A new report (pdf) says that violence against women has been gradually increasing in Canada since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to findings, organizations that support survivors have found a 20 to 30 percent increase in violence against women in certain regions across Canada since the first lockdown was implemented in March.  Calls to police for domestic disturbances have also increased by 12 percent from March to June, the report says, citing the data from Statistic Canada. On top of that, shelters and anti-violence organizations reported that the increasing calls they received from women in need of help are getting more severe in terms of the violence and abuse.  For instance, in a recent national survey (pdf), when shelters were asked about the severity and types of violence encountered by the women they admitted, 16 percent of them expressed much more severe violence, 36 percent said somewhat more, and …