The province’s new Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Act is a positive step which will hopefully empower women who live in fear according to the longtime friend of a domestic abuse victim.
Bronwen Martin lost her friend Paula Armstrong in 2015 when she was killed by her estranged common-law partner.
Martin says things began to escalate to a point where Paula feared telling her partner where she had been and who she had spoken to.
“I believe this new legislation has the ability to save more lives like Paula’s and to prevent women from enduring more physical and emotional abuse,” she says.
Martin adds more laws like this are needed to help victims find a way out safely and enable them to begin a new life.
Emergency court orders can now be granted to protect whatever needs the victim wants for about three to six months including temporary custody of children and staying in a home without a partner.
The province has hired six new hearing officers who will have jurisdiction under the new legislation.
(91.9 The Bend PHOTO – Bronwen Martin)
