Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 27, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Woman president no help in pension vote the Manitoba Chambers of com Merce yesterday elected its first woman president and then passed a Resolution calling for smaller pensions for women. Rita Roeland an Imperial life Assurance co. Of Canada underwriter was elected president without opposition. She had been first vice president. But yesterday afternoon the organization unanimously adopted a Winni Peg chamber of Commerce recommendation opposing equal annuity payments for men and women be cause of the. Inherent discrimination that would be Gerry Reimer Winnipeg chamber president said because women live longer they would receive More than a Man from a pension plan. It also Means it would Cost an employer More Money if the employer paid into the plan. The recommendation passed without further debate. Roeland said in an interview she did not vote on the matter because she is president and would abide by the wishes of the major Ity. However she said she would have opposed the recommendation because a retired woman s Cost of living is no less than a Man s. Roeland said she does not expect the fact that groups such As the Manitoba club and car Teton club do not admit women will pose a problem for her because i have never found being a woman a hardship in i Don t care if they Don t want me. There Are other clubs that do admit in a luncheon speech yesterday Roeland said the Manitoba Chambers plan to launch a major Campaign against vandalism similar to the Winnipeg chamber s Campaign against shoplifting. She said the problem exists every where and there seems to be no deter rent Force. Businessmen should t confine their activities to reporting damage to their insurance company because All that Means is that insurance premiums will Rise she said. Roeland of he Des Chenes is a graduate of Gordon Bell High school and has taken economics and political studies courses at the University of Manitoba. She was founding president of the ledes Chenes chamber of Commerce in 1974 and has been a member of the Manitoba Chambers executive since 1976. Roeland also served As a director of the East Man regional development corp. Inc. From 1974 to 1980. I Hajj few a Jeff if h Jas Well As Fleet Street is changing with the event of Rupert showers today 14 Cloudy tonight 3 1 monday april free press Sun rises . Sets . Moon rises . Sets . Final 200 for Home delivery 957-o550 or 942-2161 classified 956-2330 a protestant loyalist condemning Irish Republican army terrorism holds up noose outside Maze prison where convicted Ira guerrilla Bobby Sands is held. In Belfast Marcella Sands far right joins rally yesterday in support of her brother. Secret sin tears family apart reports of incest sexual abuse of children triple in City in last four years by Maureen Brosnahan and Greg Bannister in the last four years reports of incest and sexual abuse involving Chil Dren in Winnipeg have tripled. There were 36 cases of incest and sexual abuse reported to City police last year up from 11 in 1977. But these Are Only the documented cases. No one knows the real extent of the problem. A number of years ago there weren t any cases of sexual said Brenda Gravenor a social worker at children s Hospital. We did t took for it and there was t but when it is uncovered there s pain embarrassment and often broken families. The scars last and the wounds do not heal easily. Not Long ago Louise 35, not her real name discovered that her husband had been sexually abusing their 14-year-old daughter for the last seven years. Hard to believe i was shocked and said the Mother of two girls. I could not believe my husband had done it. Never in my wildest dreams could i imagine that would happen. Still in my mind i know it s True but it is so hard to Louise first Learned of the relation ship a few months ago when her Daugh Ter confided in a relative who con Vinced the girl to Tell her Mother. We both started to cry. We were shocked. We could not believe it began when the girl was seven. Her father would Call her into the bedroom when no one was Home. Chid abuse part two at first it was just his Back then he began having her undress for him and made her watch while he would masturbate. By the time she was 10, her father was forcing her to engage in Oral sex. Like Many other cases of sexual abuse involving family members the Young girl was warned this was a big secret. She kept that secret for seven years. Sometimes Louise wishes she had never discovered the secret. Since that night her family has split she has had to take a full time Job and has faced hours with police and others. The pressure became so great she took an overdose of pills. Sometimes i could t even think she said. It s like being two or three people at the same time. I Don t hate she said of her husband. We were married 16 years. It s hard to say you Don t love him Louise s Case is typical of Many that Are now coming to Light said Gravenor who spends More than half her time on sexual abuse cases. Of the 36 sexual abuse cases investigated by police last year 27 people were charged with sex offences against children. Already in the first three months of 1981, police have investigated 15 sexual abuse cases in the City and have charged 11 people. We Don t need to look to other cities for said . Dave Allen of the child abuse unit. What we re read ing is happening Here in Winnipeg. We be had some real Young he said. We be had very Young babies with gonorrhoea and we be never been Able to establish where it came tip of iceberg at children s Hospital gynaecologist or. Loma Grant sees about five cases a month of children involved in sexual abuse or incest. I think we Are Only seeing the tip of the she said. But dealing with sexual abuse cases is new territory for those in the Field. Little has been written on the topic there Are almost no tried and True treatment programs and professionals Are having a difficult time Deal ing with a topic which is abhorrent to most. I guess that s what we re really wrestling with said Allen. The physical abuse we be been doing since we be sort of got some Loose written protocol in our group but in the area of sexual abuse it s not covered under the provincial the Lack of skilled professionals and counselling programs for sexual abuse is frustrating Many in the child care