Apr 24, 2011 | Violence against women
I have a story to tell and it is not so nice
It’s about when I fell and it was not on ice
It is about a man whom I loved very dear
But as the year went on, he instilled in me a fear
In the beginning he was kind and easy to love
Quite refined and gentle as a dove
Then without warning, I was totally unaware
He punched my face and pulled my hair
He struck me again and again, until I hit the ground
There was no one to help me, not a soul around
This violence went on for many years
I sat there in silence and shed plenty of tears
It did not matter how hard I tried
I always had bruises that I could not hide
I was afraid to move, afraid to talk
Tired of all the people who liked to gawk
All of the guilt and all of the shame
Yet I wasn’t the one inflicting the pain
When I heard the doctor, I thought it was a lie
The doctor stated, “The man is going to die”
I would pray to God that this nightmare would end
I never had no one to trust, not one friend
Then one day God said, “No more”
He took him to Heaven and picked me up off the floor
– Rhonda Vermette
Apr 21, 2011 | Battered Women's Support Services, BWSS Programs, Violence against women
Recognizing, Understanding and Addressing Economic Abuse
By Sara Yasan,
Manager, Training and Strategic Interventions
A complex combination of social, psychological, cultural, familial and economic factors contribute to a woman’s decision to remain in, leave and/or return to an abusive/violent relationship. Beside fear of losing their children, women who live with violence and abuse, frequently cite income, employment and financial stability as the strongest, most immediate deterrents to leaving abusive situations.
Impacted by the legacy of debt and imposed bankruptcies, even after leaving an abusive relationship, many women struggle to eat, find a safe place to live, achieve academic goals, support their children and rebuild their lives.
To understand the dynamics of financial abuse and the experiences of women survivors, we ought to recognize that financial abuse takes many forms. In fact, financial abuse is a common tactic of power and control in abusive relationships, which enables an abusive partner to control women by preventing or restricting her access to money, employment or other financial resources.
Abusive partners are motivated by the need for control and willing to use force, coercion or violence. Financial or economic abuse occurs when an abusive partner attempts to take total or partial control of woman’s financial resources, including money, property, an inheritance or employment income as well as prevent her from having access to, or making decisions for her own financial resources.
BWSS Economic Empowerment Strategies for Women: Recognizing and Addressing the Effects of Financial Abuse initiative explores and addresses the impacts of financial abuse on the lives of women.
Our objective through this initiative is to equip women survivors of violence, advocates, other frontline workers, policy analysts and other systems, institutions and government entities with strong analysis, practical resources, and information grounded in the lived experiences of women; through gaining these knowledge and skills these civil servants are better able to enhance women’s ability to engage in all levels of society; and, they are more capable of assisting women who are living with violence and abuse in achieving financial safety.
In order to ground ourselves in the experiences of women, through the month of April 2011, women who access our services were invited to take part in focus groups. Women were invited to share their stories and struggles as they experienced, and continue to experience, the impact of financial abuse.
The first session of the focus group series were held on April 7th, 2011. Nearly 40% of the women who participated in the group were either Indigenous or Immigrant women. Each woman passionately shared her story in the group, some for the very first time. Women described the many challenges they had faced, and continue to face, as the result of living through financial abuse. They shared the impact of financial dependency on their abusive partners, who were using financial abuse as a tactic of power and control. This economic dependency, however, is reinforced by societal and systemic gender discriminations that limits or denies women the opportunities to have access to and participate in the labour market and earn equal wages as male counterparts.
Women’s narratives highlighted that while financial abuse might not be as obvious or observable as other types of abuse, it profoundly impacts the safety and well being of women. Whether manifested through lack of access to some of the most basic life necessities like food and clothing and safe shelter, or marked by the systemic denial of access to financial resources, information and education, economic and financial abuse have a serious and lasting impact on women.
BWSS’ Economic Empowerment Strategies for Women: Recognizing and addressing the effects of financial abuse is holding two more focus groups in the month of April.
BWSS’ Economic Empowerment Strategies for Women is funded by:
Founding Sponsors:
Apr 19, 2011 | Battered Women's Support Services, Violence against women
Unhappiness and fear are unwanted friends
That make you wonder how life will mend
The pain and injury of a long ago past
What will it take for peace to last?
Life is a journey and we chart our way
Through clouds and sunshine day by day
Sometimes we struggle and sometimes we laugh
Hoping each day tribulations will pass.
Scalding pain of childhood betrayed
Rips through the heart and wars with the soul
Till clouds of confusion make it hard to know
If you’re winning or losing or status quo.
Grappling silently with life’s simplest tasks
Lost in confusions which others walk past
Stuck in a breach not of your own
Lost forever in the words of a poem.
