Provincial Government Reaffirms Commitment to Addressing Family Violence

by aanationtalk on November 21, 20131016 Views

Justice
Executive Council
November 20, 2013

Making Communities Safer by Working to Prevent Family Violence

The Provincial Government today reaffirmed its commitment to making communities safer by amending a private member’s motion on family violence to focus on a more comprehensive view of programs and services. The amendment, asking to explore all avenues for addressing family violence with a focus on preventative measures, received unanimous support in the House of Assembly.

“The issue of family violence remains a priority for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The path to reducing and ending family violence begins with prevention and while law enforcement and the provision of appropriate supports to those who have been affected by family violence is important, society as a whole must factor into any solutions. Several departments, including the Department of Justice, continue to offer comprehensive assistance to those who are impacted by family violence.”
– The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Justice

The Women’s Policy Office works with community partners to prevent family violence through its Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI). Some of the services offered include administering a grant program, coordinating departmental projects and enhancing public awareness on violence. A comprehensive list of programs and services offered by the Provincial Government to address the issue of family violence can be found in the backgrounder below.

“The Provincial Government remains firmly committed to preventing violence against those most at risk of experiencing violence, including women, children and families. Over the last six years, through the Violence Prevention Initiative, significant progress has been made in raising awareness and changing attitudes and behaviours about the impacts of violence and abuse. All individuals in our province must remain strongly committed to preventing violence and creating a society where all residents can live, work and learn in communities where violence is considered unacceptable.” – The Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

The private member’s motion specifically called for the reinstatement of the Family Violence Intervention Court. Minister King noted that while the court was beneficial for those who participated, it had experienced a declining number of participants and was just one small piece of government’s overall response to domestic violence.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is committed to supporting important social programs, strong communities and the health and well-being of children, families and seniors.

QUICK FACTS

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to focus on preventing family violence while also offering many programs and services to those impacted.
Programs and services to address issues around violence are offered the Women’s Policy Office and the Departments Justice, Child, Youth and Family Services, Health and Community Services, and Education.
The Family Violence Intervention Court was a pilot project that saw the number of participants decline over the past few years. Twenty-one people completed the full program in 2012-13 at a total cost of $530,000.

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Media contacts:

Luke Joyce
Director of Communications
Department of Justice
709-729-6985, 725-4165
lukejoyce@gov.nl.ca

Heather MacLean
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Business and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 697-4137
heathermaclean@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Programs and Services Provided in the Area of Family and Relationship Violence

Women’s Policy Office

Violence Prevention Initiative
The Violence Prevention Initiative introduced new programs and initiatives to aid in family violence protection. This $10 million program is multi-departmental and involves a partnership between 10 government departments and agencies and 30 community partners who continue to work together on long-term solutions to preventing violence against those most at risk.

Investments under the Violence Prevention Initiative from 2006 to 2012 include:

$5-6 million in grants for community organizations to work on violence prevention;
$2 million for social marketing activities and public awareness campaigns, including Respect Women, OutrageNL (youth violence), Child Abuse Reporting, and Preventing Violence Against Older Persons;
$1 million for violence prevention training (trained 1,000 people over six years);
$500,000 to support the Safe and Caring Schools Policy;
$300,000 for annual Violence Prevention Initiative Stakeholders’ Conferences which have addressed issues such as community capacity building, youth violence, violence against women, violence against children, and homophobia and heterosexism;
$100,000 for the Purple Ribbon campaign to prevent violence against women;
$300,000 to enhance research (i.e. 2010 Provincial Survey of Attitudes Towards Violence and Abuse, prevention needs of older adults, and impact of violence on children);
Annual funding of $80,000 each ($100,000 for Labrador) to 10 Regional Coordinating Committees Against Violence which are frontline service providers;
Annual funding of $110,000 annually to the Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre to provide education about sexual assault and to operate the 24-hour 1-800 crisis line;
Annual operational funding of $105,000 to the Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Department of Justice

Family Justice Services (FJS) assists families in resolving custody, access and child support issues outside of the court. During its screening and intake process, FJS specifically asks about the relationship, impact on children, safety, violence, and power imbalances. FJS will refer individuals in need to services in the community, such as Victim Services, women’s centres and shelters if the potential for family violence is evident.

Victim Services not only provides assistance to victims of family violence, but also to those in fear of family violence. Through the creation of safety plans and referrals to community services such as transition houses, incidents of violence can sometimes be prevented before they occur.

Through the Family Violence Protection Act, new justice system responses in the form of Emergency Protection Orders (EPO’s) are available to help adult victims of family violence and their children in emergency situations. EPO’s can provide an applicant with a period of time away from the respondent in order to make permanent plans to leave an abusive situation.

The Justice Minister’s Committee on Violence against Women meets to discuss issues and potential improvements to the justice system, including in the area of family violence. This committee comprises the minister, justice officials, police agencies and representatives from community groups such as the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women, John Howard Society and the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation. The most recent meeting was held in October 2013.

Policing
Prevention of family violence is also a priority for both the RNC and the RCMP.

The RNC has a dedicated constable position to serve as the Domestic Violence Coordinator (DVC). This position works to identify individuals and families in abusive situations, and intervenes as necessary to protect them. The DVC also:

Works closely with all divisions within the RNC;
Reviews, revises and ensures compliance with the RNC policy on domestic violence;
Develops training for frontline officers;
Reviews domestic violence reports and files, and follow-up with victims;
Tracks repeat victims and offenders;
Liaises with Victim Services, shelters, CYFS, social services, Crown attorneys and other vested groups;
Assists in educational seminars for vested groups;
Liaises with other police services;
Participates in media/community information seminars;

The RNC has developed a Family Violence Investigation Report which is a summary of the Investigating Officer’s file highlighting areas regarding history, escalation and the victim’s perception of family violence. The report also considers aggravating factors to a victim’s safety, and may be used by the police and/or Crown Attorney to draw attention to issues to be considered at the release of an accused.

