Chaplaincy Services

National Chaplains' Conference,
June 2004

Workshop on Victims' Issues

Greetings and good afternoon. I am going to begin this workshop with some prepared remarks. And then I hope we can reflect on what I have shared and talk together about your concerns or questions as you work with people in a correctional setting.

I have been invited to share with you today some of my perceptions as a victim of serious crime and to offer perhaps some thoughts for you to consider as you work with offenders, their families and those who have been victimized by crime. I will begin by telling you the story of the struggles our family faced following the abduction and murder of my sister, Kristen French, in 1992. In relating my family's walk along this very foreign path, I must note that, while I tell 'our' story, it can only be through my experience of it. What we discuss today about victims' needs and concerns also arises out of my experiences. Other victims will have different stories to tell and I know that you, as chaplains, have the gifts to listen carefully to each person's story.

Today, I choose to begin this story with a memory because this is a 'memory' time and place for me. We all have those days when we recall a significant event in our lives: our birthday, an anniversary, the first time we met the man or woman of our dreams. In another June, I spent a great deal of time in this place. In that June, I ate here, slept here, walked from here across to the courthouse. Later that same summer, I watched from one of these windows as inky black storm clouds gathered over the city as I waited. Usually I like a good storm, but those storm clouds made me fearful. My family and I were waiting to be called back to the courthouse to hear the verdict from the Bernardo trial. Most of that trial has been very public and the guilty verdict is well known. Paul Bernardo is serving a life sentence as a dangerous offender at Kingston Penitentiary. Karla Homolka, his estranged wife, was given a 12 year sentence for her role in the murders of several young women, including my sister, Kristen. She will reach warrant expiry in July of next year. Those are the facts, but facts don't touch the feelings.

When we walked out of the court house following the Bernardo trial verdict, those black clouds were still there, but just as we approached the microphones to respond to media questions, the sun broke through an opening in those clouds and it was like a benediction. Later that day, as we drove back to St. Catharines, there was a huge rainbow in the sky over that city and again, it was like a blessing. I wonder if even Noah had felt the relief that we did!

But I guess I need to back up a bit and tell you about our family. Kristen was part of a 'blended' family. I was 15 when my parents divorced and later both of them remarried. My father, Doug, and his new wife, Donna, then had two children: Darren and Kristen. Kristen was the youngest of six siblings and I am the oldest. In between us, there are four brothers. My mother's remarriage also added to the family two more sons and a daughter-in-law. We have enough men in our family, what with more marriages and more sons, to start a small sports team. But don't think Kristen and I were intimidated! Oh no! We girls could hold our own, giving back as much teasing as we got. In fact both of us were spoiled with all the love in the world. As the baby of the family, Kristen could do no wrong. Her sunny personality, loving and playful nature, and innate desire to please everyone made her extra special. Kristen was all about love. Despite being what is called 'broken', love has always been the defining factor in our family. I believe it is the single most important thing that has held us all together throughout the past twelve years. That and our faith.

This case was very high profile and because of that, our family had many experiences that differ somewhat from other victims. Our involvement with police and the media are two areas that were more extreme than in most cases. The Green Ribbon Task Force was created shortly after it was clear that Kristen had been abducted due to the fact that several young women had gone missing in the area. The media responded immediately, for much the same reason. As the case progressed, as Kristen's body was found and more links to other cases surfaced, as arrests were made and the whole horrific nature of what had happened to Kristen and Leslie and Tammy became known, the interest of the public and media grew. This was a huge invasion of our privacy, as you can imagine; but it also brought with it a level of support that continues to this day. My family had support emotionally, financially and publicly that most victims do not receive. This support extended to how we were treated in court, with the provision of round-the-clock access to victim support workers, a private room to wait in and financial assistance with legal costs. That is not to say that any of this was easy, but I wonder often how other victims of crime cope with all the stresses that are part of being involved in the criminal justice system. Many victims of crime bear their grief and anxiety alone and some are even stigmatized by the very crime that has harmed them. As community members, each of us should try to reach out to those in our midst who have been victimized in some way.

Of course there were times when things were very difficult. For example, if a stranger came physically close to me, I became very upset and apprehensive. Going into a shopping mall or grocery store took a great deal of effort. We all had to deal with changes in sleeping patterns, eating habits, diminished levels of concentration and other effects caused by extreme stress. As I noted earlier, each of us is unique and all of us deal with stress in our own way. It has become important for us to tell each other what we are feeling and what we need. It has also been important to seek out the help we need or take some time off to deal with events as they occurred. Most of us have been fortunate to have understanding and supportive employers. Some of us have needed to be involved in a public way, while others have wanted to remain out of the public eye. All of us have experienced various health concerns related to the strain of the past twelve years. Victims need to recognize the importance of caring for themselves, as well as being aware of the needs of those around them. What has kept us strong and functioning is the power of our love for each other and the knowledge that Kristen's suffering is over.

Since the Bernardo trial ended in 1995, we have been learning about correctional services in Canada: about facilities, parole eligibility and hearings, and a whole new set of rights or lack thereof for us as victims of crime. Wilma Derksen, Director of Victims Voice and herself the mother of a murdered girl, has called this whole victim process a maze. And she is right on. We have been learning about victim impact statements, the rights offenders have to full disclosure, while victims must attend a parole hearing to fully learn what the offender has been doing to heal, rehabilitate and prepare for release. And victims must again provide their own transportation, accommodation and meals to attend these hearings.

