IIId. THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE SERVICE PROVIDERS FOCUS GROUPS

Overview of the Questions

Interview questions pertaining to the focus groups for service providers covered many cogent issues and concerns. The questions initially dealt with defining woman abuse in the groups' respective community and the types of abuse that were most prevalent. Participants were also asked whether woman abuse is talked about openly and how people in the community learn about it. An attempt was then made to determine if woman abuse had increased, decreased, or remained the same in the area.

The focus groups consisted of a total of 14 participants (7 in each group). Participants represented diverse organizations which included the local transition house, crisis line, women's centre, various outreach programs, drug and youth counselling services, community coordination programs, sexual assault centres, Victim Assistance programs and emergency services.

Participants were asked to identify factors that contribute to rural woman abuse, as well as those that help or hinder women from seeking help. The ability of social services, the health care system, criminal justice system, and education system to respond to woman abuse was also addressed. In addition, the availability of services for women of different cultural backgrounds was explored, and participants were asked to provide suggestions for improving community response to woman abuse.

1. THE MEANING OF WOMAN ABUSE IN THE COMMUNITY

The definition of woman abuse generated considerable debate within one particular focus group. Hence, many of the quotes presented below are derived from the responses of this group. Nevertheless, participants in both groups readily acknowledged the most visible forms of violence directed at women as being abusive. In particular, murder, physical injury and harassment were mentioned as the obvious signs. Power imbalances in a relationship were also considered as the defining characteristic of woman abuse. As this participant stated:

Well it's almost become power abuse. Power and abuse are sometimes more tied now than physical injury abuse. Because women are abused often through power or economic power. (Service Provider, Country Town)

This lead to a discussion of the manifestations of the abuse of power in rural communities. Many participants in both groups concurred that control and enforced isolation were the dominant factors in defining woman abuse in their communities.

Forced isolation is I think a big one. Women whose movements are controlled. They don't have access to the bank account, they don't have keys to the car. In a rural setting, that's extremely isolating. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another participant stated that the concept of woman abuse was not readily accepted in her community. She highlighted the ideological nature of the concept and its links to feminism. As she put it:

I think the thing that comes up for me is that I don't believe there is consensus in our community that there is such a thing as woman abuse, that it's considered ideological to say something like that, it's a feminist concept and not all that legitimate. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Minimization of Woman Abuse

Challenges to the validity of woman abuse as a concept signifying violence against women were often accompanied by statements implicating the community's denial, trivialization and dismissal of violence against women. One of the participants stated that the question "Why doesn't she leave?" is commonly asked, and this in turn often leads to a "blame the victim" attitude that puts the abused woman in the position of wrongdoer.

Problems in Recognizing Woman Abuse

Whereas participants were clear about how issues of power, control, isolation and intentionality underpinned woman abuse, they felt that this definition was not held by all residents in their communities. Rather, popular conceptions of woman abuse often negated gender inequality, power imbalance, and sexual violence. As this participant stated:

I think that people probably could agree with the sort of classical, stereotype image of the battered woman who has a total Neanderthal, brutal man for a husband who beats her. Sometimes it looks like that but very often it doesn't. The kind you see on TV movies and things like that. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Three participants pointed out that sexual violence within relationships is often not recognized as abuse.

I find that sexual assault is not recognized as woman abuse unless it's stranger assault or she's physically battered to a pulp. So sexual violence in the context of a date or intimate relationships, I think, is totally unrecognized by most of the community. And nobody talks about sexual violence. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Additionally, participants in one focus group mentioned that sexual violence is often regarded as a taboo topic by both the public at large and women survivors.

One of the participants also mentioned how custody and access battles can act as a forum for continued abuse after the relationship has ended.

And I want to add abuse of custody and access which we're finding to be huge and is not well recognized as abuse but there's some very abusive stuff going on around that. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Awareness and Acknowledgment of Woman Abuse

Participants were asked whether woman abuse was openly discussed in their communities. They responded by outlining the deterrents that women survivors face in openly talking about the abuse.