Training initiatives have been created for community stakeholders. The RNC is now providing cutting-edge learning opportunities for external organizations. For instance, Memorial University’s School of Medicine and the Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis Prevention Centre have been provided with customized training in domestic homicide, risk assessment and preventive measures.

The RNC requires all officers to attend the Collaborative Approach to the Investigation of Family Violence training. Topics covered include:

Principals of family violence;
Social attitudes around family violence;
Characteristics of abusive men;
The physical, societal and economic impacts of violence on women;
Why do women stay;
Impact of violence on children;
What can the police do or say to children;
What can the social worker do or say to children;
What are the effects of family violence;
Family Violence Protection Act;
Emergency Protection Orders;
Police investigative response;
Social work investigative response.

As part of their training, RNC cadets also complete a course which explores contemporary victims’ issues and how they relate to enhancing police response and sensitivity to the needs of victims.

The RNC has created a unit responsible for ensuring that high risk offenders who are responsible for domestic violence and who are released by the courts, comply with the conditions of their release.

The RNC has implemented a multi-tiered response and assessment of high risk victims to ensure proactive identification and intervention in cases of domestic violence.

One of the provincial RCMP strategic priorities is targeting relationship violence. They currently have a Domestic Violence Coordinator and Emergency Protection Order Coordinator and are also currently in the process of developing a National Training course for online use in Domestic Violence Investigations.

Each detachment of the RCMP is responsible for developing and implementing an annual performance plan to address issues such as: violence in relationships, safety for seniors, child violence and exploitation.

All investigations involving violence in relationships are reviewed with three investigational support tools: Violence in Relationship Checklist; Violence in Relationship Guide; and Emergency Protection Orders File Conclusion Report.

Department of Child, Youth and Family Services

In 2009, a significant step forward in the protection of children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador was the creation of Child, Youth and Family Services – a department dedicated solely to providing programs and services to children, youth and their families.

In keeping with the Provincial Government’s commitment to strengthen and revitalize the child protection system, the new Children and Youth Care and Protection Act was proclaimed on June 30, 2011.

The Children and Youth Care and Protection Act and Family Violence Prevention Act are important pieces of legislation in helping to protect victims of family violence.

Under the Children and Youth Care and Protection Act, improved safeguards were put in place to better protect children at risk of physical harm, emotional harm or sexual abuse either by a parent or in instances where a parent does not protect the child. Enhancements were made to not only protect children living in situations where there is violence, but also to be able to protect children when they are living with a parent who has a propensity toward violence.

In child protection matters involving family violence, CYFS will work with the parents to develop a plan that balances the child’s safety with the importance of least intrusion for the child and family. These options include requesting that an alleged abuser leave the home for a period of time until further assessments are completed or developing a plan to have the non-offending parent and child stay with family, friends or at a transitional home until further assessments can be completed.

Department of Education

Safe and Caring Schools
A Provincial Safe and Caring Schools policy was first introduced in 2006. The Department of Education is now finalizing a revised Safe and Caring Schools policy, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

The revised policy is the result of an independent review and evaluation, and an extensive consultation process involving school board and district personnel, the NLTA, the Federation of School Councils, RNC, RCMP, other community agencies, principals, teachers, parents and, of course, students themselves.

Other initiatives and programs undertaken in the past include:

Province-wide professional development and special training to school district leaders, principals, teachers and other school personnel;
Suicide intervention trainers within the educational system, across the province;
Non-violent crisis intervention trainers within education, across the province;
Non-violent crisis intervention teams within schools where a need is identified;
Online resources for students, parents and teachers to help in their efforts to address violence in schools;
The expansion of Violence Awareness Week activities, including the provincial promotion of Pink T-shirt Day to encourage students to take a leadership role in anti-bullying activities at their schools;
The implementation of the Safe and Caring Schools Special Projects Awards, which provides $500 to 40 schools each year in recognition of school-based initiatives to combat bullying;
The introduction of the annual Safe and Caring Awards, which provides 15 graduating students with a $500 post-secondary tuition voucher in recognition of their individual efforts to address violence and harassment in schools;
Awareness training for all administrators and guidance counsellors on awareness of LGBT issues;
Introduction of the MyGSA (My Gay Straight Alliance) resource to all schools in the province offering Grades 7-12;
Every school in the province has its own school development plan which speaks to how they can make safe and caring issues a part of their school culture.

Roots of Empathy
The Provincial Government increased support to Roots of Empathy this year (to $75,000), to allow the organization’s programming into more schools throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Roots of Empathy is an internationally-recognized program that focuses on building empathy by engaging children in positive social behaviours such as sharing, taking turns, and respecting others.

The program has been shown to reduce incidents of bullying and aggression when introduced at an early age, and complements the work of parents and educators who strive to instill positive characteristics in our children and make our schools safe and caring learning environments.

Department of Health and Community Services

Domestic Violence Related to Addictions
Domestic violence can be fueled by untreated substance abuse addictions. The Provincial Government offers a range of addiction resources provided through the regional health authorities that help prevent and treat addictions in adults and youth including:

Four provincial addictions centres:Youth outreach workers who engage with at risk youth within their communities and provide education, support and referrals to services when necessary;
- Recovery Centre
- Rowan Centre
- Opioid Treatment Centre
- Humberwood Treatment Centre
Outreach and Prevention Services offer addictions outreach and prevention services to individuals, families and groups;
To complement the addictions programs and services that exist for children, youth, and adults:
- A youth treatment centre in Grand Falls-Windsor is nearing completion that will offer addictions treatment; and,
- Development of an adult addictions centre in Harbour Grace continues.