Domestic violence calls are a major issue and on the rise in Grande Prairie

In 2018, Victim Services had 1124 domestic violence files.

Women aren’t the only ones who are victims of domestic abuse, men can be abused as well.

Local RCMP stats are a little different from Victim Services as not all cases will go through the Victim Services Unit (VSU).

“Grande Prairie is very highly ranked, having quite a large amount of domestic violence, per capita,” said Cpl. Lianne Bilodeau with the domestic violence unit in G.P.

From January to the end of May this year, RCMP had received 952 calls relating to some sort of spousal abuse.

“(These calls) can be anything ranging from a custody issue, all the way to an aggravated assault or homicide,” said Bilodeau.

Grande Prairie has significantly higher numbers of domestic violence compared to other Alberta cities with larger populations. Last year, Grande Prairie had 1746 calls for service, while Red Deer had 1580, Fort McMurray had 1023 and Airdrie had 884.

Bilodeau says VSU files are not accessible by RCMP.

“I think it’s important to let people know that because a lot of times people won’t reach out to VSU or speak with VSU because they are concerned that information now becomes property of the RCMP.”

If people contact VSU they will offer such supports as information on how to leave a relationship, resources on how to make the relationship healthier and help when it comes to navigating the court system.

“We provide whatever support that client requires,” explained Callfas. “We give court updates, we go to court with them, we provide resources should they need to access counselling, whatever their issues of concern are.”

If the situation is bad enough, VSU will try to encourage the victim to make a report with the RCMP for their own safety or the safety of family members.

What does abuse look like?

Cpl. Bilodeau says within the RCMP there are different classifications they look at regarding abuse. These are the types investigated within the RCMP:

Physical – a use of force against another person, whether that’s a family member or spouse.

Emotional – includes yelling, essentially degrading or humiliating another person.

Sexual – when there’s forced contact against another person for a sexual purpose.

Financial – controlling of the finances, limiting access to money.

Stalking – with the RCMP this falls under criminal harassment.

“I think for a lot of people, this is kind of an underrated one as people don’t seem to see it as an issue until it becomes extreme,” said Cpl. Bilodeau. “Stalking can be anything from following, consistent phone calls or text messages, any sort of contact through social media, showing up unannounced at locations that the person knows that the other person is going to be at, any place they are purposely attending knowing that the other person is likely to be there, because they’re aware of their schedule.”

Neglect – where people are provided inadequate access to food, clothing and shelter, health or dental care, and a lack of protection from harm.

Isolation – isolating people from any sort of support network (friends, family members) in order to allow other forms of abuse to continue.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of the depths of the abuse until they’re quite far in it and when they start to review it or they have an outside opinion or third party that’s able to help them realize and see the signs of abuse,” said Bilodeau.

Where to access help:

There is a 24-hour-a-day Alberta wide phone number for family violence. The number is 310-1818. By calling this number people call find out more about programs that are offered and supports available to them.

Odyssey House Grande Prairie – is available to female victims of domestic violence and children. This shelter is unique because it offers second-stage housing for up to two years. The 24-hour crisis line is 780-532-2672.

PACE – offers counselling and support groups. Programs here cater to both male and female. Visit pacecentre.com for more info.

John Howard Society – offers various programs to try and help people with counselling and assessing their situation. The website is johnhowardgp.ca.

Victim Services Unit – as we outlined earlier in this article, VSU provides supports based on each case. Visit grandeprairievictimservices.com for more information.

Another great resource is whenlovehurts.ca

“When people are dealing with family members or friends that are going through domestic violence, the way you interact with the person, in regard to providing support for them, is critical to those women or men in need,” said Cpl. Bilodeau. “A lot of times I think we blame, or even shame the victims because we don’t understand why they won’t just leave. And I think that creates a bigger void where they feel like they have no support network, which isolates them further and allows the abuse to go on for a longer time.”

She is encouraging people who are part of the support network to keep those lines of communication open and to make sure that person is feeling supported, whether it takes two or 12 attempts to leave.

by Sheena Roszell

Domestic violence calls are a major issue and on the rise in Grande Prairie

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