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the HERALD Wednesday November 1991 Community Focus Page Police taught grim reality of female assault By I ISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Wife assault is any abuse a man directs against his- female partner in an attempt to control or In timidate her police officers ned during a seminar on domestic violence at the Regional Police station in Georgetown Nov 12 You need to understand that in domestic assaults there s the un deriving issue of power and con Acting Sergeant Brenda Glass told the group of officers taking the day long seminar The men are trying to control their female partners The seminar was one of many the Regional Police service is presenting to train their officers on how to best respond to the needs of family violence victims They began in November which is designated Wife Assault Awareness Month and by February over officers will receive the training which includes topics on sexual assault cultural issues wife assault and the effects on children There are many explanations for spousal abuse but absolutely no excuses Family Services Act Glass said the seminars vitally important because a lot of officers heard about this before Some officers don have a full understanding of all the issues involved which comes from a lack of training She revealed it t until last year that domestic abuse training was given to new recruits Part of the reason police are so behind in offering training which concentrates on aiding the abuse victim is because police were never required under law to assist the victim of crime That only changed In January when the revised Police Ser vices Act declared an officer is required to assist the victim of crime under law In assisting the victim there are four things the victim needs to know she needs to know assault Is against the law she needs to know she is believed she needs to know she t the first person this has to and If she an migrant woman she needs to know she wpn I be deported said Act Glass Officers were also told the of fender needs to hear that police are laying the charges not his wife partner and that the wife cannot withdraw the charges Only the crown attorney can withdraw assault charges One statistic which surprised the group was that a woman will have been assaulted up to times before she calls police Why don t they just leave one officer asked It s Just not that easy said a police officer and member of the Place a shelter for abused woman and their children She had a list of reasons why it is a much deeper issue than just leaving the home which included Abuse can start with a slap and end with mur der say the Ontario Womens Directorate loss of financial security nowhere else to go love for husband despite abuse strong family belief low self esteem belief husband will change fear of retaliation belief abuse is normal behavior if learned In family home and em to name a few Often the woman wants the family to stay together and by laying an assault charge police can help the family heal since often a charge will make the violence stop police were told Just by laying a charge we re taking the power and control away from the assaulter said Act Sgt Glass Going to court undermines their power Police were told on every casion where there is reasonable and probable ground a charge should be laid if there is an assault complaint made It our duty to take the in formation and lay a charge said Act Glass Research has shown a woman is assaulted up to 35 times before she calls police said Act Sgt Brenda Glass Officers are also to follow spousal assault guidelines set up by the of the Solicitor General which require police to interview the victim and suspect separately get victims to sign any statement she has provided to police and if an interpreter is required an in should be provided by someone other than the suspect It can and does happen here By LISA BOONSTOPPEL POT The Herald An enraged man forcibly drags his girlfriend from her friend house and keeps her captive in his car for two hours beating her continuously She finally escapes by leaping from the moving vehicle and gets picked up by a truck driver who takes her to a local hospital where she s treated for multiple facial and internal injuries and severe bruising Another abuse case in Toronto you say Think again The suspect was a Georgetown man and the incident occurred this spring Reports of assault come in regularly at the Halton Regional Police Station in Georgetown Most are investigated by North Haltons amily Violence Coordinator Sergeant Bob Andrews and his part time partner DetectiveConstable Janice There s been a substantial in crease in sexual and physical assault he said We ve in vesttgated 105 reports in North to date He said he and Const s plate is full dealing with assault cases and admits there s a backlog Besides assault cases he is also responsible for coordinating fraud and missing persons cases wide statistics prove assaults on females and assaults in general are on the rise In all of 1990 271 spousal assault charges were laid This year up to September they ve laid 281 charges Of those charges 239 were laid against men in 1990 and 268 only women were charged with spousal assault in 1990 and in In 29 of the in weapons were in volvcd Weapons were involved in cases this year substantial increase in physical and sexual abuse in North Halton said Sgt Bob Andrews Sgt Bob Andrews Statistics on domestic assaults reveal in there were in Nor th Halton compared to 36 in from January July These figures don include sexual assaults We should be concerned about the frequency of assaults said Ac ting Sergeant Glass the representative police officer on the Rape Centre Board of Directors One in eight women are now assaulted in Canada That figure used to be one in The situation has gotten so bad the Crown Attorneys office in has hired a spousal assault specialist who will prosecute most spousal assault cases and is also available to answer concerns and inquiries about this type of prosecution The Crown Attorneys office has a special person to deal with victims of child abuse and sexual assault This person meets with vie prior to their court appearance to help them fell more at ease wth their in the court process It s all part of an extensive net work designed to aid the victims of abuse and punish the abusers Targeting assault Acting Sergeant Glass of the Halton Regional Police Ser vice hosted a seminar on assault for police officers Nov In Georgetown where police learned how to better deal with victims of assault Herald Photo Victim lifelines Sexual Program North Half mi Victim Services Halton Crown Attorney CHOR Services 8787291