Saturday, November 05, 2005

Wider protection

CBC reports on a Manitoba initiative to extend protection against domestic violence and stalking to situations where a couple hasn't lived together:
Under the old legislation, only those who had been living together could apply for such protection. The amended Domestic Violence and Stalking Act now extends to those who are only dating...

Mackintosh says Manitoba is the first province to put such legislation in place.

A protection order can prohibit the people named from coming to the victims' homes or workplaces and following or communicating with them. It may also force them to turn over any weapons they may have.
Oddly enough, one of the points made in opposition to the legislation is that it's unclear how soon in the dating process the legislation could apply. I would seem to me that application after one date would be entirely appropriate if the order is necessary - stalkers should be dealt with as stalkers, regardless of how close the two people involved were at some previous point.

Kudos to Manitoba for taking the lead in this area, and I'll hope to see other provinces following suit soon.

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