KAWARTHA LAKES-Kawartha 411 News has learned people who are victims of sexual assault in the City of Kawartha Lakes must travel to Peterborough for evidence collection, counselling and documentation of injuries.
“The process right now is any sexual assault survivor who is coming forward in our county if they are requiring those immediate medical services, the sexual assault evidence kit, specialized immediate hospital based counselling for it we are in the catchment area where all of those individuals are either transported to or have to make their own way to the sexual assault treatment centre at PRHC in Peterborough.” Bella Alderton, Program Director, Women’s Resources told Kawartha 411.
Alderton is concerned that local victims are being re-victimzed by the system.
“There is that piece about when you have individuals who are already very, very likely feeling embarrassed and humiliated and vulnerable and overwhelmed that if they did come forward to seek some assistance, because obviously they don’t need to go to the police service, they could just present at the hospital.”
However if victims go the the Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay they are referred to PRHC according to Alderton.
The Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Response Team (SADV) at PRHC includes six Registered Nurses (RNs) who have received Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training, which has been developed and provided by the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres. Over a period of approximately one year, training includes completing 16 modules, accompanying SANE-trained RNs on shifts, and attending a five-day course in Toronto.
The Sexual Assault Program provides care to individuals who have experienced sexual violence offering services such as medical care, emotional support and assistance through the legal process. They are specially trained in how to collect evidence, the procedure of law and best practices etc.
“It’s not every hospital that has sexual assault treatment centre and in lower population areas it may be that there is a designated hospital that has it and several communities or counties there people have to go through that centre.” Alderton says.
That can mean many sexual assaults go unreported according to Alderton.
“For a lot of people having to leave their community to get an important service I’m not certain that everybody would make that choice. Certainly we’ve heard anecdotally within Women’s Resources that we’ve had women that have, when they knew it was going to be another 45 minute drive or more and then the waiting process then returning to their usual life, they have decided against going through with it.”
The stats seem to back that up. Alderton says she’s had reports from PRHC that the numbers coming from Kawartha Lakes are very low. Â Given that statistics provided by Kawartha Lakes police show that sexual assaults in the Lindsay area are at five year high and they are 28th in Canada in terms of the number of sexual assaults it appears many victims are not making the trip to Peterborough.
“It makes me wonder how much geography is a barrier.” Alderton says. “There’s a gap in service there.”
We contacted the Kawartha Sexual Asssault Centre for comment on this issue and how it affects local victims but they did not respond to our request.
Kawartha Haliburton Victim Services works closely with Police and Emergency Services to provide emotional and practical support to victims of crime and tragic circumstance. Assistance is provided by staff and trained volunteers over the phone, on-scene, and in our office. Volunteer teams are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
A report by Macleans Magazine using numbers from Statistics Canada put the Lindsay area 28th out of more than 237 communities in Canada for the number of sexual assaults in 2018.
Read more here:https://www.kawartha411.ca/2019/11/20/lindsay-area-one-of-the-most-dangerous-places-in-canada-for-sexual-assaults/
According to KLPS there were 38 sexual assaults reported in 2018 and that’s a five year high.
Chief Mark Mitchell says there are a few reasons why the number is so high.
“Of the 38 incidents, 11 were historical in nature. This means they were reported in 2018 but occurred in previous years. Some of the incidents were a year or two old and others went back more than a decade.” Mitchell told Kawartha 411. Â “There could be several reasons for the delayed reporting. Some complainants may have more confidence in the justice system than they did in the past. For all complainants, the decision about whether to report and when is very personal.”
Mitchell says he hasn’t gone back through previous years to see how many sexual assault reports were historical, but the numbers in 2018 account for almost one third of the total. With a relatively small amount of data (38 total reports), a difference like that can skew the results somewhat.
“With all of that in mind, and our overall crime severity index trending in a positive direction, I think we are fortunate to live in a very safe community. Sexual assaults are devastating crimes that can impact survivors for months or years afterwards. Any number is too many, but when they do occur, we will continue to do our very best to investigate those cases in a careful and professional manner.”
The specialized training for the SADV is funded by the Ministry of Health, and includes forensic evidence collection, injury documentation and trauma-focused care, all of which support these RNs to provide the appropriate level of care for patients.
This level of care is currently not available in Kawartha Lakes and Alderton wants that to change.
“I have communicated that I would love to see at some point, one day that we would have an opportunity to provide more immediate, medical based care for sexual assault survivors somewhere in Kawartha Lakes.”
If you are the victim of sexual assault you can contact Women’s Resources here:https://womensresources.ca
Or Peterborough Regional Health Centre Sexual Assault Response Team at PRHC here:Â https://www.prhc.on.ca/cms/sexual-assault-domestic-violence-program
For Victim Services click here:http://victim-services.org/?fbclid=IwAR3ovvTiFp8-txJ0nEmzMhEwDXPK6WXGxIjKmx_vf7oMur4wHLDi4EeeOzM
 photo credit: European Parliament Clear legal basis needed to combat violence against women via photopin (license)
