Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 3, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Inside Story Winnipeg free press january 1995 Zero tolerance a chronology 19m the province sets up family violence court to hear All Domestic violence charges and reduce court backlog to a three month november the Justice minister Jim Mccrae commissions the pedlar review on Domestic violence after the murders of two Winnipeg women by their partners focus Public concern on the based on the pedlar reports s Mcrae unveils a sweeping new Zero tolerance policy which instructs police to aggressively pursue All Domestic violence complaints and Lay As Well As ordering Crown attorneys to prosecute All cases where there is Jure 1993 Winnipeg police Issue their own get Tough policy on Domestic june the province announces it is adding five More sitting Days to combat a backlog of up to six months in the family violence after cutbacks in court there is Only one extra August 1993 a record 175 accused abusers Parade through the family violence intake May 1994 family violence court volumes jump from in first year to an estimated by the end of fourth abuse policy foreign to Many language and culture Blunt Zero tolerance by Ruth Teichroeb social affairs reporter explaining the Fine Points of Manitoba Zero tolerance policy on Domestic violence int easy in a language that lacks a word for wife that was just one of the Chal Lenges lieu Dan faced while leading group for seven vietnamese Immi Grants charged with abusing their in my the police dont in like it was Here 20 years a social those in her group didst re Alize what the consequences of their actions would be i Dan is one of a dozen Community resource workers trained to Lead groups for abusive men As part of the two year services to Immi Grants on probation Pilot counselling the vietnamese language also does not have a word for she for Domestic they thought it was a private matter that in your Home you could do what you in conflicts Between husband and wife were mediated by extended family not she but i dont think that resolved the the focus was on reconciling for the Sake of the women were also expected to be subservient to their she in my a woman has to 6bey her husband like Hes the King of the Marc Gallant Winnipeg free press Susan with husband says she had to reassure some men in her counselling groups about message not getting through a1 when families move to the changing roles of men and women often create tension for Cou she Dan helped translate educational material on Domestic violence for Winnipeg estimated Viet namese Shes also meeting with other so Cial services workers to develop prevention strategies for her com Jacek who led a group for polish immigrants charged with said understanding cultural issues was any violence has its cultural Beim Cik you cant just put culture aside when you work on this Many polish immigrants have been scarred by violence in their he one Man of ukrainian descent who attended Bei micks group had repeatedly suffered attacks from classmates at a school in Poland be cause of the historical animosity be tween the two hed Learned to use physical Vio Lence to Cope with conflict and was now abusing his Beim Cik because Beim Cik understood the cultural roots of the mans he was better Able to help him gain he Berncik said polish culture emphasizes the Sanctity of the theres also an unwritten Rule that one Doest interfere in another family meaning domes tic violence often remains theres always resistance on this Issue because outside groups Are perceived to be interfering with a family he Beim Cik also discovered that Manitoba Zero tolerance policy on spousal assault want reaching pol ish who number about in Beim Cik and others said information about Zero tolerance should be Given to every new immigrant and refugee who arrives in in addition to discussing Domestic he said it was also important to address the frustration and loneliness Many of the men Felt As they struggled to adjust to a new Cul i was Able to relate my own experience of being an immigrant to who came to Winni 58 took part in Pilot project from 92 to 94 Here Are some facts about the services to immigrants on probation Pilot project number of participants in the groups Between 1992 and 1994 58 length of group 24 hours divided into several sessions groups served vietnamese number of Community resource workers trained to Lead groups 12 Over two years funded by Justice heritage and citizenship department and Federal government phase activities to be offered in 12 groups including kurdish and Peg almost six year s Susan who led groups for filipino men charged with said Many of them were wary at first about they were denying the problem and they were worried about confidentiality because it was a filipino who would be leading it the but those fears dissipated after she emphasized that what happened within the group would not be Dis cussed men Are the head of the filipino family and Wield Power Over their wives and she conflicts Are sorted out by Ders in the extended but immigrants to Canada May be left without the support of extended family increasing stress on their she about filipino immigrants live in coming to terms with anew style of Home life by Ruth Teichroeb social affairs reporter they just gotten Home from Church when the argument broke As it began Over something he was annoyed at his wife for carelessly slinging a jacket Over a Phair to which their baby was now clinging i she started to so i pushed the 41yearold father if three the next thing he his wife had called the who charged him with it was the second Domestic assault charge for the filipino who moved to Winnipeg in a similar incident happened in the Early 1980s during his first hed ended up on probation and reported dutifully to his probation but he came away from that experience with Little understanding of Why hed gotten into i thought it was but that All i i didst know about Domestic the second time he was charged was after pleading guilty to he was referred to a special group for filipino men charged with wife at i i dont want to go he he was anxious about the gossip that might result from being in a group with other filipino but when he walked into the first session last he was surprised to see a lot of familiar including one of his i knew we started talking and just like the led by Susan Irupe Anscott through the services to immigrants on probation Pilot was conducted in tagalog the first language of most participating in ones own language made All the difference in the he you can Exchange your in the he said he gained insight into some of the roots of his he realized that a struggle for Power and prompted by a clash Between filipino and Canadian sex Lay behind his Back Only the Man the Man has More the woman stays Home and has to listen to the but the woman has More both he and his wife work Long hours outside the As a his wife expects him to share child care and a frequent source of growing up in the hed also seen his father hit his Mother and tried As a teenager to intervene to protect now he was worried that his own children might be scarred by seeing violence in their through role playing and group he said he Learned some new ways to control his the next time an argument broke out with his he took a time out and left the House until he cooled he also uses to question himself about what he should he gets his Only regret about taking part in the group was that it want Long for i wanted to go so i learn just like what he Hopes for now is that he can use what he Learned to be a better role Model for his you have to put it Here and or it wont he pointing a his head and his subways 954 Sale buy one Foo Long a medium drink until january any regular subway Foo Long Sandwich and a this offer not valid with any other Check with participating locations for i he place where fresh is the Mcphillips Street 2750 234 puce i797mcleod7gateway Henderson 1660 Osborne Street notre Dame 360 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