Those who work as advocates for women and children in this region must have been alarmed this fall when government funding for the Edmonton WIN House III women’s shelter was cut. The shelter specialized in providing services to immigrant women or temporary foreign workers who experience abuse such as so-called honour violence or human trafficking.
It’s a shame, as the shelter, located in north Edmonton, very likely hosted women from St. Albert, Sturgeon County or Morinville. There are no crisis housing resources in this city at all, and St. Albert and surrounding areas are seeing more and more immigrants or temporary foreign workers coming to work here in restaurants, coffee shops and hotels.
Domestic violence is a problem in Alberta, and as SAIF director Doreen Slessor pointed out to the Gazette last week, St. Albert is included in that statement.
“We certainly have family violence in St. Albert,” said Slessor.
A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) stated eight per cent of Alberta men believe it’s OK to physically assault a woman who makes him angry. Four per cent think it’s acceptable to hurt a woman who withholds sex.
According to the ACWS the stats come from a survey of 1,000 Alberta men. It’s the first Canadian survey examining the attitudes of men toward domestic violence, they stated.
Domestic violence affects about six per cent of women in Canada, notes Statistics Canada. Alberta’s numbers in 2009 were one per cent higher, tied with Saskatchewan for top spot, according to StatsCan.
The numbers are backed up by the demand at women’s shelters in Alberta, including the capital region.
A recent CBC report stated more than 4,000 women were turned away from shelters across the province last year, according to the ACWS.
It was stated that in a report to the City of Edmonton's community services committee, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters says 6,112 women were admitted to shelters in 2011-12, while 4,566 were turned away due to lack of space.
In the already complex arena of domestic violence, every minute counts. If women aren’t confident they have a safe place to go, or even aware of it in the first place, they could stay with their abuser and if children are involved, they will be targets of abuse too.
