The Ontario Rural Woman Abuse Study (ORWAS), final report
- 5.1 Improving Community Responses and Attitudes about Wife Abuse
- 5.2 Improving the Criminal Justice System
- 5.3 Improving Social Services
- 5.4 Improving Medical, Health and Mental Health Services
- 5.5 Suggestions for Women Currently Living with Abuse
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Interview and focus group participants made insightful recommendations and suggestions for making necessary changes in relation to the handling of cases of woman abuse in rural areas.
5.1 Improving Community Responses and Attitudes about Wife Abuse
All communities agreed that more public education is needed on the issue of woman abuse. Several made the point that this education should include forms of abuse other than physical abuse. One community recommended that a person be hired specifically to do awareness / prevention work within the community. (Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry report)
“It’s so public, we need to educate our community around the whole gamut of what constitutes abuse, not just the black eye but the years of wearing down … ” (Oxford County survivor)
“So I think that perhaps a good solution would be if society at large is really informed.” (Espanola focus group)
It was suggested that the community needs to make a public statement and commitment that woman abuse will not be tolerated. One community recommended that domestic abuse statistics be publicised in the local papers. (Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry report)
“As a community we need to pull together and take a stand, and say, ‘Yes, it [abuse] is happening and, no, we don’t want it, and we won’t put up with it’.” (Vermilion Bay service provider)
“If you put up a poster, it says this community thinks about this issue, knows about it and can talk about it. And that will increase women’s ability to speak - to break the silence privately.” (Grey-Bruce key informant)
Several communities addressed the problem of close-mindedness in their town. There was a general feeling that communities limit women’s options by stigmatising victims of abuse. Residents must become more open-minded.
“It’s like on the one hand she gets blasted for staying, you know … ‘why don’t you leave?’ and on the other hand as soon as she’s out there and has to ask for assistance of any sort, or she tells her story one too many times … she gets blamed.” (Oxford County survivor)
“ … we’re taught from a very early age to believe that families are safe and happy places. So when a woman comes to you and tells you that her family is unbelievably unsafe and unhappy, the structure of our belief system is to disbelieve her … Sometimes you disbelieve her to protect yourself.” (Grey-Bruce key informant)
The church must speak more honestly about woman abuse. It was suggested that the clergy needs to be re-educated about domestic abuse and that churches should offer workshops or seminars structured so that congregations could learn to deal with abusive situations in their midst.
“When you speak in the church about domestic assault, you say to every woman sitting in that congregation, ‘I’m a person you can talk to privately about these issues because I get it and I’ll believe you’.” (Grey-Bruce key informant)
Several communities spoke of the need for community members to have or develop a sense of individual responsibility for women who are victims of abuse.
“The general public should be sensitive to the issue of abuse because there is a significant chance that someday someone could turn to you when they are taking their first steps of leaving their abuser.” (Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry report)
“ … why it is so important to get over this feeling [of reluctance] to go and say something. If you see the signs of abuse … you’d better go and tell this person, because, look, it took me well over fifteen years to decide that my relationship was truly abusive.” (Espanola survivor)
A couple of communities recommended that men become more involved in anti-violence work to demonstrate to other men that “this is not just a women’s issue
.” (Oxford County community focus group)
Every community recommended that woman abuse education begin in the schools. Several community members suggested that children should be made aware of woman abuse at an early age. Others suggested that it should become part of the school curriculum.
“I don’t know if the right word is ‘mandatory’, but they should start it in the schools before kids are even in relationships. So males and females can recognise and watch for the signs.” (Grey-Bruce survivor)
“Young and old should develop a zero-tolerance attitude in this community.” (Oxford County Community Report)
More effort is required in the co-ordination of social services.
“ … Where services are lacking in the area and the co-ordination of services is lacking. There is less understanding among the services, and with the employees of the services. There is no consistency with what resources are offered.” (Vermilion Bay service providers)
Information about services needs to be more readily available.
