Book views violence through black eyes

Page 13

REVIEW

Black Eyes All Of The Time

By Anne McGillivray

and Brenda Comaskey

University of Toronto Press

200 pages (sc)

In the book Black Eyes All of the Time, Intimate Violence, Aboriginal Women, and the Justice System, authors Anne McGillivray and Brenda Comaskey explore justice reforms that were intended to reduce domestic violence in Manitoba's Native communities. This book chronicles 26 Aboriginal women and their experiences of abuse, first as children, and then as wives and as mothers. Through the accounts of the women's experiences, the authors were able to conclude that the criminal justice system's negligent responses to intimate violence often put Aboriginal women and children at risk.

"Black Eyes All of the Time marks an important step in the process of recognition and action. The stories that are revealed here by the victims of abuse are compelling and instructive," wrote Judge C.M. Sinclair in the forward of the book. "No greater impetus for action exists than our realization that this behavior can no longer be tolerated," she said.

In the book, the term intimate violence means any form of mistreatment committed in relationships of intimacy, trust, and dependence. It is further defined as any act that violates physical, financial, sexual, psychological, emotional or spiritual integrity. It is a breach of trust between intimate partners or between caregivers and children.

The women in this book all share experiences of intimate violence, motherhood, poverty, isolation and violence in childhood.

"The average woman in this study was 33 years old, a woman of Indian status, born and raised on a prairie reserve, had not completed her high school education, her annual income was under $10,000, [and] was a victim of intimate violence since early childhood," said McGillivray.

"She grew up witnessing the abuse of other children and women in her family, including her own mother. She went on to live with abusive partners. As a child, she experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of family members and neighbors and was sexually abused by male relatives. She told few, or, if any, people about any of these things. She even thought she deserved it. When she got older and was with a partner, she was often humiliated and severely assaulted by him. She did not contact the police until numerous acts of violence had occurred. Her partner's violence brought her in contact with the criminal justice system. He pleaded guilty and received a short sentence," she said.

"She went through racist and insensitive encounters with police and with lawyers, who did little for her. She believed that the justice system was there to protect the innocent and to punish wrong doers or give them counselling and treatment while in jail. She saw differently," McGillivray said. "A lot of the women had very good experiences with the police and the lawyers, but some of them did not. As far as we could tell, a lot of the abusers did not go to jail. And if there was a finding of guilt in the abusers, it was usually by the abuser admitting he was guilty, which was not very often," said McGillivray.

Laying charges, dropping charges and counter charges are often what police officers come up against when dealing with situations like this. Often women buy the abusers' pleas to accept their apologies, that they 'won't do it again,' so the women drop the charges. Often the victims would threaten to call the police so that particular beating could stop. However calling wolf too many times and not going through in court with the charges often gives the abuser more leeway," McGillivray concluded.

"I was calling so often my common-law and his family were beginning to call me '911' just to make fun of me," said one of the women.

There is a mandatory zero tolerance charging policy the police can use.

"Manitoba, and I think Alberta, has a zero tolerance, sort of a mandatory charge policy for people who abuse partners. In domestic vilence the police are required to lay charges," said McGillivray.

"When the police finally came forward and said they were, that they were going to charge him, I felt relieved. Because a lot of the times when I did phone and they did come to my place, I always backed out of it... I understand that the police were firm in their decision that they wouldn't drop the charges," claimed one of the women.

Some of the women in this book were abused privately, away from family and friends. Others reported they were subjected to public humiliation, isolation or financial control.

According to McGillivray, the women interviewed in the study wanted McGillivray and Comaskey to do this study. Out of the interviews, a 120-page report was produced. It was used to make changes in Winnipeg's justice system.

"To do a study in any culture, you have to have an invitation from that culture before you go in and do a study," said McGillivray. "You have to be very, very sure that they want you to do it," she said.

McGillivray, who is professor of law at the University of Manitoba, did her master's degree at the University of Toronto. She is mother to a young adopted Aboriginal daughter, was born in Toronto and grew up in Ontario. "Talk to your children when you are going through abuse, talk to your anyone. Don't let it be a secret," said McGillivray.