First Nations pledge to end domestic abuse – Times Colonist

February 13, 2014

Esther Morris sat against the conference room wall in tears as dozens of men in small groups shared their experiences of violence and their pledges to protect women and children.

“It was so empowering to see you all so engaged,” she later told the crowd gathered at the Hotel Grand Pacific Thursday for the third annual Moosehide campaign to end violence against aboriginal women and children.

Morris, a single mother of three from the Tsarlip First Nation, came to the event as a survivor of abuse and a witness to the men promising to end the cycle of violence. Among the men, from different generations and cultures, was her teenage son.

“I wanted him to understand,” Morris said. “Abuse damages your soul. I don’t want my kids to see that in their lives.”

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/first-nations-pledge-to-end-domestic-abuse-1.853593#sthash.qpVhjycw.dpuf