SUPPORT, SOLIDARITY
Holly Campbell organized Because Wilno on Thursday at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights near the Ottawa courthouse, where a man is on trial for first-degree murder in the deaths of Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam and Carol Culleton.
Women’s rights groups gathered at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street on Thursday afternoon in solidarity with the families of three Wilno-area women who were killed in 2015, along with others who suffer from gender-based violence on a daily basis.
The rally happened outside the courthouse as the trial Basil Borutski was getting underway inside. Borutski is facing three first-degree murder charges in the killings of Carol Culleton, 66, Anastasia Kuzyk, 36, and Nathalie Warmerdam, 48, which occurred within a matter of hours on the morning of Sept. 22, 2015.
About 35 supporters surrounded the steps of the monument. Framed photos of all three women who were killed were displayed.
Holly Campbell organized the group Because Wilno, which wants lawmakers to address systemic issues related to the protection of victims of violence. This includes patterns of violence that are not documented when charges against an accused are either not laid or are stayed.
“(There are) high rates of charges that are stayed at the request of the Crown in order to free up, what we’ve been told, is very precious court time,” said Campbell. "So if people are willing to make deals where they will plead guilty to a lesser charge, for example, or if they stay the charges altogether, there is no record in the public for some of these people who may be a concern for escalation of violence.”
The group highlighted the fact that Borutski, who has a history of violence against the victims and other women, had charges against him stayed. And on two occasions, prison sentences were “significantly reduced.”
The supporters — which included Harmony House and the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women — advocated for more victim support, including tougher laws on bail conditions for cases of gender-based violence, expanded access to legal assistance for victims seeking restraining orders, and enhanced victim support services and training of rural police services, Crown attorneys and judges.
“I think that sentences need to be longer and police need to have training in violence against women, and what that could look like,” said Michelle Lemieux, community development co-ordinator at the Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre.