First letter sent to MPs, MLAs, several other government offices,
and various news media.
May 7, 1999
| For too long, domestic violence has been framed and understood exclusively
as a woman's issue. But domestic violence must no longer be viewed
as a problem only affecting women. Increasingly, spousal abuse is
a problem devastating every sector of society, overwhelming our courts
and hospitals, spilling over into our streets, and filling our morgues.
We must all be a part of the solution if we are to address the deadly toll
this epidemic is taking.
Most police services do not have statistics. Most crown attorneys do not have cases where women have assaulted men. Does that mean it doesn’t exist? I don’t understand how women got to be exempt from being abusive, or how wife assault (as opposed to ‘assault’) became the crime. The message from the media is that men are violent and women are nurturing and sensitive, and therefore, women need to be protected. Yet, we must also see women as capable and powerful and able to do anything men can do, except for being violent. If it ever happens that a woman is violent, it is because she is sick or the powerless victim of some ‘syndrome’. This makes no sense to me. Is an assaulted woman more of a victim than an assaulted man? Perhaps we need to address all violence in order to impact any violence? Abuse and violence must be genderless. My son is a victim of abuse and assault for the past two years. Yet, he is the one being charged with domestic assault and is being held hostage for several months. The unscrupulous female he was involved with grossly lied and twisted the truth in order to get him charged with domestic assault and, in so doing, punish him yet again. The police phoned my son at work and asked him to come in to see them (which he did), only to find out he had been charged with and was guilty of domestic assault. Needless to say he was shocked and hurt by these allegations. The police do not recognize that women are also perpetrators of domestic violence. The Attorney General and the Solicitor General require the Police to arrest the man and to provide all possible assistance to the woman, in all domestic assault investigations. Now, he has a restraining order against him, and she constantly taunts him in public places, since he can not obtain a similar restraining order against her. When she saw that my son suffered an epileptic seizure, from the stress during her last attack, she panicked and threatened him, that if he told anyone she would charge him with assault. She threatened to charge him with assault again the next day at work, within hearing distance of co-workers. When she found out he had told his younger brother and his girlfriend, she promptly went to the police to file the assault charge against him. Worse yet, the police treated him as if he was guilty and did not allow him the opportunity to make a statement, but proceeded as if he was guilty of the offence ("zero tolerance"). We are taking this matter to LERA, since I believe every person has the right to make a statement and not be treated as a criminal until he/she is proven guilty! I am appalled that any female can go to the police and make such claims, without a police investigation, and get away with it. When she found out my son charged her with assault, she went to a woman's advocacy group and now has their support for her lies. It is absolutely ludicrous how, together, they are railroading my son into a trial and attempting to ruin his life. Luckily, we have several witnesses (including her, now, ex-roommate) who can confirm her abuse and an incident of a physical attack, she committed against him, in a bar. She suffers from extreme jealousy and violent outbursts. It scares me that she is graduating from education this year, and will be responsible for educating a future generation. What will she do to her students, if she has another one of her outbursts? Right now she has apparently been accepted as an interpreter at Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the Kosovo refugees. I thought the required Enhanced Reliability Check did not allow such people to work for federal government departments, especially with the current assault charge against her. I also wonder what kind of screening of a potential sponsor is require when Immigration officers could allow the placement of refugees with her and her family, since they are not the best representatives of the Canadian way of life. The sexist position of the Manitoba government in the matter of abuse has been characterized as "zero tolerance." This means that, subject only to the limits imposed by law, no margin will be afforded to male abusers. The police and prosecutors have been so instructed and conduct themselves accordingly. As a result, the police no longer investigate any false allegations, since the person charged with assault is not an "alleged abuser," but is guilty and severely dealt with by the justice system. No place in the "Violence Against Women - Stop The Violence" law is there even a possibility that a man can be the victim and a woman be the abusive partner or spouse. As a society, we must address these kind of issues and not let a group of extremists rule the government. How can our government, who is responsible for all the people, be so blinded and one sided? I have supported woman groups, for the equality of the sexes, for many years, but in no way do I support them in their misusing our justice system, as a weapon against men! I beg you to please review the research and facts from all across the board and find out for yourself that this injustice is going on right under your nose! People of all gender and age must feel safe and secure with our justice system. In formulating the right view and speaking out for the rights of all the people you represent, I realize you will suffer the wrath of the most vocal opponents to a genderless abuse and violence law. Still, I trust your values. After you research these issues, I am sure you will see the right and proper route to correct the current systemic injustices. I await your response to this E-mail.
Sincerely,
CONSTITUTION ACTS 1867 to 1982
Section 11
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. http://canada.justice.gc.ca/cgi-bin/folioisa.dll/const_e.nfo/query=[jump!3A/doc/{@401}?
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