Funding received for family violence programs

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Donna Kingfisher felt a step closer to her goal when Saskatchewan's Justice Minister visited Prince Albert to announce funding for the fight against family violence.

Kingfisher is the recently-hired family wellness co-ordinator for the Aboriginal Women's Council of Saskatchewan, who wants to help victims of family abuse. She accepted a cheque for $40,000 from John Nilson as part of an overall provincial commitment of $350,000 to fight the family violence problem.

"We must begin the healing process with whatever resources we have," Kingfisher told the crowd after accepting the cheque. "Our goal is to take action against family violence."

She said many have suffered all kinds of abuse, and some of those voices have been silenced.

"Let those voices be heard today," Kingfisher said.

The money will be used for public awareness, to provide counselling to women in the hope that it will lead to them getting away from abusive situations and to help further education, she said.

"What we'd like to do is empower the women. With empowerment they have the ability to make the changes in their lives," Kingfisher said. "When they gain knowledge and self-confidence, that's when they begin to break that cycle. That's empowerment."

Statistics show that on average a woman will suffer abuse 31 times before speaking out.

Other statistics are just as grim. About 28 per cent of Saskatchewan women have experienced some form of violence at the hands of their spouse, and 40 per cent of women in violent relationships say their children have witnessed the violence, possibly learning by example to continue that behavior when they are married.

"Can you imagine going through this on a daily basis? And the children are the ones that suffer seeing their mothers abused on a daily basis," Kingfisher said.

A 1996 survey undertaken by the province showed Aboriginal people view family violence and sexual assault as the crimes of greatest concern to them.

"Statistic support this view," said Nilson. "They show eight out of 10 Aboriginal women have been physically assaulted."

Nilson said the survey also indicated a need for more cultural sensitivity and more Aboriginal people involved in the justice system, and that if the province didn't respond, those factors would show up in future generations of young people in conflict with the law. Nilson said the $350,000 is targeted at existing Aboriginal organizations dealing with the problem so as not to duplicate services. It is money well spent, he said.

"I think the important part is the justice department is spending money in an area where we know there is a crime prevention part to it," Nilson said.

The money is going to eight organizations located in Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and the Battlefords.

The Aboriginal Women's Council of Saskatchewan and the Prince Albert Grand Council Women's Commission are two of the organizations to receive funding.

Shirley Henderson, chair of the PAGC Women's Commission, said the $40,000 grant her group received from the province will help not only women and children leaving abusive situations, but also families separated by jail sentences.

"One of the target groups will be First Nation families where one of the parents is serving a period of incarceration," she said.

That work will involve bringing families together for counselling while one parent is still in the prison system to help families get reintegrated, she said.

Jemima Wells, the La Ronge band representative on the commission, said that's just where some of the money should go.

"We have people in Pine Grove [Correctional Centre]. In that area I can see it will help with this funding," Wells said. "Right now there's nothing going on in that area."

Families can be brought together in the correctional centre for family counselling and reintegration, helping the children adjust to the situation, she said.

Wells said urban Aboriginal people have no support systems and they end up having a very hard tim away from home and often get into clashes with the law.

She at least hopes that when that does happen, this money will help get families back together.

"Because the hardships are there for the child and also the incarcerated."