Comment "The shelter, the storm"

The Globe and Mail,
page A14, June 26, 2003

There's no reason to think that April 15 last year was any different than any other day. It just happens to be the date Statistics Canada took a snapshot of family shelters in Canada

And it didn't get a pretty picture.

On that day, there were 3,287 women and 2,999 children residing in shelters across Canada. Hiding from violent men might be a more accurate way to describe it, because three quarters of the women were there to escape abusive relationships. Only one quarter were being sheltered for other reasons, including housing problems, mental health problems and alcohol or drug addictions.

Sexual and physical assault, threats, harassment and financial and psychological abuse were the main things that drove woman and their young children-mostly under the age of 10- to seek safe haven in shelters.

What is perhaps more disturbing than the number in hiding that day, is that 115 shelters turned away 295 women and 257 children. Some of the shelters referred the women on because they were better suited to other facilities-but three quarters were simply too full, and were forced to pass them on because they couldn't care for them.

It is not as if government is indifferent to the problem. Over the past decade the number of shelters in Canada has increased from 376 to 524.

Unfortunately, demand has stayed ahead of supply. Family violence, it seems, is a growth industry. Statistics Canada reports that in 2001, there were 344 incidents of spousal violence for every 100 000 women, compared with 302 in 1995. Last year nearly 56 000 women were admitted to shelters. (Men are abused too, but only 18 were admitted to shelters last year.)

In the grim statistics there is some encouragement, however, because surveys have found that part of the growth is because victims are now more willing to report abuse. It's not that men are more abusive-it's that their spouses and children are less willing to tolerate it. So too the police, who laid charges in 80 per cent of all spousal violence cases.

A regional breakdown by Statistics Canada shows that the problem is national in scope. So too is the response, with every province and territory now operating shelter programs.

But there isn't enough room, as the data from April 15 shows. Women do not easily pack up their children to flee abusive relationships. Having made that difficult and courageous decisions, it is not acceptable that anywhere in this country they should be turned away. How many might have returned to their homes, risking further abuse?

Statistics Canada has give us a snapshot that we would rather not have in the Canadian family album. But it's there and it can't be ignored. Governments should respond by ensuring that in their jurisdiction, there is room for every woman and child that seeks shelter. In the short term that may require opening more shelters, but the real challenge facing society is to somehow reverse the trend in family violence. Staying ahead of the curve is important, but changing the shape of that curve to a downward angle is what's really needed.