S.O.S. for young women

Daphné Boudreault. Denise Hallé. Jeanette Lauzon-Toupin. Jocelyne Pellerin. Priscilla Bond. Gabrielle Lepage.

In less than a month, six Quebec women have lost their lives to domestic violence. They were wives, daughters, girlfriends or relatives of their accused assailants. They were stabbed or shot to death in their own homes.

And let’s not forget Anuja Baskaran, whose throat was slit in 2012. Her husband, Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham, was charged with second-degree murder in her death. But the charges were recently stayed because a judge determined it took too long to bring his case to trial under the new deadlines set by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This grim toll brings to the fore — again — the scourge of violence against women and reminds us, once more, of the urgency to redouble efforts to fight it, such as addressing the underlying causes, properly funding shelters and support groups, reviewing police practices and ensuring the courts have the means to handle the cases before it.

But recent cases in the headlines have also exposed the vulnerability of young women to partner violence, suggesting a need to foster awareness much earlier.

Boudreault, who was killed in Mont-St-Hilaire in March, was 18. Gabrielle Dufresne-Élie was 17 when she was slain in 2014. Her death was propelled back into the news when her estranged boyfriend was put on trial.

Clemence Beaulieu-Patry was 20 when she was stabbed to death in the grocery store where she worked a year ago. The 20-year-old man charged in her slaying was a high school acquaintance whose advances she had spurned.

Chloé Brunone, a 22-year-old, recently told La Presse she narrowly escaped a violent fate when she attempted to break up with a manipulative partner. She said she didn’t see the warning signs as her boyfriend became increasingly controlling. After she survived the separation, she said the support groups for abused women she attended were too “heavy” and not geared to her age group.

All of this underscores the need for better awareness among young people about what constitutes domestic violence and what to do if they find themselves in its grip. Conversely, it also points to the need for education about how to develop healthy relationships, for women and men, gay, straight, bisexual or transgender.

The sexual education curriculum seems like the perfect place to deliver this important message to a wide audience. But the return of this mandatory program won’t be ready in time for the next school year. That’s a shame.

We need to have a frank conversation with young people about family violence and partner abuse.

And we need to have it now.