Brian Vallee, an award-winning journalist and writer who dedicated much of his career to speaking out about domestic violence, died of cancer in hospital in Toronto on Friday. He was 70.
Vallee’s best-known work, Life With Billy, chronicled the struggles of Jane Hurshman, a Queens County woman who shot and killed her husband after years of physical and mental abuse. Hurshman was acquitted of first-degree murder, and though she would serve two months for manslaughter after the Crown appealed, the case was precedent-setting for the introduction of battered wife syndrome.
Vallee’s book shined a light on the scope of the problem of domestic violence, and Hurshman would go on to be a tireless crusader for the issue until her death in 1992. Vallee kept writing and lecturing, often covering the subject of domestic violence in his fiction and non-fiction.
Diane Crowell, executive director of the Jane Hurshman Memorial Fund, said Vallee’s work — in particular Life With Billy — helped a lot of people understand how severe a problem violence against women is. "It had a tremendous impact in rallying resources and efforts just within the general population," she said.
Although Crowell didn’t know why the subject was an important one for Vallee, she believed it was at least in part because of his general views on society and what is right.
"He had a strong sense of justice and a strong sense of equality."Vallee’s work inspired countless people to take notice and get involved, said Crowell, and there is no better example than Hurshman herself.
She went from being a shy woman to someone who raised awareness and resources while speaking in front of large crowds and conferences. Much of that, Crowell said, can be traced to Vallee’s willingness to help and support Hurshman. "I do strongly believe that she (became an advocate) partly because of Brian Vallee’s support."
Vallee worked as a reporter for various newspapers in Canada, including the Windsor Star and the Toronto Star, as well as outlets in England and the United States before joining the CBC’s The Fifth Estate. Later, he wrote a number of fiction and non-fiction books, many of them about domestic violence.
One of Vallee’s last books was The War on Women, which detailed the number of women being murdered by their male partners. A novel, Pariah, told the story of a woman who was killed with a gun years after murdering her husband. Vallee was also a speaker on domestic violence at conferences and events across the country.
"He leaves a real legacy, a record of achievement few journalists can ever lay claim to," Vallee’s friend Ron Base wrote in a blog post Saturday. Vallee also produced a number of documentaries, including Just Another Missing Kid, which won an Oscar at the 1983 Academy Awards. He is survived by his partner Nancy.
Crowell said Vallee’s passing leaves a major void for people in her line of work. "For all of us social activists and people who work for justice in the country, it is a great loss."