AT HANI

HELP’S AT Hand, by North Shore

Community Services (NSCS), is a-

forum for discussing government
policies and programs, benefits,
consumer and legal rights, taxation
and public services. Information is
intended only as a general guide
and should not be applied to specif-
ic circumstances without further
consultation.

QUESTION: I can’t understand
why women who are beaten up
by their husbands or boyfriends
don’t just pack their bags and
feave. Surely it isn’t that diffi-
cult?

_Answer: Reaching out for help
is extremely difficult for most
women in an abusive situation.
Many do not have support of family
and friends, are not familiar with
the support network available in the
community, and fear further abuse.

It is very important to reassure |

women that there are services in
our community available for assis-
tance and support. Let us illustrate
this by describing a success story of
a woman who decided to seek help
and leave an abusive relationship.

- It-was nine o'clock at night and
Sally had just put the children to
bed when her husband came home.
Sally could smell a mixture of ciga-
rette smoke and beer on his breath.
A fight erupted because his dinner
was not prepared. As usual, he
‘belittled her.and demanded to know
what she had done all day..-

‘The argument escalated, and
Sally tried to leave the fight by
going into her bedroom to lie on the
bed, but he. followed her and
: dragged her back isto the kitchen to
make him dinner. He watched her
every move and when she. did
something “wrong” he slapped her

face, and finally. grabbed her arms.

and shook her banging her head on
the corner of the fridge door. When
‘he let go of her she ran back into
the. bedroom dialed 911 for help.
He followed her and hung the

phone up but because a connection .
was made: between. her line and.

911, the phone number and address
“were registered.
- Within seconds the phone rang
and Sally’s husband answered it. {t
was a radio dispatcher from North
Vancouver RCMP. Sally’s husband
‘explained that everything was fine
- and their child was playing with the
phone. The dispatcher insisted that
he speak with. Sally. Sally
explained that they had an argu-
ment-and she panicked but all was
_ Settled now. She knew that if she
was honest her husband would be
mad and would prabably hit her
again. Regardless of what was said,
_ ‘two officers were dispatched to the
“hoyse.

When the officers arrived they
spoke with Sally and her husband
separately. Sally was scared but she
admitted to the police officer that
this sometimes happens when he
has been Grinking. She started.to
cry and showed the officer the fin-
ger marks oy her arms, the red
mark on the side of her face, and
the bump on her head. Her husband
was arrested. One police officer
took him to the station while the
other stayed at the house.

By this time the children were :.

awake and crying. The police offi-
cer called the RCMP counsellor to
come to the house. Once the kids
were settled and Sally had calmed
down, the counsellor asked her to
explain what happened. Sally felt
‘comfortable so she rehashed the
entire night including some previ-
ous incidents and showed the coun-
sellor her bruises and bumps. The
counsellor urged Sally to go to her
doctor the next day and to the
police detachment to have pictures
taken of the bruises. The counsellor
explained that her husband was

being held overnight and would
appear in court the next day fora
bail hearing. She emphasized that
the police were laying charges and
Sally's role would be to testify if he
plead not guilty.

Sally had no family or friends
close by. The counsellor assured
Sally that the North Shore commu-
nity has an abundance of resources
available for support, and encour-
aged her to reach out for help. She

‘explained the resources and gave

her some phone numbers for refer-
rals to counselling.

She also explained that if Sally
was afraid to stay in her home she
and the children could go to Emily
Murphy House, the transition house

in North Vancouver Once the
counsellor felt that Sally had some
understanding of the prucess that
would follow, and was aware of
some resources, she left, promising
to call the next day.

The next morning Sally was
contacted by Crown Counsel
Victim Services. They wanted to
ensure there were no changes in the
information given and that the rec-
ommended bail conditions satisfied
Sally's needs. As was promised, the
RCMP counsellor contacted Sally
to make sure she was feeling OK.
At this point the RCMP counsellor
referred Sally to RCMP Victim
Services. A volunteer contacted
Sally regularly to encourage her to

DRAFT CORPORATE BUSINESS PLAN
For your review and discussion

seck assistance and support from
the community. The RCMP Victim
Services and Crown Counsel
Victim Services worked together to
ensure that Sally was supported
through the entire criminal proceed-
ing.

Spousal abuse is illegal and
therefore it is important that women
seek protection from the police. As
was illustrated with “Sally” the
police are instrumental in increas-
ing awareness of a support network
and assistance available in the com-
munity.

This column is prepared with
financial assistance from the
Notary Foundation. For more
information call NSCS at 985-7138,

ouncil invites you to join a discussion on the District of

North Vancouver's draft Corporate Business Plan and share
your views on the issues and decisions affecting your. ,
community and your local government.

Once adopted, the Business Plan will

On the program

become the “map” to be followed by staff

for planning activities and preparing -

annual budgets.

Forum on the |

Corporate Business Plan —
Wednesday, November 23 -
7p.m. to 10 p.m., District Hall

Brief presentations on the Business Plan will

include:

® an overview of the Plan

¢ how it integrates with other plans and initiatives

@ a review of priorities that have been identified in the Plan. -
A Comment Period will follow, to give you or your organization
an opportunity to present your views or questions on the Plan.

For more information
4

Pick up a copy of the Corporate Business Plan from District Hall,
a District Library branch , recCentre or the RCMP Community
Policing Storefront in Lynn Valley Mall. The Plan can also be
accessed through InfoLink (988-9513), the District’s electronic |
bulletin board service (BBS).

Let us know what do you think

Your comments are important. Plan on attending the District -
Forum or watching the live telecast on Shaw Cable. Here's how

you can comment :

¢during the Comment Period at the Forum

¢ phoning the Comment Line at 990-2273

fax to 984-9637

¢ mail to P.O. Box 86218, North Vancouver, V7L 4K1