Treatment clinics for violent men want bigger role in Quebec's fight against domestic violence
'We would have far fewer victims' if centres for men received more funding, advocate says
Treatment clinics for men with violent behaviours say they can do more to curb domestic violence, but the province isn't giving them enough support.
"Victims need help because they deal with violent men," said Roxane Van Der Meerschen, the director of the Homme Alternative treatment centre in Victoriaville, Que.
"The aggressor is the one causing all of this. We should put a lot of energy into him to prevent domestic violence. Right now, [the province] is trying to help victims deal with the consequences [of domestic violence]. But if we worked on preventing it, we would have far fewer victims."
In the last 11 weeks, 10 women have been killed in domestic violence incidents in Quebec.
The most recent case took place on Friday in the town of Mercier, on Montreal's South Shore. Provincial police say Dyann Serafica-Donaire, 38, was killed by her partner Richard West inside their home, before West took his own life.
Advocates have been sounding the alarm about the recent spate of domestic violence cases, and some who work with abusers say prevention needs to become a priority.
Homme Alternative is part of a provincial network of centres for men called À coeur d'homme.
Members are quick to emphasize that giving them more resources should not lead to reduced funding for women's support groups and shelters. But they say the funding they receive should reflect the fact that their work addresses the root of the problem — the rehabilitation of violent men.
On top of the annual funding, the Legault government has earmarked more than $200 million to address domestic violence between 2020 and 2025. From that amount, only $5 million will go to treatment centres for men.
According to the Quebec Health Ministry, the spending for women's shelters in the last fiscal year was $110 million.
Organizations that specialize in men's health and wellbeing received $19 million. According to À coeur d'homme, that included $11 million that was split between its 31 member organizations.
The group says those funds would need to at least double in order to meet the growing demand for services.
'We risk losing them'
At the start of the pandemic, domestic violence support groups were not considered essential services.
In-person meetings at treatment centres for men were cancelled. When those meetings were allowed to resume, waiting lists for many centres had stretched beyond two months.
Van Der Meerschen says longer-than-usual wait times means a lot more men who seek help never even get to meet with an intervention worker.
"Once we got to them on the waiting lists, [we called them] but we never heard back," she said.
Sabrina Nadeau, the executive director of À coeur d'homme, says more money from the province would allow centres to hire more intervention workers and reduce wait times.
"It's already difficult for someone with that problem to pick up the phone and ask for help," Nadeau said. "If we're not able to answer, then we risk losing them."
When asked if there were plans to dedicate more resources to the rehabilitation of violent men, a spokesperson for Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for status for women, declined to comment and referred CBC News to the province's Health Ministry.
CBC has yet to hear back.
Nadeau says a bigger budget for her network would help establish a 24/7 helpline for men, similar to SOS violence conjugale. She believes the service would minimize the effects of waiting lists, and possibly save lives.
She's also urging the province to use awareness campaigns to target young teenagers — not just older adults.
"Because when we get them [as clients] and they're 30 or 40, it's already been years that they resort to those behaviours so change is a lot more difficult."
The potential for change
Centres like Homme Alternative offer psychological consultation, intervention and group therapy for men who have exhibited violent behaviour or are dealing with violent impulses toward their spouse or family.
According to the centre's website, "the goal of this service is to allow men to get help before the situation deteriorates or becomes violent."
"The first thing to do is to look at the violence as a behavioural problem," said Nadeau.
"If our reflex is to say that violence is part of who this person is, that someone who is violent was born like that and there's nothing we can do, then for sure you will think that there's nothing we can put in place, there's nothing we can do to change their behaviour."
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The approach used in these centres has been criticized, with some observers saying it focuses too much on unpacking the reasons behind a man's violent behaviour, instead of holding him accountable.
Nadeau say that partly explains why these centres are underfunded.
"What we do is not glamorous, and it's not beneficial politically for a government to support a cause when there is no consensus in the population," she said.
But Nadeau and others insist the services do hold men responsible for their actions. She says it's challenging, but the results are tangible.
Intervention workers often notice major improvements after five weekly sessions, she said.
If you are affected by domestic violence, SOS violence conjugale is a provincewide toll-free crisis line, available 24/7. You can reach them at 1-800-363-9010 by phone, or via text at 438-601-1211
Information about the À coeur d'homme rehabilitation network can be found here.
With files from Radio-Canada