– ml
Apr 18, 2011 | Battered Women's Support Services, Immigrant Women, Violence against women
In Response to: The Balanced Refugee Reform Act (BILL C-11)
April 2011
Written by: Lobat Sadrehashemi
For: Battered Women’s Support Services
Gender Persecution and Refugee Law Reform in Canada
Our refugee system is going to fundamentally change over the next year to 2012. Battered Women’s Support Services has identified that the changes will make it more difficult for women fleeing gender-related persecution.
The amendments to IRPA under Bill C-11 and the proposed regulations is a major shift in our refugee determination process. There are many changes. Key changes include:
- INTERVIEW INSTEAD OF WRITTEN NARRATIVE: There will no longer be a Personal Information Form (“PIF”) where a claimant can explain in writing the basis of their fear of return. Instead the initial step after an eligibility determination will be an interview with an official from the IRB; a transcript of this interview will be provided to the Member hearing the refugee claim.
- FAST TIMELINES : The timelines are fast for all steps in the process, from interview, through to hearing, and then appeal at the new Refugee Appeal Division.
- DIFFERENT TIMELINES FOR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: For the first time claimants from particular countries that have been designated by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be subject to quicker timelines for their refugee hearings and for decision from their appeals to the Refugee Appeal Division.
- RIGHT OF APPEAL: Both the claimant and the Minister have a right to appeal refugee decisions to a new body, the Refugee Appeal Division.
Read the entire article here.
Apr 18, 2011 | Battered Women's Support Services, Events, Violence against women
Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy
Sexual violence, it seems, is the one crime where we blame the victim and not the perpetrator. Frequently, women who are attacked are told, “You should have been more careful,” or, “You shouldn’t have put yourself in that situation.” Routinely women who have been raped are asked the questions “WHAT were you wearing?” “What did you drink?” “Who were you with?” “Why couldn’t you sense a potential attacker?” Research tells us that sexual violence perpetration is a heavily gendered crime. Approximately 98-99% of sexual violence – reported to police or anonymously reported in research – is perpetrated by men. And we don’t ask the question “Why do men rape?”
Recently, there have been several instances where public officials have publicly exposed victim blaming sentiments and have faced consequences:
In Toronto, Students and staff at Osgoode Hall Law School are demanding an apology and explanation from the Toronto Police Service after one of their officers suggested women can avoid sexual assault by not dressing like a “slut. http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/city-sindex/2011/02/17/toronto-cop-reportedly-tells-students-to-avoid-sexual-assault-by-not-dressing-%E2%80%9Clike-a-slut%E2%80%9D/
In Winnipeg, protesters call for resignation after judge allows victim blaming sentiments inform his sentence of a convicted rapist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBxodavkiJc
In Manitoba ‘No woman asks to be raped’: Victim slams judge’s decision
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/25/no-woman-asks-to-be-raped-victim-slams-judges-decision/
In Vancouver, BC, Women Respond to Comments by Reverend Ric Matthews of First United Church
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/6496
In Surrey, BC, Green Party Candidate resigns over rape comment
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/974569–green-party-candidate-resigns-over-rape-comment-on-facebook
The New York Times was blasted by readers after this article:
Cleveland Texas Rape Case
Igniting a response with analysis like this :
MS Blog
Forcing the New York Times to print this :
Without Balance
In the US, an alliance of men have spoken out against victim blaming and issued a call to other men
http://www.kevinpowell.net/blog/2011/04/men-speak-out-about-sexist-coverage-of-rape-a-call-to-action/
This year, Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy an alliance between Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Act II Safe Choice, Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW), YWCA Munroe House and Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) have teamed up again to focus on sexual violence against girls & women.
To participate in the conversation and to take action check out BWSS Battered Women’s Support Services Facebook page BWSS Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter here Ending Violence
Prevention of Violence Against Women Week – April 18 to 25, 2011.
Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy
Over the years, Vancouver and the province of British Columbia has experienced a death by a thousand cuts as services and the network of support for women survivors of violence are being dismantled. Further the pursuit of liberation and equality for women remains elusive as systemic policies and practices are regressing while violence against girls and women continues as an epidemic.
In 2009, in unprecedented form, the feminist women’s organizations in Vancouver joined together to raise awareness by holding events and mobilizing direct action during Prevention of Violence Against Women Week in April.
We’re working to provide critical and essential support services, while working to end violence against girls and women.
To join our work email us at endingviolence@bwss.org.
Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy 2010 Death Does NOT Become Her
Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy 2009 Critical and Essential Services
Mar 27, 2011 | Violence against women
In this compelling blog post, Lexie Kite and Jennifer Shewmaker present statistics and analysis that expose how porn has permiated pop culture.
The authors argue that their article “is not just a feminist argument calling out all the harmfully objectifying messages we are exposed to every day in the name of female equality. This is a fight for male and female mental and physical health, for safety, for meaningful relationships, for women’s worth, for the power to recognize and reject these proven harmful influences if we want to. The power of pornographic images — presented to us as normal and natural in the last decade of our lives – is REAL and is worth fighting against.”
Read the entire blog post here.
