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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,S eptem ber 24,2020 w aterloochronicle.ca Crossword & SudokuAnswers ROB DEUTSCHMANN We will help you: 1. Determine the best course of action to take care of your income and healthcare needs now and in the future. 2. Obtain all medical and rehabilitation benefits to assist with your recovery. 3. File an appropriate claim. 4. Stay informed about your case every step of the way. With more than 20 years of experience,Deutschmann Law isoneofWaterlooRegion's fore- most personal injury law firms. We are also a proud member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and Injury Lawyers of Ontario. If your ability to work and enjoy life has been impacted by an injury from an accident, you don't have to face it alone! Deutschmann Law Professional Corporation • This article is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute any legal, medical, financial, or other professional advice. Ask the Expert My insurance company has a private investigator following me; can they do that? PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR FOLLOWING Q 519-742-7774 • www.deutschmannLAW.com A Insurance companies often hire outside companies to follow, photograph and videotape people who make insurance claims. They also search your social media accounts. They could even access personal information from tracking devices. The insurer does this to ensure that you are disabled as you have reported and to minimize fraudulent claims. That is why being honest and open with your doctors, specialists, and the insurance company is very important. For many victims, this surveillance is one of the most offensive aspects of an insurance claim. While this surveillance can be powerful, the courts have noted that this surveillance does not show pain; it does not show what one suffers away from the camera. Video surveillance is legal. Most investigative companies obey the law and do not engage in any action that could be considered trespassing or an invasion of your privacy. If at any time however, you feel in danger, you should contact the police. "We're not moving the needle ahead a whole lot," says Jen Hutton, ex- ecutive director of Wom- en's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, point- ing to StatsCan findings that show domestic vio- lence rates have risen by about 30 per cent in Cana- da during the COVID-19 pandemic. The "She Is Your Neighbour" campaign by Women's Crisis Services started the discussion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, with a series of personal sto- ries penned by many well-known local celebri- ties and community fig- ureheads. It was awarded best marketing campaign at the Cambridge and North Dumfries Commu- nity Awards and ulti- mately aimed to bring the discussion out from be- hind closed doors - mak- ing the issue real by showing that no one is immune to domestic vio- lence, said Jenna Mayne, communications and fund development man- ager for the non-profit or- ganization. "I think awareness is growing," Hutton said. Unfortunately, so are the number of calls to po- lice. On average, the Water- loo Regional Police Ser- vice says it responds to a domestic dispute call ev- ery 1.5 hours - about 18 do- mestic dispute calls per day. According to domestic violence unit Staff Sgt. Terri Turner, August had the second-highest num- ber of domestic calls on record for the police ser- vice, at 584 for the month. (The previous high was July 2017, when police re- sponded to 603.) Investigators believe the pandemic is playing a role. Out of the 584 calls to regional police in Au- gust, 132 of them resulted in 391 charges being laid. The increase in calls coincided with the re- opening of businesses and services following the lockdown in the spring that resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of women using the shelter service oper- ated by Women's Crisis Services. The number de- creased anywhere from 40 to 60 per cent occupan- cy during the worst part of the pandemic, which is unheard of, Hutton said. "We're usually full or close to full," Hutton said. There was a period of time from April to May where there was an in- crease in the number of "femicides" that would not have been typical, Hutton said. "Obviously, that's the worst possible scenario." According to Hutton, the number of domestic violence incidents went up as people started to come out of their homes. "Phase 2, we started to see more and more wom- en reaching out. We saw our shelter beds getting more filled up and Phase 3, or pretty shortly after that, we were full again," she said. "We've talked about this concept of 'She Is Your Neighbour' since last year's launch over a year ago and I think it re- ally has come to light with the pandemic. We've seen more coverage on domestic violence than ever and more realiza- tion that people need to look out for one another." With what many are calling a second wave of COVID-19 already under- way, it's even more im- portant, Hutton said, as the "perfect storm of iso- lation" could happen again, with mental health already on the de- cline and a tendency to be cooped up during the winter months with a pandemic prevailing. "For women who can't reach out, we're really counting on friends, fam- ilies and neighbours to do that for them," she said. "Our biggest message is we can't do this alone. Everyone has a role to play." The weekly podcast series, which launched last week, features guests from the region and sur- rounding areas, includ- ing Emily O'Brien, an ex- con and founder of Come- back Snacks, who talks about domestic violence, the drug trade and a life- changing experience that landed her in the Grand Valley Institution for Women, and Ashleigh Weeden, a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph, who will discuss gendered violence and COVID-19. The "She Is Your Neighbour" podcast is available on Spotify, Ap- ple Podcasts, Google Pod- casts and more. It is also available through the WCSWR website. -- With files from re- porter Bill Doucet and the Cambridge Times. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Women's Crisis Services has launched the second part of its "She Is Your Neighbour" cam- paign, focused on domes- tic violence at a time when rates are on the rise due to social isolation caused by COVID-19. NEWS Continued from page 1 'OUR BIGGEST MESSAGE IS WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE'