Ottawa police call woman’s death a ‘femicide’ in 1st for department
The Ottawa Police Service is investigating the death of a longtime employee with the Royal Canadian Navy in what the police force on Monday called a “femicide” — the first time it has used the term.
A police statement identified the victim as 47-year-old Jennifer Zabarylo of Ottawa.
In a statement to Global News, the Department of National Defence confirmed the woman, who a spokesperson referred to as Jennifer Edmonds-Zabarylo, was a civilian employee of the department and “a longtime member of the Royal Canadian Navy headquarters team.”
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of her tragic death, and we are offering support to her family and colleagues,” the statement said.
A Linkedin page for Zabarylo said she worked as a business planner and comptroller for the navy, beginning in 2018.
Michael Zabarylo, 55, has been charged with second-degree murder and appeared in court Monday, police said.
The case is being considered a “femicide” — a term generally defined as the killing of a woman or girl based on their gender — as it “occurred in the context of intimate partner violence,” police said.
The exact nature of the relationship was not disclosed.
An OPS spokesperson told Global News the case marks the first time the force has used the term “femicide” to describe a homicide investigation.
The spokesperson said the term’s use stems from ongoing input from violence against women workers and advocates who regularly collaborate with police on their approach.
In 2022, while announcing the renaming of its partner assault unit to the intimate partner violence unit, then-interim police chief Steve Bell said the force would begin incorporating “the use of terms like femicide” in how it speaks about violence against women.
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