Paul LaCerte knows the heartbreak and injustice that still ripple through the aboriginal population from years spent in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 residential school system.
He remembers the constant fear living under an alcoholic father, the stigma from more than a whisper of domestic violence in the community.
To break that silence, LaCerte is fostering a grassroots campaign of aboriginal men who want to end the cycle of abuse.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always been in our culture to protect our families, not hurt them,B次元官网网址� said LaCerte, executive director of the B.C. Association of Native Friendship Centres.
Aboriginal women are three times more likely to be the victims of domestic violence in Canada than other women, according to Assembly of First Nations statistics. And a scathing Human Rights Watch report released last week shed light on a fractured police-aboriginal relationship in B.C., with allegations of underreported abuse.
On Friday, LaCerte joined more than 200 other aboriginal men at a morning-long conference aimed at finding ways to help reduce domestic violence, at the Harbour Towers hotel. Attendees later marched to the legislature where they committed to stand up to fight violence against women and children in their communities.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e challenging men to stand up, speak out, change their behaviour, and support others to change their behaviour as well,B次元官网网址� he said.
The men showed their support by wearing a small square of moose hide, not unlike the many movements that use ribbons and wristbands.
The movement is spreading across Canada, to aboriginal men in Matsqui and Kent penitentiaries and even to the Sarnia, Ont. police service, whose officers made pledges never to hit aboriginal women.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a pretty significant rock in the pond, and one we expect to ripple across the country,B次元官网网址� LaCerte said.
Domestic violence is more prevalent in the Capital Region than many people think, said Tracy Lubick, development director at the Victoria WomenB次元官网网址檚 Transition House.
Last year, the society received more than 2,000 calls to its 24-hour crisis line and sheltered 158 women and 62 children. A further 1,400 women were referred to the societyB次元官网网址檚 victim support program.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really important weB次元官网网址檙e talking about working with men as allies,B次元官网网址� Lubick said. B次元官网网址淭hey need to be looking at their role in terms of ending violence, how theyB次元官网网址檙e modelling their own behaviours.B次元官网网址�
She hopes initiatives such as the moose hide campaign will continue to galvanize men and stop violence against women and children.
B次元官网网址淲e need a tectonic shift here at a community level, not just for native people,B次元官网网址� LaCerte said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a lie that what happens in the home is nobody elseB次元官网网址檚 business.B次元官网网址�
To learn more about how to take action against domestic violence, visit transitionhouse.net or call 250-385-6611.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