Fear and Shame

Many survivors, according to the participants, are fearful of being blamed for the abuse. Additionally, many are ashamed and isolated. As this participant noted:

I think from working on the crisis line, I have felt the isolation and fear from women even more when I was involved on the line. I have always known, but while working on the line, it is just so much more apparent to me how afraid the women really are. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Backlash

One participant mentioned how any action taken to raise the issue of woman abuse was castigated and marginalized as being undertaken by "special interest groups" who have a specific "agenda." It is believed that,

… the extent, the pervasiveness of the abuse is just exaggerated by the interest groups that are looking for funding. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Denial

Several participants brought up the issue of denial and explored its various manifestations within their communities. These included dismissing the gender-based nature of woman abuse, trivializing aspects of woman abuse, and blaming women for provoking the abuse. As this participant stated:

My experience with middle-class, heterosexual women in relationships that are fairly stable, is total denial and in my conversations with men, it's worse. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another added:

There are a lot of eyes that roll here. When you talk about violence in relationships, people say, "Oh, not again." There is a real Eden syndrome here. This is paradise and this doesn't happen in my backyard. They don't know anyone who is being abused, yet they do. I don't know if it is a refusal to acknowledge, or if they are putting blinders on. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Types of Abuse

Participants in both focus groups agreed that their communities evidenced all types of abuse. This included economic, emotional and physical abuse. Elder abuse was also mentioned. However, criminal harassment was a common theme in both focus groups.

How People in the Community Learn about Woman Abuse

When asked how people in the community learned about woman abuse, participants provided a variety of responses. These ranged from communication networks that depended on word-of-mouth to articles in the local newspaper.

Newspapers

Local newspapers were cited as one avenue by which woman abuse was forced into public consciousness. As this participant described:

Our local newspaper has recently started a series. … The article is about wife beating or woman abuse. The reaction in town last week made it very evident that people couldn't ignore it. I was watching people pick up the paper and there was definitely a shock that it was being discussed on the front page. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

However, upon probing, another participant responded by saying that it had taken an organized group of anti-violence advocates eight years to get the newspaper to publish stories about woman abuse.

Word of Mouth

Participants noted that the local newspaper reports are often remiss in providing complete information on the extent of woman abuse. However, this does not deter them from acquiring information through informal channels such as gossip. Since small communities are close-knit, there is very little privacy. Hence, word of abuse often travels quickly. As this participant stated:

Word of mouth. The police don't report in the local paper how many domestics they have been to. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

2. THE LEVEL OF WOMAN ABUSE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Focus group members were asked to consider whether woman abuse had increased, decreased, or remained the same in their communities. This question generated considerable discussion about the increase in incidents as simply a reflection of more accurate reporting of cases involving abuse. However, all but one participant felt that they were experiencing a higher rate of reports of woman abuse at their workplaces:

And ours [statistics] have gone up quite dramatically particularly in the last year but again, I don't know whether it's an increase in violence or whether it's an increase in women being informed about the services. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Increased Public Awareness

Another participant suggested that perceptions about increasing levels of violence may be linked to the heightened public awareness about woman abuse. As she said:

Part of it has been the public education. … People now have the words to say what happens. When I first moved here twenty-one years ago, there was a joke that a few women got beat up in the bar every weekend. That doesn't happen anymore. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

However, one participant suggested that reports of abuse are likely to underestimate actual occurrences as many initial instances go unreported.

Awareness among Children

Some participants specifically addressed increased awareness about abuse among children and the impact of this on levels of reporting.

The kids are now saying forget it, I am not dealing with this. I don't have to keep this a secret. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Greater Support for Anti-Violence Workers

Greater support for the work to stop woman abuse was also credited for encouraging reporting.

Crisis line workers, transition house workers, grassroots workers, plus changes in staff at the police station, they all have been more open to working with the community and to some extent, they are more supportive of women and taking it more seriously. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Impact of Economic Downturn

Several participants mentioned that the impact of an ailing economy would likely result in increased levels of woman abuse. Abuse in this context was characterized as poverty. One participant, however, explicitly connected economic factors to violence against women in relationships. As she put it:

… the increase in homelessness and poverty and those types of challenges seem to be increasing for women quite visibly here from what we see at the transition house. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

3. REASONS UNDERLYING WOMAN ABUSE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Focus group participants were asked to identify why woman abuse happened in their communities. As well, they were asked to describe situations in which community members either denied that woman abuse existed or believed that it was acceptable.

Participants raised a number of reasons for the existence of woman abuse. They suggested that woman abuse was rooted in poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, geographic isolation, economic impact of living in a resource-based economy, sexism and patriarchal assumptions about the role of women, socialization of children, and women's challenges to gender-ascribed roles. Additionally, they pointed to notions of masculinity inherent in their communities and to the rural ethic of owning property which from a patriarchal perspective, includes ownership of women. Some of these responses are illustrated below.

