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Following the violent killing of a 33-year-old mother of three in Surrey in February, the NDP caucus called on B.C.'s Attorney general Wally Oppal to take concrete steps to address the issue of domestic violence and reminded him of his government's policies that have created serious gaps for victims of domestic abuse.
Mr. Oppal responded by saying that he doesn't believe that more services for women would deal with the issue and that the key was for women to come forward and testify. He remarked: "… I don't know if that's the problem. The problem appears to be of women coming out and talking about it. Period."
Last week's Oak Bay murder-suicide incident that killed five members of a family is another reminder that the B.C. Liberals must take a close look at their policies pertaining to the problem of domestic violence and restore the services for children and families that they have cut over the years. The first step is for them to admit that their attitude towards the issue of domestic violence has been neglectful.
One of the five victims of the tragedy, Sunny Yong Sun Park, was known to have been assaulted by her estranged husband Peter Lee who also died in this incident and is suspected to have been the perpetrator of this violent act.
This incident is a stark reminder of our need to support and protect vulnerable families in crisis. The Crown Victim Services program that was specifically aimed at preventing tragic incidents like the one in Oak Bay was among the first cuts the Campbell government made. Under the Crown Victim Services program, cancelled by the B.C. Liberal Government, if a husband was charged with intentionally injuring his wife, a Victim Service worker from the prosecutor's office would interview the victim, complete a risk assessment, and develop a safety plan for the victim and their family. The worker would also assess the needs of any children involved.
The Campbell government replaced this excellent program, which prevented violence, with an under-funded referral system that does little to prevent tragedies like the one in Oak Bay. It is hard to understand that a government that has enough money to fund the half a billion dollar overrun on the Vancouver Convention Centre has refused to find the money to reinstate a program that prevents violence related to domestic disputes.
In 2002, the B.C. Liberals also ended the zero tolerance policy on domestic violence. This policy was an important legal safeguard for women - and its elimination left women without the required protection. To make matters worse, the government did nothing to monitor the effects of this drastic change. The prosecutors were instead directed to divert abusive spouses to alternative programs rather than maintaining the vigorous prosecution stance.
A freedom of information request to the Ministry of Attorney General filed by the NDP Official Opposition late last year showed that the government had neither undertaken any research nor conducted a review regarding the impact of their decision to move away from a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse cases.
If Gordon Campbell and Wally Oppal are serious about addressing the problem of domestic abuse, it is time they reversed the reckless policy changes they made and restored some of the supports that women and families in B.C. had before them. They must immediately reinstate the Crown Victim Services program and restore the zero tolerance policy on domestic violence.
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