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Dangerous Perceptions of Women at Risk

It is important to note that Canadian society still resists knowledge of the magnitude of violence against women in all cases but highly publicized stranger assaults/murders. The media coverage of the Melanie Carpenter abduction and murder highlights this perception of the construction of violence in Canada. Such portrayals of violence against women reinforce the myth that women have more to fear from stranger assaults than in their own homes. The myth that homes are loving havens is also reinforced, which in turn often holds women accountable for violence in the home, as the following discussion shows.

By the early 1990's, women had achieved some apparent successes with regard to wife assault. After more than twenty years of activist work we had transition houses for battered women, programs for children who had witnessed violence, policies to enable police to arrest batterers, and groups for abusive men.

Various consultations and inquiries had taken place: there was a ten million dollar federal study (Changing the Landscape, 1993), a B.C. provincial study (Is Anyone Listening? 1991), a new provincial Violence against Women in Relationships policy, and the 1994 Statistics Canada survey, to name a few. Yet, as we near the end of the millennium, it becomes increasingly clear that we have not yet achieved our goals.

As a woman who previously worked in three Vancouver-area shelters, I bring my experience and knowledge into the classroom where I currently teach, among other courses, beginning practice to social work students. The reaction to the topic of wife assault is predictable. Some students find it depressing and react by avoiding the issue altogether. Others recognize their own experiences or that of friends and family, and find it emotionally difficult because they may have never acknowledged that what happened to them or to their loved ones would fit the category "violence against women".

However, a surprising number of students prefer to view this topic as "neutral" - they are convinced that women abuse men also. In a simplistic leap, they equate violence as a two-way street, one in which two equals battle it out. While they can sometimes agree that men may inflict more damage, the default position of equality is hard to dislodge.

Indeed, debates about myths regarding violence against women rightly belong in such classrooms of people, primarily women, who will soon be engaged in front-line practice where they will encounter many women who are, or who have been in abusive relationships. However, students have learned this point of view prior to coming into the classroom. This "neutrality" and equality is reflected in the community and amongst service providers as well.

For example, a student who does shelter work reports that in many cases, police arrest both women and men during a "domestic" dispute. If he hit her and she hit him back, even in self defence, some police officers apparently cannot decide who is the aggressor. While it is possible that a very small percentage of men may be battered, it is questionable that years of experience still do not give police officers the expertise to determine that most of these "disputes" are not between two equal assailants. In this example, it is possible to see how our years of education, advocacy, and desire for equality have leapt in a direction we never intended. At the same time, many defend such practices, arguing that women are now equal.

The danger in these notions of equality is that they give young women a profound sense that the struggle for women's rights is outdated - something that only my own "forty something" generation had to fight for. Many young women assert that they can now enjoy the benefits of our work.

When my classroom discussions turn to power and the state, many of these women are surprised and disconcerted when I mention the male-dominated nature of the state, the military, the media, judiciary, financial/business institutions, policy-makers, religious organizations, and the police. These facts are reinforced when we discuss how, for example, the Harris government in Ontario has implemented cuts to social assistance, emergency shelters and legal aid, and what impact this will have on abused women. Yet, even in the face of such evidence, many of my students remain convinced that women must take responsibility as adults, learn to fend for themselves, and stop portraying themselves as victims. Interestingly, the "victim" whom they will freely accept is the victim portrayed in sensationalized media accounts of stranger assaults and murders.

When I first started doing shelter work in the early 1980's, the major myths about violence against women were that women must have provoked it, they must like it, or at the very least they could simply opt to leave. In 1997, this myth seems to have swung to the opposite pole - yet again women are blamed under the guise of neutrality and equality. Despite the volumes of studies and the enormous efforts put into education and services, we seem to skim lightly across the surface of this issue both in the general population, and within the male-controlled apparatus of power. For many, violence against women is no more visible or understood than it has ever been.

While our province has not [yet] implemented draconian cuts to services for abused women, the myths that arise in the classroom must be viewed as a clear warning signal. If students devoted to "helping" believe women are now equal, this can be seen as reflecting of the generally held beliefs of voters and politicians in B.C.

Although we have seen some successes with regard to preventing violence against women, the overall power dynamics seem to turn each success on its head, using our strategies against us. In an era of cutbacks with heightened media and community awareness focused on child protection, where will services for abused women go? I feel a growing sense of dis-ease about women's safety and security. What remains to be seen is the effect on women of collapsing many services into a new large Ministry of Children and Families.

We must remember that the Ministry of Women's Equality in their 1991 report suggested that a more comprehensive understanding of woman abuse in our society would include an examination of "sexual harassment; violence in the workplace; violence against women who are health care service providers; abuse among family members other than parent-child or husband-wife; abuse by same sex partners; ritual abuse; violence against prostitutes; child prostitution as child abuse; sexual violence on campus; pornography and violence in the media" (p.39).

Such descriptions remind us of the pervasive and systemic nature of violence against women. It also illustrates how aspects of violence become mythologised, constituted, segregated, privatized, racialized and categorized to sell newspapers and perpetuate existing myths.

Professor Barbara Issac
Faculty of Health and Human Sciences
Social Work Program, University of Northern B.C.
3333 University Way
Prince George, B.C. V2N 4Z9
Ph: (250) 960-6518
Fx: (250) 960-5536