A downturn in the local economy is being cited as a reason for the increase in the number of reported cases of domestic violence in Kitimat in the last year.
Presenting a monthly crime statistics report before District council, Kitimat RCMP Sgt. Graham Morgan disclosed that the number of prisoners that were held in the RCMP’s cells had increased from 24 in March last year, to 66 this year for the same period.
When asked by councillors to account for the increase, Morgan attributed the increase in the number of prisoners to an increase in the number of arrests related to domestic disputes.
In March alone, he said, there were seven reported cases of domestic violence, one which involved a 17-year-old youth.
Cheryl Rumley of Tamitik Status of Women, said their sanctuary for victims of domestic violence, Transition House, had been “very busy for the last two months”.
“We have definitely seen an increase in domestic violence over the last few months,” said Rumley.
She attributed the increase to the increased stress families are being put under as the local economy worsens following the completion of the Kitimat Modernization Project at Rio Tinto Alcan.
This was being aggravated by the lack of affordable housing in the town, with people often being forced to downscale and share housing.
“Domestic violence accounts for about 20 per cent of common assaults reported in Kitimat, which is above the provincial average,” said Rumley.
Morgan said in many cases people move to Kitimat without family, support networks or employment.
“Employment and financial stressors are factors that influence domestic violence, which is aggravated by alcohol abuse,” said Morgan.
Rumley and Morgan both sit on the Interagency Case Assessment Team (ICAT), which in Kitimat consists of a representative from a number of bodies, including Tamitik, the RCMP, Victim Services, the ministries of Social Development and Children and Family Development, Community Corrections and Mental Health and Addictions.
The ICAT committee meets to discuss individual cases of domestic violence to come up with a co-ordinated response for each case, flagging cases as high risk and discussing how to increase safety and accountability.
ICAT committees are not investigative bodies and will step in and make critical interventions when cases are deemed high risk, referring the cases to the RCMP representative for police intervention.
The RCMP representative will then circulate information about the victim and suspect at the next ICAT meeting, and the other representatives will then research their agencies for information relating to the victim and suspect.
That information is then brought back to the next meeting where the risk level will be determined, a safety plan developed for the victim and a monitoring and support plan developed for the suspect.
The Kitimat committee is part of a provincial network of nearly 20 ICAT teams around the province.
“We meet and share different bits of information about cases, filling in pieces of the puzzle,” said Rumley. “We get a broader view of individual cases, increasing individual’s safety and reducing risk.”
She said while discussing individual cases is an important part of ICAT’s work, disseminating information and educating the community about domestic violence against women, children and increasingly, the elderly, is also important.
“If we can share that information we can also save lives, by getting service providers to work together to improve safety through mental health education and education in schools,” said Rumley.
She also stressed the importance of the community getting involved in reporting domestic violence.
“There is a stigma attached to people sticking their noses in other people’s business,” said Rumley. “As far as we are concerned, life trumps privacy.”
She also encouraged women experiencing abuse in a relationship to not feel that they are alone, and to contact the numerous agencies that specialize in assisting victims.