The sweeping calls for change stemming from the public inquiry into the 2020 deadly mass shootings in Nova Scotia include a push to overhaul CanadaB次元官网网址檚 approach to the B次元官网网址渆pidemicB次元官网网址� of gender-based, intimate-partner and family violence B次元官网网址� something one advocate says will require transformative change.
The Mass Casualty Commission B次元官网网址� which examined the shooting spree in rural Nova Scotia that left 23 people dead, including the gunman B次元官网网址� released a report last week that makes 130 recommendations aimed at improving public safety and policing.
The commissioners singled out their findings about domestic violence, saying they believe it to be the B次元官网网址渟ingle most importantB次元官网网址� lesson to be learned.
There is growing evidence, the report says, B次元官网网址渢hat many men who commit mass casualties have previously committed gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, or family violence,B次元官网网址� and that many mass violence events begin with an attack on a specific woman, as it did in Nova Scotia.
B次元官网网址淚t is alarming to know that some people responded to the early RCMP communications on the night of April 18, 2020, by thinking, B次元官网网址業tB次元官网网址檚 a domestic situation.B次元官网网址� The mistaken implication is that a B次元官网网址榙omestic situationB次元官网网址� is not one that sets off warning bells,B次元官网网址� the report said.
The women initially targeted are frequently seen as B次元官网网址渢riggersB次元官网网址� rather than victims of the violence, the report noted. Nova Scotia RCMP publicly characterized gunman Gabriel WortmanB次元官网网址檚 attack on his partner Lisa Banfield the night of April 18, 2020, as a B次元官网网址渃atalystB次元官网网址� for the ensuing 13-hour rampage.
But the commissioners say that perpetuates the false belief that there is a distinction between private and public violence.
B次元官网网址淲e need a bold, transformative approach to this, because our current systems and structures and institutions are not working,B次元官网网址� said Kristina Fifield, a trauma therapist at Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in Halifax, one of the groups that participated in the public inquiry.
The commission said the first step in preventing mass violence is recognizing the danger of escalation inherent in all forms of violence and calls for a B次元官网网址減revention-oriented public health approachB次元官网网址� to the issue, which should include treatment for perpetrators.
Fifield said organizations like hers will need stable funding from governments to help both survivors and victims.
B次元官网网址淲e also need to have adequate services funded for men who experience violence, but also for men that perpetrate violence,B次元官网网址� she said.
Similar recommendations flowed from another public inquiry in Ontario that probed a 2015 triple homicide targeting the perpetratorB次元官网网址檚 former intimate partners.
The Renfrew County inquiry probed the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam and released its findings last June.
It recommended that Ontario declare intimate partner violence a provincial epidemic. The Nova Scotia commission report uses the same language but stops short of making a similar recommendation.
The Renfrew CommissionB次元官网网址檚 86 calls to action also included providing services for perpetrators of violence, such as launching a support hotline for those at risk of committing violence, establishing an independent commission dedicated to ending intimate partner violence, and ensuring that public education campaigns reflect the voices and experience of men and prompt them to seek help for their behaviours.
The province responded to the 75 recommendations that fall under its jurisdiction in February, saying 29 of them B次元官网网址� including those listed above B次元官网网址� require B次元官网网址渇urther study.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he governmentB次元官网网址檚 response does not address the significant gaps between official policy and what is happening on the ground in a number of key areas; in particular, in the area of perpetrator intervention,B次元官网网址� said a press release from the group End Violence Against Women Renfrew County issued at the time.
Fifield said Avalon has new funding to extend its programming to cis men who have experienced sexual violence and sexual abuse in Nova Scotia starting April 1.
B次元官网网址淔or males, or any individuals using violence, oftentimes thereB次元官网网址檚 a very complex trauma history there,B次元官网网址� she said.
But there are limited treatment options, long wait lists, and for victims and perpetrators, fear that seeking treatment will make things worse.
Canadian law requires police to lay charges of assault in cases where they have reasonable grounds. The Renfrew County jury asked the province of Ontario to study the possibility of ending those mandatory charging policies.
The Mass Casualty Commission took that a step further, saying the federal and provincial governments must end mandatory arrest and charge policies in favour of what it calls a B次元官网网址減ublic health prevention model.B次元官网网址�
The commission noted there will be cases where arresting a perpetrator is necessary, but it should not be the first or only option.
B次元官网网址淲e conclude that mandatory arrest and charging policies have failed in significant ways and have had unintended impacts that contribute to our collective and systemic failure to protect women and to help women survivors protect themselves,B次元官网网址� the commission said.
So far, Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has only committed to reviewing the recommendations in detail.
Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
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