BCIFV home > Newsletter > 2001 Archives > Winter 2001 articles

From the Executive Director - Penny Bain

The Institute has been busy since the publication of our summer newsletter. We are pleased to welcome three new board members, Jeff Hopkins, Barbara Bain and Simone Fidelman. We extend our deep appreciation to three departing board members Dr. Gloria Gutman, Ben Kendall and Shirley Avril. Gloria, Ben and Shirley have assisted the Institute for a number of years in research, fundraising and education projects respectively. We greatly value your contributions to the work of the Institute.

In addition to previously reported projects, we have contracted with the Ministry of Attorney General Victim Services Branch to review BC Coroner files and make recommendations on tracking of femicide cases in BC. The final report will include a recommendation that the Institute issue an annual report on femicides in BC that will be made available to the public. Mary Cooper has completed an analysis of family violence issues arising in Children's Commission fatality reports which is reviewed elsewhere in the newsletter. Dr. Randy Kropp continues to develop Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA) training tools for Corrections Canada.

Institute staff have been busy renegotiating an agreement with Health Canada to provide information on the Internet through the Canadian Health Network. Also on the federal government front, the Department of Canadian Heritage has agreed to fund the development of resources for ESL teachers and their students on parenting in Canada, including child discipline and child abuse. The Institute is conducting workshops on preventing emotional abuse of children and youth with disabilities in "The Person Within" workshops and on women's civil legal needs when leaving abusive relationships. We've also made significant progress in developing a brochure and workshops for women's advocates who assist sponsored and refugee women who are leaving abusive relationships.

In the area of law reform, we have been active in promoting responsible gun ownership through implementation of gun control legislation, the repeal of the Criminal Code section 43 that provides a defence to physical abuse of children, and inclusion of family violence as a factor in determining child custody and access under the Divorce Act. Finally, in BC, we've supported the introduction of a provincial classification system to regulate violence in video and computer games.