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Video Review

A Love That Kills - 1999. NFB video, 19 mins. Order#C9199118
Director: Annie O’Donoghue
Producers: Jack McGaw, George Johnson.
Closed Captioned

A Love That Kills helps to identify the warning signs of partner abuse, especially in young people, and the damage it causes emotionally and physically. It will help generate discussion and action and is appropriate for use in Health, Guidance, Family Law or Social Studies classes.

We know that sixty-two per cent of women murdered in Canada during 1990 died as a result of assault committed by their husbands or boyfriends. On average, two women were killed by their partners every week. A Love That Kills is the tragic story of nineteen year old Monica, who was murdered by her former boyfriend in 1991.

Like many other young women, Monica moved from her parents’ home to start a new life with her boyfriend, Adam. It was not long after that the relationship became violent,and Monica returned home to the support of her family. However, in response to Adam’s pleading, within a week she decided to reconcile with him and rejoined him in their shared apartment. Things hadn’t changed, however; rather, Adam’s abusive behavior had intensified. Barely another week passed when Monica was once more forced to leave.

On October 7, 1991, after settling into a new home on her own, she returned from a social evening spent with friends and family and was confronted and shot by Adam.

This documentary is a powerful warning that women have to be more concerned about their own safety, particularly when they decide to leave abusive relationships.We have Monica’s example, and the efforts of her grieving mother, who shares her daughter’s story, to teach us about violence, how it can impact our lives and how it may be prevented.

—Elizabeth Bozsik