Patriarchal Assumptions and Gender-ascribed Roles

Society's devaluation of women, gender-specific socialization, and gender inequality were articulated in both focus groups as the root causes of woman abuse. Embedded within many of the descriptions was the observation that violence against women was considered as acceptable or tolerable in their communities. One participant suggested that woman abuse was a result of male backlash against women who challenged patriarchal order.

… my sense sometimes that it's getting worse … I have a feeling that we're in an era where there are a lot of men … who are still being the man of the household in the same way that their father was but women are being somewhat less passive, a little less willing, to be in that role. And so the man is using more violence to try to control her and contain her and keep her in that role. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another participant emphasized the role of the media:

Society and the media have really contributed to the notion that women are not people. The media demoralizes women. … It allows permission. It allows abuse to happen. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Socialization

Virtually all participants emphasized the role of socialization. As they suggested, women are socialized to be subservient and men are taught to be aggressive. Moreover, children are also socialized to accept violence as a way of expressing aggression and resolving problems. One participant observed that views about women and about violence begin early in childhood.

It is really scary to see these young kids. They are aggressive and they learn it from the men and the women who support it by not encouraging their children to seek other avenues of dealing with their anger. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Notions of Masculinity

Participants of one focus group elaborated on notions of masculinity extant in rural areas. They perceived these as contributing to woman abuse and to the devaluation of women in general. They ascribed this preferred masculinity to the kind of resource-based and military employment that was available in rural areas which in turn both demanded and produced particular kinds of men:

It's machismo, it's tough, rugged type of image and in the city, there's more diversity of maleness there, I think. Here, I imagine it would be really tough to be a gay man in this community. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Acceptability of Woman Abuse

Participants were asked to recount situations in which they had encountered attitudes that woman abuse was acceptable. Some stated that the silence of the community implied its acceptance of abuse. However, the focus of the discussion in one particular focus group centred on the distinction between "accepted" and "tolerated." Most participants agreed that while woman abuse may not be overtly accepted, it is tolerated:

I think the ideal image is that everyone knows each other and everyone helps each other and nobody's afraid of their neighbour. But I don't perceive that. … So I think that that's a big part of the tolerance, that we're willing to know that it happens in our community but not do anything about it because we want someone else, some agency to swoop in and fix it all. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Ethic of Property

Some participants mentioned that one of the contributing factors to woman abuse is the patriarchally grounded ethic of property. This was identified often taking the form of a rigid divide between public and private (domestic) spheres. As this participant noted:

Somebody will say, "It's a private matter," or "It's a domestic matter and we don't interfere," that sort of thing. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Poverty and Economic Factors

Several participants mentioned the impact of an ailing economy as contributing to woman abuse. The specific aspects that were identified included poverty, economic stresses, and seasonal or intermittent work. One participant said:

… the main root cause is poverty and the lack of jobs feeds into that poverty. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Geographic Isolation

One service provider emphasized however, that despite economic factors, woman abuse was more intentional and less incidental in nature.

… they're frequently telling us that their partners moved the family there because there's not an RCMP presence. (Service Provider, Country Town)

4. DIFFICULTIES FOR WOMEN IN SEEKING HELP

The two focus groups were asked a number of questions regarding factors that make it difficult for women to seek help, the particular barriers that women leaving abusive relationships face, and services that are available for different groups of women.

Barriers to Disclosure

Service providers pointed to several obstacles that women faced in disclosing abuse. The primary factors identified included fear, stigmatization, lack of services and support, and finances. Some issues that are particular to the military base located near one of the communities were also raised.

Fear

There are several types of fear which women confront when they choose to disclose abuse. First, respondents noted that women are afraid of retaliation from their husbands or spouses. This fear is especially exacerbated by a second concern that, once the abuse has been disclosed, the woman will have little control over the process that follows.

I think there's a fear of losing control of the situation. Somebody might take it out of your hands and then what? What could happen further down the road? (Service Provider, Country Town)

Participants also noted that many women fear losing custody of their children.

Then people come in and scrutinize her as a mother and so I think for some women, there's a fear that their family will fall apart. (Service Provider, Country Town)

This fear has become especially pronounced with changing policies within the Ministry of Children and Families.

… what we're seeing quite a bit more is women being given a choice. Either you stay with this man and lose your kids or you leave and you can keep your kids. So I think there is … a tremendous amount of fear around admitting to being abused. Because it could lead to them losing their children. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Availability of Guns

Guns, in particular shotguns and rifles, are commonly found in homes in rural areas:

Just coming to the west, there's more of a gun mentality out here so I just wonder, from a rural perspective, it just seems to me the threat of using a huge weapon like a gun is more common in a place like this than it is, perhaps even in Vancouver. I mean you've got street guns and you've got hand guns and stuff but I think that everyone has their shotgun here. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Participants commented that whether used or not, this common household item is intimidating, threatening and potentially deadly for women who are in or attempting to leave an abusive situation.

