Victims of domestic violence being turned away by packed city shelters

Submitted by Matt on Sat, 2009-12-26 03:14

Article here. Excerpt:

'Chantal is one of the lucky ones.

When she needed to escape an abusive marriage, there was room for her at a women's shelter.

Tragically, that's not always the case. Alberta, one of Canada's spousal-abuse capitals, has disgracefully few sanctuaries for battered wives and traumatized children.'

When Chantal's husband erupted into a violent, drunken rampage, police couldn't find anywhere in the city that had room for Chantal and her two small children.
...
That was a few years ago. Police and women's advocates say that nowadays it's even harder to find a safe haven that isn't already full.
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"Intimate partner conflicts," Simioni says, are considered the most unpredictable, volatile and dangerous situations police can find themselves in.

If it's that risky for the police, just imagine what it's like for the victims.'

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Comments

What is it exactly you want us to say to the Edmonton Sun Matt that hasn't been said thousands of times previous to their other columnists like Mindelle Jacobs?
Quote more stats about domestic violence from Professor Farber, etc. I might as well just copy and paste. Point out that most of the people on the street are men. The percentage of men who die violently as compared to women. There has to be another tact. We are never acknowledged and often scorned.

Badger

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Submitted by badgerb on Sat, 2009-12-26 16:15

I thought the threat of unbridled state imposed terror against the entire male population would have eradicated domestic violence by now?

Hmmmm....maybe, just maybe if the state addressed the underlying causes from the male perspective things would be different?

Effective programs specifically aimed at men to curb the use of alcohol and drugs would be a good place to start. Also, giving men the same civil rights and police protections when they are the victims of domestic violence (50% of the time!)would be a huge step forward.

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Submitted by Luek on Sat, 2009-12-26 18:22

How come it's never a problem when men can't find a place??

-ax

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Submitted by axolotl on Sun, 2009-12-27 01:58