January 15, 2016
Manitoba Expands Support for Child and Indigenous Victims of Crime, Victims of Sexual Violence
– – –Donation Made to T.J.'s Gift Foundation In Honour of Floyd Wiebe: Minister Mackintosh
Victims of crime, notably children, women and Indigenous Manitobans, will benefit from expanded supports and rights, Attorney General Gord Mackintosh announced today.
“No single resource will meet all the needs of crime victims, so it’s essential we identify and fill in gaps,” said Minister Mackintosh. “Manitoba is recognized as a leader in victims’ services and rights. Today, we are expanding these to support people through some of their most difficult experiences and help them rebuild their lives.”
The minister said the new services will be supported by an investment of $120,000, of which $90,000 comes from the Victims of Crime fund.
Child victims will be supported by the following investments:
• offering increased support early in the criminal justice process at Snowflake Place for Children and Youth;
• improving the child-friendly and family-focused waiting room at the Winnipeg Law Courts;
• creating a child-friendly space in the Brandon courthouse so children will have their evidence televised live for court proceedings in a location separated from the accused.
Victims of sexual violence and exploitation will be supported by the following investments:
• identifying barriers to reporting sexual violence in the criminal justice system in a study led by RESOLVE, a Prairies-based research institute at the University of Manitoba;
• hiring a new outreach street worker at Sage House to increase supports based on Indigenous teachings for people exploited through sex work; and
• creating a new support specifically for Indigenous women who are victims of sexual violence through Heart Medicine at Ka Ni Kanichihk.
Other initiatives include:
• providing free parking for surviving family members attending court for preliminary hearings, trials or sentencing in cases involving a fatality; and
• expanding a culturally based healing program to include Indigenous men and boys when a family member is missing or murdered through the Medicine Bear program at Ka Ni Kanichihk.
“This funding will support new and expanded initiatives for Indigenous people affected by violence,” said Leslie Spillett, executive director, Ka Ni Kanichihk. “Men and boys who are the fathers, partners, uncles, brothers and sons of murdered and missing women will have a safe space to heal from trauma, loss and grief from their experience in the Medicine Bear program. We have learned that men feel they have to stay 'strong' for their families and miss out on opportunities to support their own healing. Heart Medicine, the first program of its kind in Manitoba, will provide trauma-informed and culturally safe counselling and supports to Indigenous women, who are over represented as survivors of sexual violence.”
“This funding has allowed Sage House to return to the streets of Winnipeg, to proactively engage and support women who are street-involved,” said Bobbette Schoffner, executive director, Mount Carmel Clinic. “Our outreach worker has been building relationships and providing harm-reduction supplies, resources and referral information over the last several months. This gives us the opportunity to encourage women to attend our drop-in program, access additional services and ultimately help women who have been the victims of crime to heal and reach their goals.”
The provincial Victims’ Bill of Rights is being expanded to ensure the rights of more victims are recognized, Minister Mackintosh said. The changes help ensure all victims of these offences can access all services they have a right to receive including a complaint mechanism.
The newly designated offences expand on the existing 33 designated offences and include: knowingly publishing, distributing, transmitting, selling, making available or advertising an intimate image of a person without their consent; making, printing, publishing, possessing or accessing child pornography; voyeurism; incest; conspiracy to commit murder; home invasion; disarming a peace officer; intimidation of a justice system participant; and sexual assault.
The province also announced an $8,000 donation to T.J.’s Gift Foundation in honour of the tireless work on behalf of crime victims by the late Floyd Wiebe. The foundation is dedicated to youth drug-abuse prevention.
This complements the proposed victim centred restorative justice strategy, which included development funding for Candace House announced last year. Candace House is a non-profit organization serving those affected by serious crime by providing a safe and comforting refuge within walking distance of the provincial law courts.
For more information about the Victims’ Bill of Rights and other resources for victims of crimes in Manitoba, visit www.gov.mb.ca/justice/victims.
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