Stigmatization

The focus groups also indicated that the stigma attached to being abused prevents many women from disclosing or seeking help. One service provider noted that women face embarrassment and shame. Another felt that many women often do not recognize the behaviour as abusive. Many believe that they are responsible and hence deserve negative treatment. Finally, one service provider described the stigma associated with women going to the transition houses:

She may not want to go to the Transition House no matter what people tell her. It's like a stigma. So she can't get out of the relationship without either being really battered or running. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Economic Factors

Participants in one particular focus group stressed the issue of increasing poverty. They noted that it was difficult for women leaving abusive relationship to survive economically. It was difficult for them to find accommodations to rent. They highlighted the growing gap between the rich and poor, and its implications for women leaving abusive relationships. The issue of poverty was also linked to classism and sexism with respect to how women survivors were viewed by rich members of the community.

They won't rent to you, but they will pay you slave wages to clean their property. The rich look upon abused women as though they deserve it. You are poor, what do you expect? (Service Providers, Rural Ville)

Focus group participants mentioned that having access to wealth or monetary resources translated into access to other resources. For women survivors who are poor, there is very limited access to resources.

I think the difference is, if you have money, you can go to a hotel overnight. If you don't have money, where are you going to go? If you have money, you can hire a lawyer. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Loss of Community and Land

Several participants highlighted the potential and actual losses that women face if they choose to disclose and leave the abusive relationship. The economic losses have been identified in preceding sections. However, what is highlighted here is the loss of community and property, not to mention access to land. As this participant stated:

The woman has to give up her community because there's no police presence there and she knows that she can't be safe. So we've got women losing their communities which often mean a lot to them, or losing their land and there is that great attachment to land. Or choosing to keep the land and to live with a level of risk. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Financial Barriers

Participants discussed the difficulty women face in disclosing and leaving abusive relationships because of limited access to jobs, daycare, housing, and financial support. As this participant noted:

Quite often the husband is making more money than the wife and so to leave, how is she going to support herself, at least in the short term. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

The Military Base

Service providers from one particular area indicated that women living on the military base near their community receive inadequate support from the Military Police, but do not fall under the jurisdiction of the RCMP. As a result, disclosure does not help to protect the woman or help her to leave the relationship.

Our military community has a couple of issues. One is that military wives still believe their husbands' careers will be wrecked if they come forward. … And if they're on the base, the military police have no protocol … but they seem to ignore domestic assaults on the base. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Quality and Availability of Services

Participants generally perceived existing services to be limited and indicated that many essential services are not located in or easily accessible to their communities.

There are services available. Some of them have limited hours, some have limited finances. Some are off island. … Services are not consolidated or networked. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Health Care Services

In general, participants expressed apprehension about the way in which disclosure is being treated by health care services, most notably physicians.

I think the tendency in the health care system has been to avoid the whole subject. They don't ask the question, women are reluctant to disclose, and my understanding is that although abuse creates chronic health problems over a lifetime, those have not been well identified by the health care system. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Social Services

The lack of financial aid to support women leaving abusive relationships was raised as a critical concern. In particular, participants noted that women are in a double-bind, as Social Services policy requires the woman to leave the couple's home before receiving financial aid, but to do so means that she may lose both property and possessions before she has even been guaranteed that she will have an income.

Well the Ministry has a policy that they can't be perceived to be aiding families in breaking up. So the woman actually has to be out of the house before they will give her her own funding. So that can be for just one night. … But that first step for a woman can actually be really hard to make if she doesn't have the resources to go to a motel and for whatever reason doesn't want to come to transition house. (Service Provider, Country Town)

One participant pointed out how current responses to woman abuse reify the power of the abuser.

I can't believe how difficult it is and that is such a powerful position for the abuser to be in. To be in the house with all the items … and the women in the position can't afford to get them … and then the guy's had a yard sale while you're gone. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Furthermore, the lack of social services within the community makes it especially difficult for the woman to negotiate her requirements.

Government social services are a day trip from here. There is no child protection officer here. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

The Criminal Justice System

When asked about the response of the criminal justice system to woman abuse, one participant replied:

Where did you see the justice part? … It's a legal system. (Service Provider, Country Town)

This statement was endorsed by the laughter of the focus group and seemed to express several concerns which were subsequently raised. One of the issues raised in this regard dealt with the lack of justice in rural areas. Even when a woman does obtain a no-contact order in an attempt to protect herself, the geographic obstacles (distance, terrain, weather) mean that enforcement is unlikely.

I think access to justice is a uniquely rural issue because it's harder to get to a judge, to get a court order. We all know ultimately what that means anyway but to get access to justice in a smaller community like this, is more difficult. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another concern that was expressed dealt with the fear of going to a court located outside the community. Women are then forced to travel and the expense of this and child care are not necessarily covered. One service provider noted that the inaccessibility of court services applies pressure to screen for the severity of the case and only seek legal aid in cases with the greatest certainty or risk. Others emphasized that current court services are unsafe for the woman:

And then what we're hearing and noting is that women are being harassed in the hallways in the court room by the assaultive men and by some of their lawyers. (Service Provider, Country Town)

As a result of the threatening environment of the court and the woman's need for legal advice, participants felt that accompanying the woman through legal proceedings is essential.

… there's a real need for accompaniment of women through the court process. (Service Provider, Country Town)

This was especially expressed as a concern for Aboriginal women who face discrimination from the legal system.

Police

Service providers also described their apprehension in trusting the police to handle abuse cases.

The police have come a long way, but there is still that male attitude that the woman deserves it. And that was more or less said to me on the phone by the police. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Several individuals mentioned the prevalence of police scanners in their communities and the lack of confidentiality when an assault is reported. This results in both stigmatization of and danger to the abused woman. Another participant said:

We have had cases where someone has reported a domestic dispute at a neighbour's and it comes back over the police radio and is picked up by scanners by people in the neighbourhood. This person is now a pariah in the neighbourhood for having called the police. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Another issue raised was the location of dispatchers outside of the community. It was noted that their lack of familiarity with both the geography of the specific site and the nature of the community makes them unsuitable to inform and direct the responding police officers.

Schools

Education of children on the issue of violence and woman abuse was seen as important by the participants. They noted, however, the reluctance of schools to provide or encourage education about these issues.

The schools don't seem to be touching it, to my knowledge. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another service provider stressed that women experiencing both isolation and abuse can often be reached most effectively through their children's schools. Thus, schools are an important avenue for communicating information about abuse and about resources.

Transportation

Transportation was characterized as a "huge problem" across focus group members from both communities. Unlike urban areas where services are either available on a 24 hour basis or where other alternatives exist to serve the needs of the public, in rural areas, the range and availability of services is severely restricted. Further, the distance between the service provider and those needing access to the service often renders such services ineffectual at best. This is particularly true of transportation services. One participant summarized the issue concisely.

There is no public transportation and the cabs are outrageous. It costs twenty-five dollars to get to the ferry. If you don't have a vehicle, you are hitch hiking with your kids and hoping that your abusive partner doesn't track you down. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Services for Women of Marginalized Cultures

While the service providers identified a few resources for immigrant women and women of colour, they generally indicated that the needs of these women are not being served.

We think white. We act white. We're managing to get a few posters on the wall as a start but we don't do that well. We've no interpreters. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Women who speak English as an additional language or who speak very little English are also neglected in service provision, as interpreter services are locally unavailable.

I've also come across … the Francophone women feeling uncomfortable because they can't speak the language, or actually women on the base who don't speak English and feeling there are not even basic French resources. (Service Provider, Country Town)

The only two interpreter resources to which participants indicated having limited access were located in Vancouver.

Other Services

Other services that were identified included the transition house and its outreach services, crisis lines, the women's centre, the police, Victim Services, professionals, community services, and the emergency mental health nurse. While a number of services are available, service providers expressed concerns about some of them. For instance, it was observed that some women are reluctant to turn to Victim Services for help because they perceive it to be a part of the legal system.

… for a lot of women, Victim Services are seen as an extension of the justice system. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Another concern raised was the insufficient funding and resources available to the transition houses. In one area, the transition house is understaffed. As a result it cannot guarantee safety to women once the sole staff person has left for the day.

5. THE IMPACT OF ISOLATION

Isolation

Isolation, participants agreed, was a significant inhibitor to leaving an abusive situation. It also increased the woman's risk when she did leave. Participants identified the different types of isolation found in rural areas, ranging from physical isolation in a geographic sense, feelings of connectedness to others in the community, cultural isolation for those who were not of the dominant group in the area, to isolation resulting from the abuse itself.

Physical Isolation

In rural areas, physical separation of those involved in an abusive situation is often impossible due to the barriers of the terrain. As this participant noted:

In the city, if there was an argument between a couple, one of them could leave and cool off at a Tim Horton's. There is no where to go after 8 pm. There are no street lights. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Beyond geographic barriers, the lack of a sense of community and supportive family discourages an abused woman from reaching out for help and protection. In contrast to popular notions about the close-knit fabric of rural communities, participants in both focus groups spoke about how difficult it was to get to know one's neighbours, especially for those who were new to the area.

It is hard for many people to make room in their hearts and minds for new people. Especially new people having problems. People partly isolate themselves by not coming out. That network or sense of community is missing for people in this situation. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Cultural Isolation

For those who belonged to cultural and linguistic minorities, and especially those who had a limited knowledge of English, living in a rural environment can be very isolating:

So if you have someone whose English language skills are not great and who is living in an isolated spot geographically and doesn't know anybody and has no access to money, that's extreme isolation. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Emotional Isolation Resulting from Abuse

Participants pointed out that abusive behaviour itself contributes to women's isolation and ability to establish allies within the community. Abusive partners tend to control and restrict women's movements.

There are men here who sit in the car and wait for the woman to come back out of the grocery store. She isn't allowed to have friends. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Breaking the cycle of abuse often means severing any friendships that an abused woman had while she was in the abusive relationship.

Once, in my life, I had to drop an entire circle of people and stand on my own for quite some time. I still see these people and they act like nothing happened. There is a fear factor involved. Because you stepped out and took a stand, they look at you as though you think you are better than they are. In one respect they admire me, but now they have to look at their own stuff. Having to step out of a social circle, is isolating. The children lose their social outlets too. This influences a woman's decision to stay or go. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Financial Isolation

Participants felt that financial isolation was a major factor in a woman's decision to stay in an abusive relationship.

Lack of finances is the biggest common denominator in why the women don't leave. The money is in reference to their kids. How do they keep their kids' lives stable? (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

6. RESPONDING TO PLEAS FOR HELP

For service providers, determining the immediate needs and safety of an abused woman is the first step when they receive a call for help. Next is building trust and reassuring the woman that she can count on the service provider to support her in whatever choices she decides to make. As this participant noted:

Someone who is leaving an abusive relationship needs to know that there is a real hand out there. They need to know what that hand will do for them. They need to know when that hand is going to be hanging on and when it isn't. When it isn't, she needs to know about other supports. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Services Used, Needed, and Not Used

Participants also stressed that it was necessary to let women survivors of abuse know about the kinds of services that are and are not available. For a number of reasons, often the services that are available are inadequate to deal effectively with the needs of these women. Primary reasons provided for inadequate services were lack of financial and human resources. This was identified to be the case for legal aid, emergency financial assistance, and Victim Services.

The Legal System

Of the services available, participants felt the police would be the least likely to be used by women survivors seeking help. There were two primary reasons identified by participants for this reluctance. Often the community was reluctant about police presence or involvement in the area because community residents did not see any incidents that might require police resolution. Additionally, the community's ethic of self-sufficiency also translated into a reluctance to involve any external authority. Laws rendering possession of narcotics illegal were cited as another reason why the police would not be called in to attend to an abusive situation.

Participants cited yet another reason why women survivors would be reluctant to call the police or turn to the justice system. They highlighted the perception of the police and justice system as ignorant and incredulous about woman abuse.

Legal Aid: Criteria and Cutbacks

For some women, with limited resources, getting legal aid was not an option. Often women who did not qualify for legal aid were not financially able to retain the legal services that they needed. This was considered to be the case for women who were also subjected to economic abuse and who had to liquidate whatever assets they possessed in order to get access to legal services. In addition to the issue of criteria, other participants noted the poor quality of services that some women survivors had received from legal aid lawyers.

Cutbacks to legal aid were also emphasized as contributing to the lack of adequate services for women survivors. Several participants brought up the issue of the impact of these cuts in the context of custody and access cases. Participants also mentioned that the response time was quicker if the women survivors involved advocates to act on their behalf.

Legal aid will make an exception if you are in a transition house and we can call and this is the advocacy. We are advocating on behalf of the woman saying, "She is in a transition house, she is coming in, you have to see her." And they will. But, as soon as you say, "custody and access," they'll hang up the phone. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

As many participants pointed out, to get legal aid and other services that are vital to women leaving abusive relationship, women often have to travel to urban areas.

