YWCY in Yellowknife making strides to invetigate protection orders

[rwm1273]

One can only imagine the anguish felt by a woman or a man, often with children
to protect, when a spouse is bent on making trouble.

Protection orders offer a line of defence, and the effectiveness and delivery of
those orders is soon expected to be under scrutiny by a consultant hired by the
territorial government.

One must applaud Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA, for questioning
what happens to those removed from a home after a protection order has been
approved, forcing them from their household for up to 90 days.

Getting both sides of a story is important in properly understanding an issue,
and the territorial government is missing the boat on this. By not including
those who are forced to leave their home - mostly men - it's only getting half
the picture as to the effectiveness of the program. By not focusing the review
to include alleged abusers, it's neglecting a significant portion of the people
who are involved in protection orders.

While protecting women and children from abusive situations is important, it is
equally important those being accused be given a fair chance. Men can be removed
from their home for as long as three months if a protection order is granted by
a justice of the peace. In this process, the men aren't given a chance to make
their case. This opens the system to potential abuse.

While protection orders are necessary to protect those who are preyed upon for
their vulnerability, a potential spat or heated argument could lead to a person
being removed from their home without having heard their side of the story.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said "being able to protect those
victims is a more important thing to do than inconvenience a person who has been
abusive."

While nobody wants abuse to continue without intervention, the existing process
doesn't give the accused a fair say - the protection order is granted solely
based on what the complainant is telling police and the justice of the peace.

The YWCA has the act in mind when it wants to know the other side of the story.
Everyone deserves to have their voices heard when allegations of abuse are
involved and it's imperative the territorial government include men who have
been labeled abusers.

It's the only way the GNWT will get a full view of just how well the act has
worked since it came into effect in 2005.

Reported from the Yellowknife.

[beebie]

In fact , the Protection Against Family Violence Act has been further amended in Alberta as noted in ablawg.com. Even more biased in favour of women. Men in Alberta should group together to lobby MLAs to prevent any further amendment of this Act to increase the inherent injustice to the party accused but to ensure fairness to accused party (usually the male).

[pokeman]

beebie that link didnt work - pls repost or message me

i am in calgary, me and my children fled from the mother who beat them till they bleed from the mouth and attacked me, I filed an 'emergency protection order' known as an EPO;

i ended up homeless and my kids ended up in foster homes, the mother got a court order for house, $, cars, kids which superceded my flimsy EPO;

police here told me to not be so childish filing such a thing .. guess they already knew its not for men/fathers ...

once they figured out she was "too" dangerous I got my kids back - then they sent them to a therapest they told me would help with parenting issues between the two homes, not so - the shrink who didnt help me at all dealing with parenting issues told me in a raised voice "children should be with their mother especially girls".

the therapist did a form of 'parential alienation' against me telling children they should be with their mother - that girls live together - that they should feel sorry for their mother ... and my lawyer wrote me there was nothing she could do about it cause they/'judge' wanted to give mother another chance;

EPO's are a tool just like no such thing as perjury in family court - its used to get what they want , the under funded mens group here just yawn at the above they have heard such things so many times ...

good luck men in NWT, this is alberta and its still 1955 here ...

[beebie]

Sorry this is it I hope:

ABlawg.ca Blog Archive Protection Against Family Violence Act Amended

I am concerned that the various governmental review processes are asking for input from only one half of the population: domestic shelter inhabitants and staff, counsellors, academics especially feminist academics who do not have on the ground experience with what EPOs do to families and to fathers.

I think there should be male input and input from fathers and from respondents who are sometimes forced out of their homes and prevented from seeing their children.

[pokeman]

i p1ssed my 2 cents into their pot , says awaiting moderation ...

the police never did serve my EPO so the mother was coming to the door threatening me days later;

in august 2010 she was still sending me emails with pictures of tombstones ... there was no protection for me from her in 2007 or 2010, nor today really;

why should she stop if the infrastructure wont do or enforce such a thing short term or otherwise ...

men i have spoke to here merely accused of doing something to their children or spouse had not seen their children in 6+ months and had instructions to undergo a physcological review ($$) before even trying;

thats the way I see the wind blowing here ...