Campaign urges Kingston residents to ‘See It. Name It. Change It!’ in fight against intimate partner violence

New awareness effort calls on community to help stop abuse.

A coalition of Kingston-area organizations has launched a new educational campaign aimed at helping residents recognize and respond to intimate partner violence (IPV). The See It. Name It. Change It! campaign encourages people to identify harmful behaviours, name them, and take safe action to support victims.

Ruth Noordegraaf, the City’s Director of Community Development and Well-being explains that this campaign is important in order to create awareness.

The initiative brings together Kingston Frontenac Anti-Violence Coordinating Committee, Kingston Interval House, Resolve Counselling Services, Kingston Anti-Violence Advisory Council, Southeast Public Health, the City of Kingston and United Way KFL&A. The group formed in 2024 to address both IPV and gender-based violence across the region.

The campaign launch follows Kingston City Council’s 2023 declaration of IPV as an epidemic, joining 100 other Ontario municipalities. According to the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 43 femicides have been recorded in the province since November 26th, 2024.

Noordegraaf says they have been working on this campaign for the last two years.

Noordegraaf, says collective action is essential, noting that community awareness and intervention can help create a safer Kingston.

Local campaign materials feature photographs by Will O’Hare of community members—from an Elder to a paramedic to a Queen’s student—holding signs with the campaign slogan.

The campaign launches alongside the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, with images appearing on social media and digital displays across Kingston.

Story by Alyssa Brush