Advocates for domestic abuse survivors calling it an ‘epidemic’ [Video]

Advocates for domestic abuse survivors say the deaths of an Edmonton woman and a Calgary mother and her father over the holidays shows domestic abuse is an “epidemic.”

On Dec. 29, a Calgary mother of three, Ania Kaminski and her father, Stanislaw Wardzala, were allegedly killed by her husband. Dozens of people attended the vigil on Friday outside of Ania’s home where she was found dead.

A day later in Edmonton, 43-year-old Ashely Burke’s body was found on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

On Sunday, Edmonton police arrested and charged 31-year-old Daniel Boothman with second-degree murder. Police say the two were “known to each other,” describing her death as an intimate partner homicide.

“We continue to push that it’s an epidemic, it’s something that is taking over so many people’s lives,” said Cat Champagne, executive director of Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.

Champagne says added stress and more …