By Kevin Sabo, contributor
Domestic violence is an issue that affects many in a community. This message was brought forward on May 1, at Gus Wetter School through the “Leading Change” program.
The program is an Alberta partnership between the Canadian Football League and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, with this presentation featuring CFL free agent Keon Raymond, formerly of the Calgary Stampeders. Tuval Nafshi, the other presenter from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, has been involved with the organization for the last two years, with his mandate being one of teaching violence intervention workshops and networking in the rural areas of Alberta. “Whoever is willing to have this conversation, we will go there,” he said.
This is a difficult conversation to have, further complicated by statistics collected by the ACWS that show that people who had spent time in a shelter as children were showing back up in the system as adults. According to Tuval, even with the 50 women’s shelters that are in place in the province, many more women and children are turned away each year due to lack of space. Statistics collected by the ACWS showed a 2.6 per cent increase in admissions to shelters in between 2015 and 2016. This amounts to more than 5,000 women admitted between 2015 and 2016.
When the ACWS contacted the CFL about a partnership, defensive back Keon Raymond was one of the first to volunteer for this program. For him, the mission has been a personal one, as he witnessed domestic violence himself at home as a youth and lived with his mother in a shelter in Seattle, Washington, for a time, a two-day drive from his home in St. Louis, Missouri.
Many topics were covered, particularly highlighting that domestic violence is not just physical violence against someone. The violence can take form in the form of verbal and psychological abuse as well, and in fact much abuse begins non-violently, then slowly develops into the physical abuse over a period of months or years.
Also highlighted in the conversation by Tuval is that contrary to media portrayal, 80 per cent of sexual assault cases occur between known parties. Particularly troubling is that it is not confined to domestic couples. In recent years incidents of assault and harassment have been occurring in the military, police, sports teams and rural communities, meaning that this is not just a woman’s problem, it is a community one.
What can bystanders do if they witness a potential situation? “Say something, or do something,” Keon told our group of 14 people. We need to shift away from the “not my business” mentality that seems to have crept insidiously into our day-to-day thoughts and actions regarding these tough topics.
Instead of demanding others to make changes on these tough topics, as a community we need to take a stand, and let the abusers know that the behavior is unacceptable.
Tuval said that he would be happy if these outreach programs were so successful that he and the shelters were no longer needed. Unfortunately, that does not seem likely to happen anytime soon.
Although he is weighing retirement after a successful and relatively injury free decade in the sport of football, Keon is continuing to carry the Leading Change message as a spokesperson for the ACWS. He has also recently started a new no-contact football league in Calgary for skill development, which has drawn 40 youth so far.
If you are in danger, call 911, and try to remove yourself from the situation. Find help for yourself and your children, and please don’t remain quiet on this very important issue.
The closest shelter to Castor is in Camrose. For more information on this subject, please visit AWCS.ca.