mmmmmm a12 economist suntribune august 2 1989 best available copy strip loin steaks cut from canada grade a beef great for a long weekend barbecue schneiders family pack beef burgers sunshine hofdog hamburger buns fresh daily pkg of 8 ultra pampers disposable diapers all sizes io shreddies cereal fbi fruit juices apple orange exotic fruit 3x290 ml pkgs fresh from the bakery black forest cake bar dempsters bread spring whoat white fresh daily 675 g loaf neilsons ice cream 49s everfresh juice orange and grapefruit 2ljug schneiders bacon honeydew fruit drinks frozen concentrated 12oi tin children women aided by programt from page a10 staff already in place at varicjjssk agencies in the region of yorlj served 21 people two yeat later there are 93 people waitir for the fall programs to begin these programs include treal merit groups for children sexua ly abused by a person in a posi tion of trust for example father stepfather relative or babysit ter groups available will serej girls aged seven to 10 11 to 13 14 and up and boys aged 8 to 12 j ft another group is for adult suri i vivors of child sexual abuseai although this group is currentlyg only being offered in markham plans are to start another ih vaughan ri other support groups available are for nonoffending mothers ij nonoffending fathers and for teen and adult offenders half of whom are court mandated f6r more information contact 18002632240 iff the first support group for abused women will be offered in markham this fall r i abused womens group this group is open to women aged 18 and over who are in orjjf who in the past have experience abusive emotional or physical andor violent partnership this program will begin at j end of september one evening week and will run for 12 weeks it is being cosponsored by markhamstouffville family- 5 life centre and resolve a york region wife abuse program and there is no cost involved its a support rather than a therapy group the coordinators of the program stress that the women entering the group are not viewed as requiring therapy that their symptoms of anxiety low self- esteem and fear are a normals reaction to terror and symptoms of their abuse the goal of this small group 5 six to eight women is not to coir- vince women to leave their rela- j tionships but to inspire con fidence in them totake control of their lives so that they may make an informed decision for mor information call markham t stouffville family life cerifivaf i 2942371 and what of the children who j witness wife assault in a fact sheet put out by markham- v stouffville family life centres j youth in transition program it j is revealed that in one study 50 per cent of bat- tered women interviewdi reported that their children wejs present during the assault that boys who witness their- fathers violence have a one thoovtft sand times greater chance of growing up to be batterers thahjjj boys who do not witness sucbjy violence b and that out of 200 children whri j witnessed wife assault 33 peivjf cent had somatic psychological or behavioural disturbances 5 children need help out of these statistics evolved a need for groups dealing wijflsi children who witness violences youth in transition is addressing this need serving children agedfe eight to 18 youth in transition isx hoping to run a 12week program j that helps kids understand deal with feelings and develop safety plans for example an eight year old might not feel comforll table calling the police but hi might go to a neighbor to ask ftjjgjj help says valerie reiserni because markham and stouff ville are such alive and awaffj communities we expect people j to be responsive and that dnali groups will be well received for more information calhly 2942590 tb the childrens aid society tg also conducting groups for children who have witnessed violence for more information call 7313150 w no general statistics indicate that one in four girls and one in five boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 husbandco abuse constitutes three per cenb of all domestic violence accor ding to ruth torrance planning and research dept at yocfc regional police there were 15i rapes and 107 other sexual ofcna fences reported in york region in 1988 the feeling that it doesnt hap pen here is just not correct in a summmary of dilemmas and obstacles facing the town of i7 markham preventing the- awareness of abuse and assaujt it was found that people feel they- lack expertise if the problem ex- ists leave it to the experts the experts have now come for ward to ask for your help so- what arc you going to do mmm u