An email report by Sean Slaven on the event:
Congratulations to Brad Charlton and the London team for pulling off one of the most monumental events I have ever been apart of. The DV conference and vigil was informative and inspiring,with some of the best advocates of change coming together under one roof.
But, the best part of the event was when the decision was made to take the vigil/ protest from outside the police station to the inside of the police station.
Yes- inside the police station!
The group of 20 took the message that domestic violence is not a gender issue right inside where we were able to address our conerns to the police force on their very own ground.
Absolutly bloody amazing- they listened and thanked us, which is so different from what most of us have seen where we are usually told to shut up,arrested and put in jail.
Well not this time, no threats of being charged, no bullying, no egos!
I have never seen this before and would never have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes.
This my friends was true freedom-freedom of speech, freedom of expression,freedom to gather and protest.
I would also like to thank the London police for doing their job and respecting our rights that our fore fathers gave their lives for.
Brad and to all those who took part in this truly amazing event- a very big thank you and a job well done.SS
Last Updated: June 6, 2010 12:04am
Lucio was shot June 7, 2007 by acting police inspector Kelly Johnson as he pulled up to her Picton St. condominium building. Johnson then turned her 9-mm service pistol on herself.
The vigil was the culmination of a conference called domestic violence awareness day, presented by the London Equal Parenting Committee.
Organizer Brad Charlton, co-chair of the LEPC, said the conference was meant to draw a connection between domestic violence and equal parenting issues.
“Quite often false allegations of domestic violence are used in court to deny men their rights,” he said.
Dave Lucio’s father Doug, 83, who’s been highly critical of police handling of his son’s death, led the vigil.
Standing before the LPS building, with candle in hand, he repeated his allegation that the 60-page report on Lucio’s death was a “whitewash.”
He said there needs to be more equal treatment in cases of domestic violence.
“Violence is violence whether it’s men or women. There is no difference,” he said.
Conference moderator Kris Titus said she got involved in domestic violence issues 12 years ago when she was separated from her husband because of a violent incident.
She said her husband had smacked her across the face with the back and front of his hand. She said the incident happened because of a “bi-polar condition” brought on by a thyroid problem. She said he was essentially mentally ill at the time, and called the incident “an accident.”
She said once the matter hit the courts, “the system was trying to destroy him.”
Marcher Gwyneth Doty said she was attending to support men who have nowhere to go when facing violence.
“It used to be a man’s world and now it’s a woman’s world,” she said.
“It’s too much, it’s terrible.”
Barbara Jacques, who attended the conference and vigil, said it was important to stand up against violence against men.
“I’ve got three (grown) boys who have gone through it,” she said.
As the vigil assembled at the LPS building, attendees shouted slogans such as “not all men are bad, not all women are good.”
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/06/05/14280126.html#email
1 comment:
Post a Comment