Homophobic violence seminar coming to city

A "Report Homophobic Violence, Period" (RHVP) training and educational event will be held in Yorkton on Tuesday, March 27.

Brought to several Saskatchewan cities this month by the Ministry of Justice, the RCMP, and national human rights group Egale Canada, the RHVP program aims at providing the community with tools to address issues of homophobic hate and violence.

The day will be divided into two sessions: a police training seminar in the afternoon and a two-hour community information session for local service agencies and members of the public in the evening. That portion is scheduled at the Ramada Hotel at 7 pm.

As front-line responders to crime and violence, police are a top priority in Egale's efforts to reduce hate-based victimization, said Egale Executive Director Helen Kennedy. The afternoon session with local RCMP is the core of the program.

"It's a training program for police officers, and particularly for police officers who go into schools, so they can address issues of homophobic bullying in our school system - so they can identify youth who are potentially being victimized, and they can talk about incidents of bullying and violence and hate crimes from a youth perspective."

In the evening, members of the community will be briefed on some of the same topics presented to the RCMP, as well as on the scope of the problem of homophobic violence locally and nationally.

"We talk about hate crimes being a youth phenomenon; we talk about how the second most likely place for hate crimes to occur is in educational facilities; we talk about hate crimes based on sexual orientation being the most violent of all hate crimes that occur," said Kennedy.

The city's RCMP will have representation at the second session to help build ties between the community and the police.

Kelly Bucsis, coordinator of the Yorkton Mental Health Drop-in Centre, is pleased to see a program of this type come to Yorkton. Her organization hosts the city's new LGBT Social Group, which offers support services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans individuals in the area.

"I think there are a lot more people in the city affected by gay/lesbian violence than we know of," said Bucsis. "It's just something that's quiet."

Members of the public can register for the evening session by calling Cheryl Tiller at 786-2406.