A recent survey by the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters (ACWS) points to the need for more to be done to ensure that all Albertans, and particularly adult males, know and understand that violence against women is wholly unacceptable.
The ACWS survey saw 1,000 men questioned on their perceptions and attitudes about violence against women and what can be done to prevent it.
Although, in general, the findings were encouraging – for example, more than 80 per cent of respondents felt that pushing to harm or cause fear should be considering domestic violence – there were other findings that are more troubling.
Three findings in particular signal the need for more to be done to get the message across that family violence is not wanted or welcome in Alberta:
• Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed said they did not believe domestic violence should be considered a criminal offence.
• Sixteen per cent of respondents said domestic violence is a private matter that should be handled within the family.
• And sixteen per cent of respondents said domestic violence can be excused if, afterwards, the violent person genuinely regrets what they have done.
First, any suggestion that family violence should be considering anything other than a criminal offence is, simply, wrong.
Suggesting that violence against family members is somehow less serious than other violent crime only serves to incorrectly lessen the seriousness of domestic violence and its impact on children and others.
Second, domestic violence impacts not only family members, but also society in general, and, as such, it should and must be dealt with at both a family and societal level.
Keeping domestic violence ‘behind closed doors' would only serve to protect and shield the guilty while putting victims at greater risk and preventing them from receiving the help and support they need.
Third, any suggestion that domestic violence is OK as long as the person who is violent is sorry afterwards goes against common sense and common decency.
It would never be acceptable for a person to shoot an acquaintance and then get away with it by simply claiming that he or she was sorry. That would make no sense, and it doesn't make sense when it comes to domestic violence either.
Changing attitudes about the criminality of domestic violence, the need for it to be brought out from behind closed doors, and the culpability of the guilty requires ongoing public education, says the ACWS.
As such, all candidates in the current provincial election are encouraged to make the spreading of the anti-domestic violence message part of their respective campaigns.
