Earful of abuse

>> SOS Violence Conjugale phone worker offers thoughts on violence, power and serenity

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Karène St. Pierre

Age: 28

Occupation: Spousal abuse emergency help line worker.

Salary: Minimal but not terrible.

Bio: This Plateau babe and former film student has been answering phones at SOS Violence Conjugale and steering victims of spousal abuse to the appropriate agencies for close to four years now. She also cleans up the office and is the secretary of her local union. A Tarot-reading and deeply spiritual broad, Karène claims she "is a great listener with a good head on [her] shoulders" and was impressed that when applying for her current position her employers were none too concerned that she was tattooed, pierced and had a shaved head.

The most common forms of abuse people call up about: Mental and physical.

What she tells callers to do if their husband comes home and starts beating the fuck out of them just for simply talking to someone from SOS Violence Conjugale: To call back at a better time.

Does she ever feel like sending someone over to even up the score with the wife-beater? No. "These men aren't evil. They're just incredibly insecure and don't know how to experience love unless it is on a very tight leash."

A really sneaky spousal-abuse trick: "Often what these men will do after delivering their wife a beating is come back the next day apologizing with the gift of a cat or dog. Then the women get attached to their pets and don't want to leave home the next time they're abused for fear of what will happen to the animal if they go."

Something a wife-beater might do to the family dog after their honeypie has left home: Kill them. "This happens all the time. And then they come back a few days later with another animal. It's a way to exert power over their spouses. Violent insecure men like this know how to keep control by playing with people's emotions."

Does she ever get calls from little girlie men who are being whacked around by their wives? "Yes, and they are usually too ashamed to get help. But we do have places we can refer them to."

Other people who like to call her up: "We get a lot of calls from homeless people who are lying about being a victim of spousal abuse just so they can get a place in a shelter--especially since the closure and downsizing of so many of the province's mental hospitals."

One place she hangs out: Jailhouse Rock when a good band is playing.

Spiritual beliefs: Karène follows her own path loosely based on various schools of Buddhism. "Universal sacred love is the most powerful force in the universe." She learned to meditate shortly after taking on the SOS job. "I really need to clear my head after finishing a shift."

Her childhood ambition: To become a hermit. "I idolized Grizzly Adams and wanted to live alone in the mountains and have bears for friends like he did."

Current ambition: To learn how to channel healing energy.

Last book read: Shambhala, by Chogyam Trungpa.

Listening preferences: Tool, mantra and chanting records.

Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. "The women in it were so cool."

Words of wisdom: "Fundamental goodness is the true nature of the spirit." :

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca