Late last month, the province’s government released its 2024 Domestic Violence Death Review Report for Saskatchewan — a report examining 34 homicides and four suicides occurring between 2015 and 2020.
It is the second such report from the province. (The first was in 2018.)
“The review emphasized the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to address domestic violence in Saskatchewan,” states a news release.
The report states almost right out of the gate that Saskatchewan “has one of the highest rates of domestic violence and domestic homicide in Canada.”
It found most victims were female (83 per cent) and most perpetrators to be male (82 per cent). Female perpetrators accounted for a relatively small number (18 per cent).
“Blunt force trauma and the use of a knife or sharp object were the most common methods and weapons used by the perpetrator to commit domestic homicide,” states the report.
Risk factors were found to be a perpetrator’s history of violence, a perpetrator’s childhood history, victim “considerations”, the status of the victim-perpetrator relationship and a perpetrator’s “socio-economic and mental status.”
The report delivered six recommendations developed by two groups: one being victims’ families and the other a group of three “multidisciplinary case review teams.”
Recommendations centred on education and awareness, intervention, victim-centred approaches and better services in the province’s rural and northern areas.
“The thing that struck me immediately when I saw the recommendations is that they are recommendations that are commonly coming forward anytime there is some sort of review related to what we should do about intimate partner and family violence,” said Jo-Anne Dusel, executive director of the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS). “It’s in alignment with many of the areas that were identified in the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence.”
Jo-Anne Dusel, executive director of PATHS
Saskatchewan signed on in July 2023 — one of the first to do so — and in exchange received $20.3 million to put the plan in motion.
Dusel was asked about the report’s finding that the rate of domestic violence homicide in rural areas is more than double that of urban areas.
Dusel points to the paper’s recommendations that tailored responses should be used in isolated areas, and that “domestic violence police officers” should be engaged.
Saskatchewan has a large Indigenous population, most of which can be found in rural and remote areas in the north. (In 2021, Statistics Canada pegged Saskatchewan’s Indigenous as accounting for 17 per cent of the province’s population.)
The report found that 57 per cent of all adult victims were Indigenous, while 37 per cent were Caucasian. (Three per cent were identified as “East Indian” and three per cent involved cases where the victim’s ethnicity was unknown.)
People in these areas have unique challenges when it comes to dealing with domestic and intimate partner violence (IPV), said Dusel.
“Solutions in those rural and remote areas need to come from people in those communities. The situation there is so much different than anywhere else, and the kinds of things that we traditionally do elsewhere simply doesn’t work.”
For example, victims in urban areas can call 911 or possibly find refuge in a shelter unknown to the abuser. But things are different in rural areas — particularly when it comes to finding shelter close to home.
“If you live on a First Nation, you live in a small town or rural area, those things are not options for you unless you’re willing to completely uproot your life, leave behind everything you know and everyone you know. So, something different needs to happen there.”
Also, there is a general distrust of police held by members of Indigenous communities, said Dusel, pointing to a recommendation that police trained in dealing with IPV be used in these circumstances.
“I think it’s important to have the police officers who are responding to these situations really understand the dynamic. We know that often the person who is using violence is the one who is going to feel in control in that situation – they’ve not just been fearing for their life; they often meet the officers at the door, they seem very rational and reasonable. The person who was just in fear for their life is in crisis, they might be angry, they might be hysterical, they might be confrontational with police, even. So, it’s important [that those] responding understand those dynamics.”
Another recommendation Dusel was “keen to see” was one calling for intervention for perpetrators, such as the creation of programs “focused on behaviour change” and those offering “self-referral options.”
“The current situation in Saskatchewan is that there is a limited number of programs working with people who use violence. The majority of them require people to be court mandated, so if you’ve never come into contact with law enforcement and proceeded to court –— which we know doesn’t always happen — you’re likely to be unaware [of] such programs. There [are] very few treatment programs that offer self referral — so, if someone is concerned about their own behaviour and would like to make a change, it’s hard to find support for that.”
Dusel also points to a recommendation for infrastructure development in remote areas, including the expansion of cellular and Internet services.
“If you are experiencing violence and you’re out where there is no cell service, you can’t call for help; you can’t call an ambulance; you can’t call RCMP; you can’t call a friend; you can’t access online legal services; you can’t do online counselling or get information about what services might be available – even if you were willing to leave your community.”
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