You have to go to the city first, before you can get a Legal Aid lawyer here … Social Services, Family Court, Child Protection, daycare subsidies. I had to take a day off work to go and apply for a daycare subsidy only to find out that I didn't qualify. They wouldn't tell me that over the phone. It took the whole day. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Financial Assistance

Obtaining emergency and financial assistance from the Ministry of Human Resources was identified as a necessity by participants. Hence, the Ministry's financial assistance program is the most likely to be used. However, participants pointed out the major barriers inherent in accessing this assistance, the primary one being transportation. Added to this was the concern that financial assistance is limited and, further that other services such as child care are not readily available or are contingent on the type of support one receives from the ministry. As this participant stated:

If you go to social services and ask for assistance when you have common assets, then social services will come back. If it takes six to eight months to settle, and in the meantime you have received six to eight thousand dollars from social services, the minute you settle, they want that money back, immediately. He didn't have to pay a penny and she has to give it all back. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Victim Assistance and Advocates

Support in the form of advocates was also cited as a primary service that women leaving abusive relationships require and utilize. However, lack of funding makes it very difficult for service providers to offer services such as accompaniments, counselling and advocacy for survivors. Many service providers, as has been indicated, work as volunteers. Thus, services are not always available in part because of the lack of paid human resources.

We tried for about five years to get Victim Services money from anywhere. Three big grant proposals have gone in and have been turned down. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

In addition to the above mentioned services, some participants also emphasized the need for adequate counselling programs that are accessible to women survivors of abuse.

7. COMMUNITY PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION

Participants were asked to define ways in which their community could best prevent and respond to woman abuse. Responses were diverse. However, several common themes emerged. These included: involving more men in immediate intervention and advocacy; allocating more resources for women survivors; increasing efforts at public education and awareness; increasing financial support for women survivors; and strengthening existing systems (medical, social and legal) to better respond to women who are in abusive relationships. Participants in both groups also mentioned the need to impose more punitive measures on abusers. Above all, widespread involvement of the community and greater support services for survivors were stressed.

The Involvement of Men

This theme emerged across both focus groups. Participants agreed that men have more credibility and, hence, are better able to access resources for survivors. One of the male participants said:

It is embarrassing for me to say this, but when people who are in the place of giving or acting hear this from men, it seems to have more impact. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Another participant in the same focus group suggested that a men's peer group be formed to intervene in situations involving woman abuse. However, others pointed out that this would not be feasible because of the reluctance of men to talk to other men about violence and because of the ethic of private property. As this participant said:

Men will talk to teenage boys who are hassling girls, but they won't talk to their own age group. They like to be seen as a role model, but they don't want to call their peers. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

In other words, what goes on in a man's house is considered to be his business. Nevertheless, the theme of having men discourage other men was articulated in the both groups.

They need to be talking to their friends that they know have beaten their wives and not still golfing with them on Sundays because they've always been friends for years. (Service Providers, Country Town)

Making Abusers Accountable

This theme was raised both in the discussion regarding men's involvement as well as in discussions surrounding the criminal justice system. However, both groups mentioned that in an abusive situation, the abusers rather than the women should have to leave their homes. One participant suggested having a men's transition house. Another participant suggested that abusers should be fined or have their drivers' licenses removed. Yet another participant called for stronger laws. Another participant mentioned the need of places where abusive men could be put in order to remove them from the immediate location of the woman.

Education and Public Awareness

Raising public awareness about woman abuse and the resources that exist in the communities was the topic of considerable discussion in both focus groups. Participants noted that anti-violence education has to begin in schools. One of the participants recounted a particular school project she was involved in that had used male students to raise awareness about violence.

Participants discussed various strategies for raising public awareness about woman abuse and disseminating information about community services and resources. These suggestions included: producing and disseminating a bumper sticker that would identify the telephone numbers to call for the transition house and the sexual assault centre, having more press coverage about violence issues, distributing a card to all victims of violence and to the police which identify existing services.

Increasing Funding for Support Services

This was another major concern articulated in both focus groups. Participants discussed how resources allocated to support services for survivors were minimal in their communities. This view was echoed in the second focus group and both groups highlighted the fact that most services were staffed by volunteers or part-time employees.

