On a sunny September morning, the bodies of three women were found in Wilno, a town an hour and a bit west of Ottawa. Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam, and Carol Culleton were allegedly shot by Basil Borutuski. Borutuski had a history with two of the women, and a past riddled with crime.
Borutuski assaulted Kuzyk a year ago. She reported him to the police for having choked her, assaulted her, and stolen her car. Two years prior, he had also threatened Warmerdam’s son and threatened to kill an animal that belonged to her (CBC). For the fear, and psychological and physical damage which he afflicted on these women, he received a minor slap on the wrist. He was out of jail and on probation when he allegedly committed the murders.
Women gathered outside of the courthouse as Borutuski answered to his murder charges.
Violence against women is a symptom of a larger problem. A disease plagues our country, a country that we believe to be progressive and just. Though wage gaps and reproductive rights are often debated over, less glossy issues rarely receive much attention. Patriarchy and its structures are so deeply embedded in society that some men feel that they have the right to physically and mentally abuse women. On top of this, many women do not feel comfortable reporting abusive behaviors to authorities. On average, only 10-30% of incidents of violence are reported (Huffington Post), most common reasons being lack of confidence in the police, personal issues, feeling of shame, or they simply do not want to have to deal with the consequences of their partner’s arrest.
Despite Kuzyk and Warmerdam being in the minority of women for having reported Borutuski to authorities, they suffered the worst fate possible. They did what they could, but eventually succumbed to a social system that consistently fails victims of domestic abuse. A woman is killed by her partner every six days in Canada, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. If even those women who report their abusers to authorities are failed, then our social systems provide little hope for victims of domestic violence. In every four women who are killed by their spouse, one of them is murdered after attempting to leave the relationship (Huffington Post). The statistics are harrowing, but they demonstrate the reality faced by women in abusive relationships.
The lack of political attention paid to domestic abuse is unfounded and irrational. Change must take place at a political level so that it can take place at a social level. In recent years, Harper’s government has been criticized for its lack of action concerning the dozens of aboriginal women who go missing or are murdered every year at the hands of men. According to the RCMP, 1,200 women in the first nations communities have disappeared in the past 30 years (CTV). Though little has been done, bringing these issues into the public discourse is the first step in achieving social change. However, more public awareness, outrage, and consequential lobbying are needed to put domestic abuse on the short-list of priorities for the next political party of Canada to hold office. More attention needs to be given to this issue, for we cannot afford to lose one more life to domestic violence.
To learn more about feminism in Canada, check out “How is Feminism Working For You?“
Image obtained from:
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/wilno-shooting-suspect-charged-…