Treatment clinics for violent men want bigger role in Quebec's fight against domestic violence

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 dealwith 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, 10women have been killed in domestic violence incidents in Quebec.

The most recent case took placeon 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 mencalled 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 annualfunding,theLegaultgovernment has earmarked more than $200 million to address domestic violence between2020 and 2025.From that amount,only $5 millionwill go to treatment centres formen.

According to the Quebec Health Ministry, the spending for women's shelters in the last fiscal yearwas $110 million.

Organizationsthat specialize in men'shealth and wellbeingreceived$19 million.According to coeurd'homme,that included$11 million thatwas splitbetween its 31 member organizations.

The group says those fundswould need to at least double in orderto meet the growing demand for services.

'We risk losing them'

At the start of the pandemic, domestic violence support groupswere 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 evenget 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 coeur d'homme,says more money from the province would allow centresto 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 tothe rehabilitation of violent men, a spokesperson for Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for status for women, declined to comment andreferred CBCNews 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 theservice wouldminimize the effects of waiting lists, and possibly save lives.

She's alsourgingthe province to use awareness campaignsto 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 likeHomme Alternative offer psychologicalconsultation, interventionand group therapy for men who have exhibited violent behaviour or are dealing with violent impulsestoward 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," saidNadeau.

"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 thinkthat there's nothingwe 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 beencriticized, withsomeobservers sayingit focuses too muchon 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'snot beneficial politically for a government to support a cause whenthere 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 conjugaleis a provincewide toll-free crisis line, available 24/7. You can reach them at 1-800-363-9010 by phone, or via text at438-601-1211

Information about the coeur d'homme rehabilitation network can be found here.