Every year, the Yorkton Partnership Against Violence Committee holds a candlelight vigil to honor the women and men who have been victims of domestic abuse, both the survivors and those who have died as a result. This year, the theme was trying to protect those who are the targets of criminal harassment, or stalking, and the need to strengthen peace bonds to protect them.
Regina's Cathy Kaip knows first hand the damage that stalking can do. Her case made national headlines when Gerald Klein, who had been stalking her for over 30 years, was banished from Regina under a peace bond.
Kaip's ordeal started at a family wedding when she was 18. She says she struck up a conversation with Klein who, at the time, seemed like a nice man. They agreed to meet for coffee one day.
However, when informed that the man was already married, Kaip says she tried to end the relationship. Klein kept phoning, and Kaip says she didn't know enough at the time to realize that he was an emotionally abusive man. She says she was isolated from her family during their correspondence. When she began dating her future husband, Kaip adds, it is then when Klein began harassing her.
When she began dating her future husband, Kaip adds, it is then when Klein began harassing her.
"It was clear in my mind, but obviously not his, that we were just friends," she details.
In the years since, Kaip has been on the receiving end of numerous nuisance law suits, packages and threatening messages. Klein has also been found watching the places where she and her family lives.
While there are no physical scars, the mental anguish caused by Klein's campaign of harassment has caused Kaip to be diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and that has manifested itself in insomnia, heart problems and difficulty maintaining balance, which has no physical cause. Kaip admits that the stress of her situation made her consider ending her life, in order to have the harassment stop.
Kaip says that while the peace bond finally gave her some peace of mind, the maximum length is one year, after which she has to prove it is still necessary to keep Klein far away from herself and her family.
Another source of frustration was getting the restraining orders enforced, Kaip says. She notes that while Klein was caught in a breach of a restraining order more than once, it was difficult to get him charged with violating the orders.
As a result, Kaip is using her experience to work to help change the laws and to protect not only herself, but the people who are victims of the same kind of harassment that she experienced for her entire adult life up until recently.
"I'm not the victim anymore, I'm fighting back for something to change... I wish I was an isolated case, but I am not, I want other women to speak up and let the courts and the politicians know what's happening, so they can fight to change the laws, to make it easier to get a peace bond in place, and when one is in place, act on it," Kaip says.
One of the ways which people can tell their stories in order to help officials know what needs to be done is to visit www.victimsmatter.gc.ca.
Sgt. James Morton with Yorkton General Investigation Services, says he is frustrated that the police cannot do more to help people like Kaip be protected from their aggressors. He believes it's time for the community to step up and demand laws surrounding peace bonds be strengthened.
"We as a community have to be in charge. We can't let one per cent of our population, the criminal element of our population, dictate everything that happens within our society. They are criminals, they need to be dealt with as criminals, our court systems, politicians, have to start noticing that we can't let one per cent rule our world," Morton says.
For targets of criminal harassment, Morton's advice is to document everything that has happened, and why the actions are threatening or harassment. He says that evidence is essential to getting a peace bond or charges.
He notes that the problem of domestic violence is not something which only the police are involved in, and that everyone needs to become involved in helping those who are victims of violence.
"It takes everybody. If we see a crime happening, we need to call. The vigils help us to keep perspective, that these crimes happen and it's still a problem," Morton concludes.
