â€"I" i ’.I ie o ' wouet * . it 6tz d tne Cmm 'v‘ e‘ se '†~eâ€"aomit in it To C WR sn WR sc e onl enï¬ TA on t on 1+ 09 -""""'â€""""'WYW » Seventeenâ€"year shelter worker says: Law officials scoffed at early abuse claims (Continued from page 1) change." He said men involved in the White Ribbon Campaign have long understood they can deliver a powerful message when they engage other men in thinking and talking about violence against women. Only in an evolving environâ€" ment of positive change can men‘s attiâ€" tudes be changed, he ended. Miriam Bhabha of the Bosnianâ€" Canadian Relief Association said the muchâ€"publicized brutality against women in Bosnia had lifted awareness to the perpetration of violence on a globâ€" al scale. "Women have always been raped in war, but it‘s rarely been defined as a war crime, but considered like pillage," she said. "The ongoing war in Bosnia brought war rapes to the forefront." Because they were accused of seekâ€" ing publicity, rape victims did not at first report crimes perpetrated against them, most of which were instigated by men they knew. Bhabha said they were raped "for the specific purpose of impregnaâ€" tion" because a pregnant woman is a symptom of her nation‘s defeat. While women in Canada can do much for their sisters in the world by speaking out against governments who fail to take action against perpetrators, women can also lend support to their violated sisters. "A hug can be worth a thousand words," she said. A third speaker, Donna Mcliroy, described the sweat, toil and tears â€" and smiles â€" of working in a shelter for battered women and their children in St. Catharines. When she began 17 years ago, there was no paid staff, money for food, clothing, phone or any of the other services provided in today‘s shelters. Added to this, there was no support from the community or from the police. "The police scoffed at the idea that women were being abused and they needed or deserved police protection," she said. "They refused to enforce assault laws." Nor did physicians believe that women and children were being sexualâ€" ly and physically abused. Women were prescribed valium to soothe their nerves but nothing else was done to help them, she said. By organizing bake sales, soliciting donations and by whatever other means they could, they kept the shelter going, even managing to turn out a newsletter to let abused women know the shelter existed. "It was exhausting work but very exhilarating and it kept us very close to the problem and very committed to the cause," said Mcllroy. In return for their commitment, staff workers had to put up with threatening phone calls from husbands of the abused women, trucks rammed against the building, threats from police and even social agencies of separating children from their mothers ""simply because they were in a shelter." As time went on, they learned how to access political decisionâ€"makers able to give them funding. Through sharing of information with other shelters, the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses was eventually formed which acted as a clearing house for information and then grew into a lobbying and support network. But funding was still a problem. When family service agencies received government funding for counselling to battered women, the battle lines were drawn. "Shelter workers felt they were in the trenches with the victims and that they knew a lot more about the victims than professional counsellors," she said. "W: were being deliberately overlooked and demeaned." After years of anger, shelter workers and their Association decided to become "smarter." They learned how to apply for grants, buy large houses on CMHC funding, have violence included in the curriculum for doctors, nurses, social workers. They watched court proceedâ€" ings closely, spoke at Queen‘s Park and finally were instrumental in changing the Family Law Act to recognize wives as equal financial partners with their husbands. They were instrumental in getting a sexual assault law passed that made it illegal for a man to rape his wife. Although violence is still a problem, she said women should never become discouraged, even though their quest for nonâ€"violence goes forward at times and then slips back a notch. She pointed to changes over the past 15 years which include antiâ€"violence legislation, better training of police offiâ€" cers and more education about violence in schools. "As you walk through the streets tonight, you‘ll know you‘re part of a growing movement that has comâ€" mitted itself to making the world â€" and our little corner of it â€" a better and safer place for all of us." How to Ensure Your Estate Goes to Your Family ... not Revenue Canada‘! PLAN Now TO ATTEND THIS IMPORTANT ESTATE PLANNING SEMINAR. COME AND LEARN FROM OAKVILLE‘S PROFESSIONAL ESTATE PLANNING TEAM: Dennis Siemko, Investment Advisor, RBC Dominion Securities Brian J. Hanna, Hanna, Henderson, Barristers Solicitors Bryan E Kogut, Tax Specialist, BDO Dunwoody, Ward, Maillett N. Neill Taylor, Funeral Director, Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home Bruce Caplan, Sun Life Canada Marilyn Fedak, Manager, Personal Banking, Royal Bank DATE: Tuesday, September 28, 1993 TIME: 7:00 p.m. PLACE: Howard Johnson, 590 Argus Road, Oakville Note: Admission to this special meeting is FREE, but as seating is limited, preâ€"registration is requested. To book your place, please call: Sue Caswell at 338â€"2482 e RBC DOMINION SECURITIES THE FRAMING DEN Doster Framing ho $40â€"8104 $3500 (up to 24" From the following businesses OAKVILLE BEAVER Laura Gromosky of Burlington SPORTSDOMES John Reiter of Oakville Fran Richardson of Oakville KERR STREET MERCHANTS Irena Kobyliniska of Oakville PEDIGREE PETS Mrs. C. Alexander of Burlington RAINBOW EXPRESSIONS Debble Floyd BATA Mrs. C. Alexander of Oakville McCUTCHEONS CAMERAS MAPLE GROVE VILLAGE Mrs. P. Della Rocca Mabel Brothers Monica Albin Larry D. Brooks HOPEDALE MALL June Fonjeca CORBETT‘S SPORTS Danny Pece Jeannie Nicoletta TRAFALGAR VILLAGE MALL Janet Hunter of Oakville BAMBOO RESTAURANT Jake Rawson SPACE OPITICAL Paul Hartman of Hamiiton Interest rates have fallen so low that many renters can now own property and carry a mortgage for the amount that they have been paying for rent. Since November 1990, interest rates have gone from 13% to a low of 5.75% as of September 1993. These low rates have not been experienced since the late 1950‘s. Presently, lenders are very aggressive. There is a battle between the banks and the trust companies, fighting each other for a share of the residential mortgage market. Both are offering many perks . and incentives in order to generate business. In late February ©1992, the government _ introduced _ the Home Buyer‘s Plan, which permits the use of up to $40,000 in Registered â€"Retirement Savings e 10% from RRSP of Oakville NOT JUST FLICKS Don Smith ROBERTS FISH COVE F. Belo of Weston Oll K. Jensen of Oakville With Today‘s Low Interest Rates... Current Prices are Equivalent to 1986 Levels e 90% mortgage financing at low interest rates With a small downpayment, you can be a homeowner with great future appreciation OAKVILLE MAZDA John Schenten CANADIAN TIRE Mr. Zoque of Oakville THE BREWING EXPERIENCE John McKee ;Real 36) ... The Bottom Linge Plan funds toward the purchase of a home. This amount is interest free and must be repaid within 15 years. Under this plan, any couple can use their RRSPs (up to $40,000) as a downpayment and finance the balance of a property at current low interest rates and take advantage of 1986 level prices. Dan Cooper is an associate broker with Countrywide Town Centre Realty Inc., and can be reached at 338â€"6550. £661 ‘92 ‘1deg ‘{epuns ‘puayeam Jeneeg oilimeo â€" 61