“Having information more available in grocery stores and video shops … would have helped. Yeah.” (Grey-Bruce survivor)
“[a flyer in the newspaper] … you know, a couple of times a year or something with special numbers on it.” (Cochrane survivor)
5.2 Improving the Criminal Justice System
5.2.1 Police Practices
The most frequent recommendation was more training for police in the area of woman abuse. This included mandatory refresher courses and training for all police forces, including small town police.
“I think they should be educated properly on it, and I also think they should be reprimanded if they say anything snide or sarcastic.” (Grey-Bruce survivor)
Police policy should be to consistently remove the abuser from the home rather than the women and children.
Police need to adopt a policy of zero tolerance of woman abuse, and then enforce it consistently to earn the trust of the community.
Whenever possible, quicker response times to domestic violence are needed.
More female officers are needed to respond to domestic calls.
Police should develop a protocol with other agencies such as shelters, CAS and hospitals for a more co-ordinated response to abused women.
Officers should be encouraged to provide women victims with information about other services available to them in the area.
5.2.2 Consistent Sanctions
Overwhelmingly, communities requested that the courts take woman abuse more seriously. Suggestions included the need for consistent sentences and mandatory counselling for the abuser while he is in custody.
“Implement zero tolerance, as in drinking and driving. If these abusers did to a stranger what they did to us, the courts would treat it differently. Why does living together make it okay?” (Espanola survivor)
5.2.3 Court Practices
It was recommended that someone in the court offices should play a key role in contacting the woman before the hearing and keeping her informed throughout the process.
The court process is often long and confusing. If at all possible, the process should be accelerated.
Participants also recommended that the courts formally recognise emotional and psychological abuse as criminal behaviour, and not only identify abuse as physical. Expert witnesses could be called upon to explain the impact that these forms of abuse have on women’s lives.
“And he [the lawyer) says,
‘In court, you’re going to have to just say black and white’… Well, abuse is not black and white … he was saying just make it black and white, make it clear … but it’s not clear.” (Vermilion Bay survivor)
It was identified that repeat male abusers often know that they can breach a probation order. It is therefore important that probation orders are enforced, and breaches, including non-attendance at batterers’ counselling sessions, be punished.
Women’s work in the home needs to be valued and taken into consideration in both custody and property division cases.
Many survivors recommended that the woman should not be expected to provide her abuser’s address when seeking a restraining order.
“They have a warrant out for [abuser’s] arrest but it is impossible for you to get a restraining order against him if you don’t know where he lives. Now that’s ridiculous.” (Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry survivor)
One way to improve the criminal justice system, according to several survivors, was to change the way judges in rural areas view woman abuse. (Cochrane community report)
5.2.4 Custody / Access Decisions
It was recommended that family courts take the abuser’s behaviour into consideration when ruling on custody of and access to children. It is important that a record be kept of all abusive incidents.
5.2.5 Support for Men
Communities were unanimous in recommending batterers’ counselling or some support for abusive men. Service providers, community residents, leaders and survivors identified the importance of treatment programs that are ongoing and mandatory.
“Make it mandatory … that the abusers get the help they need so they don’t continue going out abusing other women.” (Vermilion Bay survivor)
5.2.6 Support for Women
Focus group participants recommended that:
- Women need to know their legal rights.
- Women can benefit from the help of a court support worker.
- Women should be able to access Legal Aid to hire a lawyer for custody and support when leaving an abusive partner.
5.3 Improving Social Services
Information about shelters must be very public and accessible. The services provided by shelters and how to contact them should be clearly stated.
Support groups for women who leave abusive relationships are vitally important.
Outreach counselling programs are essential services for abused women in rural areas. Communities that do not have them want them and those that do have them say they need more workers.
“I know the outreach program works because there was such a program before the funding was cut … The referrals were phenomenal because someone was out in the community coming in contact with the women who had no access to resources and were very isolated.” (Vermilion Bay service provider)
Greater co-ordination is needed between service providers.
“And sometimes I look at the structure today and I think there is too much separateness between them all. And sometimes even infighting … But we are all social structures and if we could join together more, we could make a difference.” (Grey-Bruce key informant)
“We need someone in the community to be a lobbyist, to be a facilitator. It’s[currently] no one’s mandate to get anything going.” (Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry focus group)
Transportation to shelters is a problem for rural women. Financial support for volunteer drivers is key.