Paid resources. There is only so much we can do as paid people and still lead our own lives. I am the one paid staff person at the transition house. If you have a problem with me, then there is no one else to go to. If I am ill, there is no one to cover me. There is only so much a volunteer can do. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

The Criminal Justice System

Participants in both groups identified the criminal justice system's response to abusive men as a problem that needed to be resolved. The majority favoured a more punitive approach in order to communicate the seriousness of woman abuse as a crime. As this participant said:

Well throwing him in jail just so they can be around other people like themselves, doesn't solve it either. And yet, nothing else seems to either. So what's wrong with them being at least away from the woman for a little bit more than a couple of days. (Service Provider, Country Town)

Frustrations with the criminal justice system dealt with a number of factors. Both groups mentioned the unfairness of existing laws and practices. One participant cited a case in which there were 38 breaches of a restraining order and nothing had been done about it. Participants in both groups also pointed to the revictimization of women by the criminal justice system. As in previous discussions, they argued that it should be the abusers who should leave the home and not women and children who are victims of the abuse. As this participant said:

A good analogy is the issue of child abuse. What happens when a child is abused? Who is removed from the home? Not the perpetrator. The child is put in a traumatic situation even if it is a nice foster home. Take the perpetrator out of the home. Leave the rest of the family intact. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Coordinated Services

Both groups mentioned the need for coordinated services. In one of the focus groups, participants mentioned that the group had provided many of them with a rare opportunity to come together and discuss common concerns and issues. However, time constraints faced in trying to coordinate services were also mentioned. Another participant used the analogy of a midwife to illustrate the necessity of using a coordinated team approach.

I think about the roles a midwife has. … If the stigma was not attached to women, they would get those services in that manner. They would not have to go through all that junk of feeling like trash when they go to welfare, or trash when they ask for this and that. They would be treated like a woman who has had a baby. That is the way all services should be delivered. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Participants in one of the focus groups mentioned that women survivors should be able to access one place that would provide them with information and services to address all their needs. Another suggested the implementation of a resource line, or as she called it, "a women's help line."

Strengthening the Community

Strengthening community and families were themes identified in the responses of both focus groups. However, participants in one of the focus groups suggested that the transience of the community had weakened social conformity and cohesion, and thus, community sanctions were no longer effective.

Several participants mentioned the need for greater community involvement and responsibility for issues concerning woman abuse. It was suggested that people be encouraged to intervene in cases involving violence. Participants also said that violence should be named and defined and that community measures to discourage woman abuse should be implemented. As this participant said:

If I am in a group of people and there is a joke told in bad taste, I say that it is not funny. That is respected. People know what I do and they know I don't tolerate it. People apologize. I call it, name it, say that it is not a joke. If you call it, you stop it. It makes people think twice. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Strengthening Families

Several participants in one of the focus groups mentioned the ethic of self-sufficiency. The issue generated considerable discussion and participation. Discussion about self-sufficiency within this one focus group led to a similar discussion about strengthening families. One participant highlighted the isolating impact of the ethic of self-sufficiency as it is expressed within families and argued for measures that would strengthen the family unit.

But I would still argue that we're not a family supportive community. I mean we like that structure when the guy keeps everything kind of in line. But I mean as far as keeping those families supported when they're stressed, we don't do that. It's every family for themselves. (Service Provider, Country Town)

What the Community Can Do to Respond to Woman Abuse

Participants were asked to identify immediate and long-term steps that the community could take to better respond to woman abuse. Both groups articulated similar recommendations. These included: implementing a coordinated team approach to intervene and deal with cases involving woman abuse; educating the community and themselves about woman abuse; allocating additional funds for services; increasing services to survivors; supporting families and implementing violence prevention programs in schools.

Immediate Steps

Immediate steps that communities could take were identified as: implementation of educational and advertising campaigns to raise public awareness and identify available resources to survivors; development of a coordinated approach; and increasing paid employment for direct service delivery personnel. In addition, several participants from both groups stressed the need to provide immediate support to families, and to engage in proactive measures that would serve to integrate isolated individuals and families into the community. As this participant stated:

Don't be afraid to reach out. Most people take the view that everyone is against them. If you are one of the people who reach out for them, then you see that your impact is unbelievable. (Service Provider, Rural Ville)

Overall participants felt that the situation of abused women living in a rural area was made considerably worse by the continued underfunding of services by the government. Without enough money to provide services that are needed, participants felt that stopping the violence would remain an elusive goal. Another focus group participant mentioned that funding was often based on highly publicized cases of woman abuse and on population size, both of which are disadvantageous to rural communities.

In conclusion, the participants in one location contemplated the merits of a new restorative justice initiative in terms of its applicability to cases involving woman abuse. Participants expressed mixed responses. Many were not aware of how the model worked. Others were opposed to its application to cases involving woman abuse outlining the power imbalances between the abuser and the survivor. One participant applauded its application to cases concerning property crime by minors. However, this same participant also articulated concerns regarding the knowledgeability about the dynamics of abuse for those who were implementing these programs.