Teach young boys to respect females: women's advocate
Classroom program would begin at age 8 in an effort
to reduce rampant domestic violence in the NWT
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, July 3, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A women's advocate is calling for a new education program focusing on teaching young boys to respect women in light of rampant domestic violence and alcohol abuse in the territory.
Lynn Brooks was following the lead of Supreme Court judge Louise Charbonneau who said during a murder trial last spring that some people in the territory "normalize" the problem. Charbonneau was commenting on the prevalence of domestic violence in the territory while sentencing 55-year-old Benedict Corrigal to a life sentence for stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend Carol Buggins and her boyfriend Garfield McPherson.
The court heard Corrigal had previously been convicted of three assaults on Buggins and several breaches of no contact orders with her.
"I agree with absolutely everything she said and she's not the first judge (in the NWT) to say it," said Brooks.
"I sat on the judicial review committee for seven years and the judges that I worked with over those years all said either privately or from the bench similar kinds of things," said Brooks, the namesake for the recently opened Lynn's Place transitional home for women.
"What's so terribly disturbing and sad about it is that while we've put in place many initiatives to help deal with domestic violence it continues to be a tremendous problem."
The best way to address domestic violence is through dialogue and education in NWT schools, Brooks said. She feels that education should begin with boys when they are about eight years old.
"Speaking to young males about how you treat a girl, how women ought to be treated," said Brooks. "We need that and we need it consistently because we'll have these program but they come and go."
Johnnie Bowden, assistant superintendent of learning for Yellowknife Catholic Schools, agrees with Brooks.
"Even in terms of the healthy relationships, (curriculum) only starts in Grade 7, so I'm with her," Bowden said. "That's a whole new part of the health curriculum that's being developed is a focus on relationships. I don't think the current curriculum in targeted enough."
John Stephenson, chair of Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (YK1), said at what age schools should start teaching boys about issues such as spousal abuse is a good question. He pointed to Ontario where parents have protested the sex-ed curriculum, saying it is too graphic and starts when children are too young. He didn't dismiss Brooks suggestion for beginning classroom instruction to boys at age 8 but said he feels his board does have appropriate measures in place to teach children about family violence.
"We ensure students engage in healthy lifestyles and respectful and caring relationships," Stephenson said. "Key results related to that were to reduce the number of incidents of bullying, promote positive relationships resiliency and good citizenship."
The NWT has the dubious distinction of having the second highest rate of family violence in Canada, said Premier Bob McLeod, who is also the minister responsible for women.
Without addressing Charbonneau's comments specifically, he agrees with the judge that alcohol often plays a role in spousal abuse but added it is a complex issue.
"We know that alcohol is not the cause of abuse. Alcohol and drugs may escalate the situation but they are not the root cause of family violence," the premier said. "The relationship between alcohol use and intimate partner violence is complicated and needs to be understood and treated separately not as a cause and effect relationship."
McLeod pointed out that the NWT has had the Coalition Against Family Violence in place since 1999.
"We continue to talk about how we got here, the impacts of residential schools, addictions, poverty and ongoing devaluing of certain people in our society, particularly women, aboriginal women most of all," he said.
"We not going to put an end to family violence if we don't start talking about it. It's not normal or fair or right."
The NWT helpline is just one of the resources available for victims of family violence and it is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said McLeod.