Field. Few counsellors Are specialists in the Field and for most it s Only part time work. Currently Gravenor is operating a group session for mothers in families involved in sexual abuse. The Chil Dren s Aid society of Winnipeg offers a similar program for female victims but there is nothing organized for adult offenders. These cases require a whole lot of hours. They Are time consuming. These people need support. You re pulling the Rug out from under she said. I had no More than a Basic Back ground said Grant. It takes a lot of working through your feel the same applies to lawyers and those in the judicial abuse cases Are frustrating for everyone in said Gregg Lawlor one of two provincial Crown attorneys who handles child abuse cases. There Are lots of lawyers who Are disgusted with what their clients have done but they have to divorce them selves from he said. My primary concern is the welfare of the child As is everyone else who is involved in this system. At the end i still have to be objective. You become used to it. You can t become immune to Lawlor agreed that Many sexual abusers do not belong in prison. Eat there is often Little alternative. There Are cases where a defence counsel can come to court and other a viable alternative to jail and the court will be prepared to he said. Unlike physical abuse sexual abuse automatically Means charges under the criminal code of Canada. See sexual Page 4 Ira backers spread riots to London Belfast a supporters of Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands rioted in Belfast clashed with police in London and appealed to Irish prime minister Charles Haughey to intervene on behalf of the 27-year-old prisoner. Today was the 58th Day of Sands s prison fast and his weight was reported to have dropped to 98 pounds from 155. Spokesmen for the Irish Republican army said he nearly died saturday night after a heart attack but refused medical help. Members of his family visited him yesterday at Maze prison outside Bel fast and said he was extremely one Appeal to Haughey came from the National a Block committee which supports Sands s crusade for political prisoner status for Ira convicts in the a shaped prison cell blocks. It said it believes the Irish Leader could Force prime minister Margaret Thatcher to agree to the demand of Sands and three other hunger strikers in the Maze by threatening to expel Britain s ambassador to the Irish re Public Leonard Figg. Another Appeal another Appeal to Haughey came from Owen Carron who managed the election Campaign that won Sands a seat in the British parliament on april 9. He also called on the prime minister to demand of Thatcher that she Grant the prisoners demands. Bobby Sands will be dead if Charles Haughey delays any Carron said. There was no immediate response Frorer Haughey who was reported under increasing pressure from his own Cabi net to take some personal initiative. He said during the weekend that urgent efforts to solve the crisis should continue. Sands is serving a a year term Fui gun Law violations arising from a shoot out with police. The status of political prisoner would allow him and the others to Wear their own clothes instead of prison uniforms exempt them from prison work and associate freely among themselves within the prison. The Ira has threatened a new Campaign of violence if Sands Dies and militants from Northern Ireland s protestant majority have warned of bloody retaliation in the province that has seen uy2 years of sectarian strife. Sands s hunger strike touched off demonstrations in both Belfast and London yesterday but the violence sub sided by Nightfall. Police clashed with about 400 pro Ira sympathizers in the Northwest London District of Kilburn when they defied a ban on political marches. The see protest Page 4 Constitution in hands of 9 justices by Michael Doyle Winnipeg free press Ottawa Canada s new Constitution which will determine much of the country s future direction will be placed in the hands of nine men tues Day. Whether the nine justices of the supreme court of Canada will accept or reject the Federal plan to Patriate the 1867 British North America act and entrench a charter of rights is far from certain. Prime minister Trudeau says he will drop the proposal if the justices Rule against him on the other hand several premiers have said they will ignore the court ruling if it goes in Trudeau s favor but the reality is that the Constitution will then become a shoo in during final votes in the Canadian and British parliaments. The nine justices or n mixed up a combination i his Ide o b mid i it t country lit of. Six were appointed by prime minis Ter Trudeau one w is Dissen by former prime minister jut claim and two by former prime John die Fen see justices Giscard Mitt Emmic in French election final by Hal Piper the Baltimore Sun Paris Prus it i no Vul by d i. k. Mitterrand led tiny round and Vail. I to i Tion in to u act so mine in ii Riley a France. Their meeting will be a 197-1. Giscard Hii in.-. S i Iruh Iii hip b than two per m i polls suggest the teus a close again tins nine and have shown narrow k i Lead. Yesterday s first round we h or showed weaknesses in Bol ii f runners. Giscard polled 28.9 per m eve am i Points Al his first round shewing seven ago. The result was Init pit Ltd widely As Lack of fur the Ull patrician 55 in i in president. In win a is pm Giscard will have id pick up ius a Al vote s Given to Jacques Chirac As a non gis cd flu rna ii in us Vinig Rule and i1- Eaily ii tons by Garner 17. I per l l v vote. A., in. I ally who Ifni y with to t.1 president in it a cd to endorse Giscard in ik1 i would announce i today for the Sec my Pound . Mitterrand fit has lost two previous see c1scard Page 4 silent types demand for mannequins is growing As cities expand and shopping malls open. But As yet it remains a Small Royal Tumble Prince Charles has the Queen and lady Diana worried and annoyed after he ignored their pleas not to play Polo and fell from his horse a third time in six vets honoured the Battle of Kapyon was remembered saturday with special celebrations a big Parade and a Cf-5 Jet fighter flames hot Calgary flames will play Minnesota while islanders and rangers meet in subway super Index Ann Landers. Answers. Bridge. Business. Classified. Cleverley. Comics. Crossword. Deaths. Editorials letters 70 6 is i k in 21 18 40 43 .43 27 34 12 17 .43 43 ;