| It’s been 15 years this week since Marc Lepine murdered 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, galvanizing the Canadian public to take more action to combat violence against women.
Family violence experts in Calgary say there’s been a lot of progress made since 1989, but they add that there’s still a long way to go.
Josie Nepinak, executive director of the Awo Taan Native Women’s Shelter, says aboriginal women are often the highest users of shelters in many parts of Alberta and she estimates about 90 per cent of the women who come to her shelter are living in poverty and find it very difficult to move forward after leaving an abusive relationship.
Nepinak says she wishes that violence against aboriginal women garnered more media attention and concern from the general public.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada has estimated that there could be as many as 500 aboriginal women who are missing or have been murdered in the last 20 years.
"I’m concerned there is an indifference around issues facing aboriginal women," says Nepinak. She points to a recent Amnesty International report, which documented the cases of nine aboriginal women in Western Canada who have gone missing or have been murdered in recent years. The report stated that police didn’t properly investigate the cases and media coverage was often very limited. The report called on all levels of government to do more to address the root causes of violence against aboriginal women.
But Nepinak says there have been some positive provincial initiatives, such as a recent Round Table on Family Violence and Bullying, which included consultation from people across Alberta. The government has also published an action plan which Nepinak says is "very hopeful" because it is inclusive of aboriginal issues.
Leslie Tutty, a University of Calgary social work professor who has studied domestic violence for years, says Alberta has some "leading edge" programs dealing with violence against women and she says the "network of support is much broader than 10 years ago." As well, there’s more public awareness about the issue.
"I think December 6 was really important to raise the issue. It’s still the one day of the year that people reflect on violence against women," says Tutty.
She says a new family court, which is specifically geared to deal with domestic violence cases, is showing positive results. Recent statistics show that only seven per cent of the offenders who went through the court beat their partners again.
"It looks like it’s having a very positive impact," says Tutty.
However, Tutty says the government should be providing more core funding for women’s shelters and other service agencies for women. She says Calgary shelters are often full because there’s such a high demand.
"There are still high turn-away rates in Calgary," she says. "There still aren’t enough beds."
Poverty is also a serious issue, she says. "Women who go into shelters are often stuck with serious poverty issues. Some times they go back because they have no other housing options."
Tutty says little progress has been made in addressing the poverty battered women face. "What more women need is easy access into affordable and decent housing," she says. |
Copyright ©2004 FFWD. All rights reserved.