Deaths of 5 people in southern Manitoba part of an epidemic of domestic violence: experts
'That's the most severe form of violence that someone can endure,' expert says of the killings
The deaths of five people this week in southern Manitoba are a clear example of domestic violence and come in the midst of an epidemic of intimate partner violence in the province and beyond, experts say.
"When anything ends in a fatality, when a life is taken, that's the most severe form of violence that someone can endure," said Tracie Afifi, a University of Manitoba professor in the department of community health sciences.
"Here we have the death of an intimate partner … [and] we have the deaths of three children that were part of that relationship and a fourth family member as well, who was also a child," she said.
"Without a doubt this is intimate partner violence."
Kendra Nixon, a professor in the faculty of social work at the U of M, says it's troubling to see the issue rising.
"We've experienced seven years of escalating rates of intimate partner violence in this country. It is an epidemic and we need to do something about it, [but] in order to solve a problem, we first have to identify it and name it.
RCMP have charged 29-year old Ryan Howard Manoakeesick with five counts of first-degree murder, indicating they believe the killings were premeditated.
The victims are his 30-year-old partner, Amanda Clearwater, their three children — six-year-old daughter Bethany, four-year-old son Jayven, and 2½-month-old daughter Isabella — and another relative of Clearwater's, 17-year-old Myah Gratton.
The bodies were found in three separate locations in southern Manitoba on Sunday — a home in the town of Carman and two locations on highways in the area.
In Monday's news conference, RCMP Insp. Tim Arseneault was asked if the killings were being investigated as intimate partner violence.
"We understand the what. Now we need to understand the why. That's what takes longer," he said. "We're getting to that, but that's going to take time, and we want to get it right."
In an email sent later Tuesday to Radio-Canada, the RCMP did describe the killings in French as a horrible act of family violence.
Nixon expressed frustration that RCMP did not immediately characterize it as domestic violence.
"I don't understand what the rationale is," she said.
Both Afifi and Nixon say Canada is not doing enough to address the growing problem of intimate partner violence. Addressing that starts with acknowledging it when it happens, they say.
"When we're understanding why this happened, if we don't frame it within the context of intimate partner violence, then I think we are doing a huge disservice," Afifi said.
"It's estimated that about 20 per cent of all homicides in Canada are due to intimate partner violence. That's something that I think a lot of people don't realize."
According to one study, intimate partner violence claims a woman's life every six days. And 2022 Statistics Canada data shows Manitoba has the second-highest rate of intimate partner violence among Canadian provinces, just behind Saskatchewan.
But the actual rates are likely even higher, as an estimated 80 per cent of domestic violence cases go unreported.
That might be for many reasons, particularly the threat levied against a woman by her partner, said Nixon.
Abusive partners will use incidents like Sunday's as a threat, saying "I can do that to you too," she said.
'Almost no support for survivors'
Domestic violence is about control, said Kimlee Wong, a survivor-turned-advocate.
Many women are caught between a rock and a hard place because they are abused if they stay, but even more threatened when they try to leave.
"When an abuser is losing that power and control, that's when the violence usually escalates," Wong said. "Yet we have almost no support for survivors and there's very little public awareness around the truth.
"So it basically leaves survivors on their own."
Nixon and Afifi agree that better supports and resources are desperately needed.
Services might not exist in rural locations for someone who wants to leave, while other victims simply can't afford to. Housing and financial assistance are needed, Afifi said.
As well, shelters and advocates right now carry a heavy burden in protecting women who make the choice to leave, but are woefully underfunded and under-resourced, Nixon said.
"We put the onus on women for protecting themselves and their children but gender-based violence, intimate-partner violence impacts all of us. It impacts our communities," she said.
"We all have a responsibility to be a part of the solution … women's advocates, police, health care, education, community services, courts, justice, universities. We all have a part to play."
That's something Wong also stresses.
"Until we address this at every level of society, we're going to continue to have dead women and children," she said.
A focus on preventative measures that begins with education about healthy relationships, starting from early childhood through adolescence, is also needed, Afifi said.
And those who commit the violence cannot be overlooked, said Nixon.
"We need to do a better job addressing men's experiences of mental health. Men have higher rates of suicide, high rates of substance use, and have their own backgrounds of trauma. So we need services for men as well," she said.
"I know there are women who perpetrate violence and I know there are men who experience violence, but intimate partner violence is a very gendered phenomena. Women experience the more severe forms … including domestic homicide."
Corrections
- CBC initially reported that the deaths were not being classified as domestic violence by RCMP. In fact, the RCMP later said in an email Tuesday to Radio-Canada that they view the killings as domestic violence.Feb 15, 2024 2:26 PM CT
With files from Brittany Greenslade