BCIFV home > Media Release > November 6, 2003

For Immediate Release: November 6, 2003
Contact: Penny Bain, Executive Director, BCIFV
phone: 604.669.7055, 1.877.755.7055, or
pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org

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Collaboration is Key to Preventing Violence

The BC Institute Against Family Violence recently completed a collaboration with a wide range of community agencies, spearheaded by the BC Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, intended to bring attention to the links between animal abuse and family violence.

Consisting of three public-information brochures, the BC SPCA project highlights that cruelty to animals can be a signpost of violence in families, and family violence should signal authorities to check for abuse and/or neglect of animals.

For example, animal-protection workers called in to deal with a child who is consistently tormenting a family pet might be on the lookout for signs that they should contact social workers, as children often act out the pain of their own abuse on the only family member more vulnerable than they are.

Conversely, transition-house workers might want to ask new intakes about family pets, and alert animal-protection authorities that they may be at risk of harm inflicted by an abuser who is riled by his partner's departure.

BCIFV Endorses Joint Statement Opposing Physical Punishment of Children and Youth

The board of the BC Institute Against Family Violence recently voted to endorse a Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth, which will be published by the Coalition on the Physical Punishment of Children and Youth pending endorsements.

"The Joint Statement is actually a comprehensive summary of research findings showing that physical punishment is not only not beneficial to children in any way, but places children at risk of physical injury in situations where the punishment escalates into abuse," says Penny Bain, Executive Director of the BCIFV. "It can also have mid- and long-term repercussions throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood."

Highlights include:

• Some of the strongest predictors for use of physical punishment are parental anger, depression, or stress-not the child's need for instruction or guidance.
• In a 1998 study, over 10,000 substantiated cases of child physical abuse took place in the context of punishment, constituting over two-thirds of substantiated abuse cases that year.
• An analysis of 27 studies showed that physical punishment increased children's acting out, attacking siblings, hitting parents, and behaving aggressively toward peers.

In many Lower Mainland communities, November is Together Against Violence month- a time when agencies and individuals from many sectors of society strive to increase public understanding of violence in all its forms, in the hope of moving a step closer to prevention.

For more information on the BC SPCA's Violence Link project, contact Paula Neuman, Humane Education Supervisor at the Vancouver branch of the SPCA, 604-647-5505, pneuman@spca.bc.ca , or www.spca.bc.ca .

For full text of the Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth in English and French, visit www.cheo.on.ca.

For more information on Together Against Violence month events, check monthly events listings at www.coquitlam.ca, visit www.vcn.bc.ca/tavnet/ , or visit websites for Lower Mainland municipalities and school districts.

For more information, contact Penny Bain, Executive Director of the BC Institute Against Family Violence at 669-7055
or 1 877-755-7055, pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org.

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