Violence at home aired in Kitikmeot classrooms

SARA MINOGUE

Domestic violence is huge, but the victims – frightened children who hide when their parents are fighting – are small, and so are the resources available to tackle the problem.

Violence between couples or parents is behind almost all of the legal cases that come to the Kitikmeot Law Centre in Cambridge Bay, yet the lawyers who work there see few public programs aimed at reducing violence in homes.

Instead of waiting for the Government of Nunavut to tackle the problem, lawyers Karen Wilford and Peter Harte decided to use some of their resources to help kids talk about family violence and how it affects the entire family.

That fits within their mandate to deliver public legal education, but more importantly, it meets a huge need in a region where “very, very many children are having to grow up too early,” Wilford said.

The pair have arranged school visits to Grade 6 classrooms across the region, where RCMP, counselors, courtworkers and lawyers meet to discuss domestic violence, how it affects families, and what kids can do when they see violence. Kids then break into groups to make their own lists of causes and potential solutions to violence at home.

Communities benefit in two ways.

Kids who get a chance to talk about domestic violence get to speak their minds, and have their experiences validated by others who have shared the same misfortune.

Parents get an opportunity to hear how their behavior affects their children, and perhaps consider making some changes.

So far, the project has visited schools in Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay. The next stop is Taloyoak in May.

School visits include poster and story contests, with prizes awarded for the best of each.

“We want to make it ok for kids to discuss their concerns about family violence,” said Kugluktuk RCMP Cst. Kristen DeWulf in a press release. “We have to get this problem out of the shadows if we are going to solve it.”

Where children are concerned, cost shouldn’t be a factor, but it always is.

In this case, however, Harte does most of the legwork while traveling the court circuit defending legal aid clients, drawing on the good will of teachers, counselors, cops and justice workers who agree to participate.