individuals leave their situation to seek shelter.

“Family is the number one way people get out of these relationships eventually or change these relationships for the better,” Hamby said.

Lee-Baggley said it falls on the victim to start fresh, from finding a new place to live, to figuring out their finances.

“The housing problems in Nova Scotia — and Canada in general — are a huge factor,” Lee-Baggley said. “It makes leaving abusive relationships even harder.”

“It’s always the victim that has to figure out how to leave. We need to rethink how we help people, how we reduce violence overall, and how we help both the perpetrators and the victims. Perpetrators are often victims in their own lives and have past histories of trauma as well.”

Advocates stress the scale of the issue requires immediate action to prevent more lives from being lost.