Grieving father fights for changes to prevent intimate partner violence

'It's any parent's worst nightmare' The father of a London woman killed in July is demanding intimate partner violence be declared an epidemic. Bryan Bicknell reports.

Four months after his daughter was killed in a violent incident in a London, Ont. home, a grieving father is calling for legislation to prevent more such tragedies.

“The last few months have been nothing more than a living hell, it’s any parent’s worst nightmare,” said Dan Jennings.

A former Londoner who now lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Jennings decided to join the fight after a shooting in Sault Ste. Marie last week claimed the lives of 41-year-old Angie Sweeney and three children.

Jennings joined Angie Sweeney’s father, Brian Sweeney, in speaking at Sault City Council this week as the northern city became the latest municipality to declare intimate partner violence an epidemic.

On July 5, 2023, Jennings’ own daughter, 22-year-old Caitlin Jennings, was killed during a violent incident involving her partner at a home on Kingsway Avenue in London.

“I called her my millennium baby,” he said. “This year she should have been 23 in the year 2023. She only made it to the beginning of July, not August 23 where she actually would have turned 23. She had her whole life ahead of her.”

In the weeks following the death of Caitlin Jennings, the City of London declared intimate partner violence and femicide an epidemic. The city also wants femicide to be an offence under the Criminal Code.

Jennifer Dunn, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, said federal and provincial recognition would encourage more women to seek help.

She said it could also lead to prevention programs, “…instead of always reacting to things. And so men and boys need to do better as well. We need to see men and boys coming together to support issues like this too, and that’s what we’re seeing out of London and Sault Ste. Marie. We have two fathers who have lost their daughters, and they’re pushing for these types of things to happen too.”

Jennings meanwhile said he’ll keep pushing for legislation that will put a stop to an “epidemic” that robs families of loved ones.

“There has to be changes made. There shouldn’t be more Angies, there shouldn’t be more Caitlins going forward. And that’s why we are pressing forward for a movement to make change at the provincial and at the federal level,” he said.