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July 1,1984 Newsroom 985-2131

Classified 986-6222 Circulation 986-1337

Price 2S¢

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family service
FAMILY VIOLENCE has dramatically. increased

in parts of the North Shore, according to statistics
compiled by the North Shore Information and

Volunteer Centre.

Pearl MacKenzie, Legal
Information Counsellor, says
of 32 family law clients she
dealt with in May, 17 involv-
ed abuse.

She says April statistics

showed 48 per cent of the
persons dealt with complain-
ed of ‘abuse, while in March
the figure was 27 per cent.
‘*Family violence has really
leaped. And we’re not just
- seeing spouse abuse here. I've
seen a few cases where kids
are beating up their parents.
Some older parents are really
afraid of their children,’’ said
MacKenzie. ‘‘We feel that
people should be aware that
family violence is an issue
and a problem.”’

MacKenzie cites three
possible reasons for the
escalating domestic violence
witnessed at the Centre.

A major contributing fac-
tor could be stress, while.
another possibility is that
violence is becoming more
acceptable in society.

Thirdly, MacKenzie said
the closure of numerous
social services has prompted

the bulk of thosé agencies’
clients to seek out assistance
at the Centre

**When-they come in here
we try to get them the ap-
propriate legal help. In some
cases, the police can lay
charges of we can get a
restraining order, says
MacKenzic “But with legal
aid so cut back and so strap
ped, t's hard to get Aawyers
to take these cases."’

According to Mackenasic,
lawyers receive fees between
$36 and $40 under legal aid,
while regular fees range

anywhere from $95 to $150
per hour ‘‘The lawyers aren't
trying to gouge with their
regular fees. It’s just that
they need to charge that to
cover their cost. They really

wep
do care about people,’’ says
MacKenzie.

She says the typical cases
she handles involve spousal
relationships,. either
common-law or marriage
situations where children are
often involved.

PEARL MacKENZIE *
... she’s alarmed

In the event of a break-up,
MacKenzle sayS many
women are left with the
children and often with no
moncy. As for those women
who (ry to initiate a break-up
by trying to escape their
unhappy home themselves,
the situation often becomes
worse with some men becom
ing more violent toward their
spouses.

Workers at the Centre arc
currently in the process of
preparing a proposal for a
study which would monitor
and document family
violence cases. Executive
Director Margaret Ramsay
says the group plans to sub
mit the proposal to federal
government officials.