Witness fears her treatment by MPs will keep other survivors from speaking

A witnesser who near a House of Commons committee proceeding connected violence against women successful tears this week aft nan gathering devolved into bickering says she fears nan incident will make it harder for different survivors to travel forward.

In a bid of conversations pinch Global News, Cait Alexander, who testified earlier nan position of women committee that she narrowly survived a violently abusive relationship, said her acquisition connected Parliament Hill has near her heartbroken and furious that nan connection she came to Ottawa to present has been overshadowed.

“It takes courageousness to speak out,” she said. “It takes courageousness to look anyone erstwhile you don’t cognize what their guidance to your business is going to be. And nan measurement that this was handled was nan nonstop fearfulness that each azygous subsister and unfortunate has.

“That’s why I telephone it ‘abuse’… because it’s nan aforesaid gaslighting and minimizing of our acquisition that makes america not want to travel forward.”

Wednesday’s emergency committee meeting was called by Conservatives successful nan mediate of nan summertime parliamentary recess to perceive from advocates for home unit victims and a lawman main of nan Peel Region Police successful ray of respective caller high-profile cases and recently released crime information from Statistics Canada.

But nan gathering went disconnected nan rails not agelong aft opening statements, pinch Liberal and NDP members accusing Conservatives of rushing nan gathering for governmental summation and not including witnesses from nan at-risk Indigenous and LGBTQ2 communities.

Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld said during nan committee that she and each committee members attraction astir nan rumor of gender-based violence, past called for a statement connected a mobility related to abortion rights, which nan Liberals opportunity would beryllium astatine consequence nether a Conservative government. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has denied nan accusation.

NDP MP Leah Gazan, who is Indigenous, past raised aggregate points of bid to speak and, aft being allowed to do so, proceeded to talk astatine magnitude astir some abortion entree and nan deficiency of marginalized voices astatine Wednesday’s meeting, reference from prepared remarks.

Vandenbeld’s mobility sparked a agelong back-and-forth connected procedure, leaving Alexander and Megan Walker, an advocator for ending gender-based violence, sitting silent astatine nan witnesser table.

As nan procedural statement played out, Alexander and Walker turned their backs connected nan committee. They past stormed retired of nan room.

“I deliberation it was truthful childish, from each sides,” Alexander said Thursday. That includes nan Conservatives, she said, who person since many times attacked nan Liberals and NDP complete what happened.

“I do not person a partisan agenda. I americium very irritated that this has been turned into a speech astir that erstwhile it shouldn’t be.

“Our trauma will not beryllium utilized for governmental agendas.”

The gathering had heard sobering grounds earlier it sewage sidetracked.

Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said successful his region alone, information shows that “a female is strangled each azygous day.” He shared specifications of immoderate of nan victims of caller femicides successful Peel, which he said relationship for almost 20 per cent of nan 114 homicides truthful acold this year.

Alexander shared schematic photos of nan maltreatment she knowledgeable during her opening statement, and publication retired a database of related cases, including that of 17-year-old Breanna Broadfoot, who was killed successful what Ontario constabulary opportunity was friendly partner violence.

Alexander, a Canadian national who lives successful Los Angeles, told Global News she instantly began reaching retired to those survivors and victims’ families for support to stock their stories arsenic soon arsenic she sewage nan invitation to look astatine nan committee from its staff.

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Statistics Canada’s latest yearly study connected police-reported crime, released past week, shows nan number of female homicide victims past year was astir identical compared to 2022 — 205 women killed — contempt a 14 per cent driblet successful full homicide victims complete nan aforesaid period.

Homicides wherever women were nan victims are up 31 per cent from 2019, compared to 12 per cent for each genders.

The caller information besides says reports to constabulary of unwanted activity aliases rubbing and intersexual battle pinch a weapon, meanwhile, has accrued by 75 and 96 per cent, respectively, since 2015.

One B.C. advocator for survivors opportunity nan measurement nan gathering unfolded showed committee members didn’t afloat admit nan grounds being delivered, aliases nan value of survivors and advocates appearing successful person.

“We request to beryllium honouring these stories,” said Dalya Israel, executive head of Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre successful Vancouver.

“We request to beryllium awake to nan realities and nan horrors that group are surviving through, sloppy of what authorities they support aliases correspond aliases what their inheritance is.”

Vandenbeld and nan Liberals did not respond to aggregate requests for remark from Global News. An NDP spokesperson said Friday that Gazan was not disposable to remark aft respective requests to her agency and nan party.

Vandenbeld said successful a connection to The Canadian Press Thursday that she profoundly regrets nan “distress that this gathering caused nan witnesses.”

“It’s not an apology,” said Alexander, who has called for one.

She said she has not heard straight from Vandenbeld, but has spoken privately to different MPs some connected and disconnected nan committee — including Conservatives, Liberals and nan Bloc Quebecois — who person offered their ain apologies and regrets for what happened connected Wednesday.

Despite what happened, Alexander said she would still judge a early invitation from nan committee to testify, and is hopeful different survivors won’t beryllium deterred from doing nan same.

She said her acquisition and nan defense it inspired gives her nary prime but to support speaking out.

“If (my abuser) had picked up nan nutrient tenderizer and not nan rolling pin we wouldn’t beryllium having this speech correct now,” she said.

“I won’t beryllium silent.”