Culturally sensitive programs for Aboriginal women are important.
A shelter is needed in the community. Safe houses were suggested as an alternative to or in addition to more shelters.
It was recommended that victims’ services be widely available so as to provide women at the time of the assault with a worker knowledgeable about abuse issues.
More public education is needed.
“After every public education session, there would be at least two women who would talk about their daughters, mothers, themselves, sisters and then when you tell them the shelter is available for walk-in counselling they are relieved and grateful because that connection has been made.” (Vermilion Bay service provider)
Emergency day care and parenting support that does not threaten to remove the children of women who ask for help would be of great benefit.
One community recommended that mental health services should be more readily available.
“We need more people up here to help because when I did call for my intake, well, it took them 6 to 8 months before I actually got my first call. That was really discouraging.” (Cochrane survivor)
5.4 Improving Medical, Health and Mental Health Services
All communities agreed that health professionals require better training in abuse issues. Such training would ensure that doctors and counsellors help women understand that they are not responsible for their victimisation.
It was also recommended that services for abused women be improved by providing faster responses, more counselling sessions, shorter waiting periods, and full-time as opposed to part-time mental health services in the community. It was recognised that this would, however, require more funding for health and mental health programs. Several nurses who participated in the focus groups indicated that more professional support was required when abused women come to the hospital.
It was recommended that doctors need to be aware of the key role they play in treating an abused woman. They must learn to take the time to explore abuse issues, name the abuse, and make referrals to other helping agencies. Many women said they tried to tell their doctors but the doctor simply prescribed medication for ‘their nerves’.
“I know we’re in an age where medication seems to be the answer, medicate the problem, but many times I think if just a bit of time was taken to talk out the situation that we wouldn’t need so much medication … So I think there has to be a return to the doctor being trained to listen and to process what he/she is hearing.” (Cochrane survivor)
5.5 Suggestions for Women Currently Living with Abuse
Research participants were asked to identify suggestions for women who were living with abuse in rural areas. Their suggestions were as follows:
- Identify the behaviour as abusive and then leave the relationship.
"To get out right away, you know, that would be my first instinct is to tell her that, you know. But I would hold back and, because that person has to find out. I would let her talk and do what my counsellor did, try to guide her into realising and saying the word abuse, this is control, this is abuse.” (Vermilion Bay survivor)
- Call the shelter.
- Make a safety plan.
- Get information about custody before leaving.
- Pack all the personal identification for you and the children before leaving.
- Let others in your community help.
"Tell her it's perfectly okay to let other people help her, let people at the shelter help you, let other people help you, advocate for you, through going through the legal system, dealing with the police, all the things that normal people don't know about … to accept social assistance was very humiliating for me but when I think about myself and my children and where I am now, and what a small cost for me to have accepted social assistance for a while … it's really a small cost to pay … because you need help from your community.” (Oxford County survivor)
- Try to bring a supportive person with you when you go to apply for social services.
- Don’t count on a restraining order.
- Focus on the positives, find your inner strength. You have a lot to gain.
“Yes. I’ve gained my freedom, I’ve gained my self-respect, I’ve gained the ability to know that I am a person, which my husband had taken away from me. He always controlled everything I said and did. Now I can do that for myself.” (Espanola survivor)
- Don’t stay for the sake of the children. Get out of the relationship for their sake.
- Once you leave, keep going and don’t look back. Things don’t get better.
"All I know from living in abuse for all my life, that it doesn't change. It gets worse and worse and worse. And you have to make a decision to get out and go get help. You're the one that has to change because you can't change him. It doesn't matter what you do. It's up to the individual. The help is there. You know it's humiliating, it's embarrassing and you think like in a small community what will people think. What'll people think about me if I'm, you know, living in that place or whatever? Well to hell with what people think. Think about yourself and what you want.” (Vermilion Bay survivor)
- Get counselling for you and your kids.
- Get a credit card in your name to establish a credit rating
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