Please don't mistake me, there have been great strides taken lately with regard to victims' rights at every stage of the process. In my role as a Board member of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, I was privileged to attend a roundtable on victims' issues with the Commissioners of CSC and the NPB last November. Because of the advocacy of people like Wilma Derksen, Priscilla DeVilliers, the Rosenfelds and other victims and survivors of homicide and because there are people in the corrections and justice systems of Canada who truly do care, change is happening.

You have probably noticed that I have been learning a great deal about victims' issues on this journey. Well, in 1999 I responded to an ad in our local newspaper for the position of part-time coordinator for a new program, Sudbury District Restorative Justice (SDRJ). I applied for this job for many reasons. The first motivator was that I wanted part-time work. But I also had this developing interest in what was out there to offer victims a more satisfying experience in the justice system. Through my involvement at church with social justice, I had been reading about the philosophy of restorative justice and its underlying principles. The concept of victim participation in the process really seemed to address what I saw as a deficiency in the present system. The committee responsible for SDRJ is broadly community based, with representatives from the judiciary, police, Crown Attorney, victim service providers, offender service providers, the local Native Friendship Centre, the Correctional Service, Probation and Parole and other community members. They began meeting in 1997 to research the best model of restorative justice for Sudbury's various needs. The approximately twenty volunteer facilitators and I have received training in conferencing from both the RCMP model and REALJustice, as well as ongoing training in Critical Incident Stress Management, victim sensitivity and case management. And I have recently been privileged to be trained in Advanced Victim Offender Mediation by CSC's Restorative Justice and Dispute Resolution Branch.

The Sudbury program began by addressing the needs of adults accused of relatively minor offences, such as theft, mischief, possession of stolen property, and fraud. All referrals were screened for the program by the Crown's office. As the program has gained expertise and credibility, the offences now include some minor assault cases and working with youth. Police are being trained to evaluate suitable cases at a pre-charge level and also to consider this program in cases of elder abuse. The Crown has recently given approval for the development of protocols and training to deal with more serious offences, based on the Collaborative Justice Project model in Ottawa.

For several years now the Restorative Justice and Dispute Resolution Branch of CSC has been working with 3 service providers to offer a restorative response to victims and offenders, where the offender is still in a federal institution. The demand for this from both victims and offenders has increased to the point where more facilitators were needed. At the eight-day training in May of this year, 16 of us from across Canada were trained in this process. CSC is now working on completing the protocols, which include a five-year evaluation in conjunction with the department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. Since requests for this program can come from the offender, those working in the institutions need to be aware of the program and how they can help. One of the possible roles identified at the training was for chaplains. In meeting with a group of inmates in Kingston, they noted that inmates may not have a trust relationship with prison staff, but that they might have one with the chaplain, or might at least see the chaplain as a person they could talk to about this process and receive support from as the process takes place.

And how do programs like this address the needs of victims? Program criteria stipulate the offender must be willing to admit responsibility for the offence, exhibit some remorse and a desire to meet with the victim to address their needs as far as possible. The victim must be interested in participating in the process voluntarily. They must have some sense that meeting with the person who has harmed them will offer them some benefit. Many people find it odd that this process does seem to offer benefits to the victim. Whether it is the simple acknowledgement of the harm they have suffered, a chance to tell the accused person how they have been affected, or an opportunity to ask questions that only the perpetrator can answer, victims do seem to gain some level of satisfaction of their needs through restorative programs.

If I have made it sound easy, let me tell you it is not. In Sudbury, we accept into the program only slightly over half of the cases referred to us. Of that half, about two-thirds of the cases actually go through to a conference. The conferences do usually result in an agreement acceptable to both parties and that agreement is complied with in the majority of cases. If an agreement is not reached or not complied with, the case returns to court and is dealt with as it would have been had it not been referred to our program. An evaluation component is built into the program is several ways. In addition to tracking statistics about referrals and trying to monitor recidivism, we also conduct a post-conference questionnaire with all participants of the conferences. When victims have been asked, "Do you believe your side of the story was considered in the outcome of this case?" eighty-six percent responded, "Yes". To the question, "Do you believe the accused was held responsible for the offence?" one hundred percent answered, "Yes". And to the question, "Are you afraid the accused will commit another offence against you?" eighty-six percent said, "No".

Is restorative justice for everyone? No, I don't believe it is. Is it always going to work out the way everyone hopes it will? No, it won't. It is not a magic solution and it won't cure all the problems in the criminal justice system. Care and attention need to be paid to the safety issues involved in trying to bring people together. The needs and rights of all participants must be identified and appropriate measures taken to address the underlying issues participants may have. But it can be an effective and powerful way of dealing with the harm caused by crime when restorative justice principles are respected and applied. As a community member, I want to live in a place that offers me safety. When that safety is compromised, and I know only too well how it can be, I want to have some say in how the matter will be dealt with. I believe that restorative justice can offer a great deal to those harmed by crime.

I will conclude this formal part of the presentation by going back to my own story. We - my family and I - are still on this journey. It will last our lifetimes. I'm sure we still have much to learn. But in 2002, we gathered - 200 of us - to remember Kristen ten years after she was taken from us. Her family, her friends, her community, the police, media, lawyers and court staff who were brought together in her death, came back together to give each other strength in remembering her life. Our own private guardian angel smiles from heaven. We are blessed and given strength for the journey. Thanks be to God.

Now, I'd like to take some time to hear from you. If you have questions or comments, I will try to respond to those and then I'd like to hear what your concerns are about dealing with victims.